Studio 15 - Switchable Graphics?

Does the Dell Studio line (Studio 15, specifically) have Switchable Graphics functionality when equipped with the ATI 5470 card?

I read in one of the older posts on this forum that Dell had disabled the feature. Is this still true (was it ever true)?

This will factor fairly heavily into whether I order a Studio 15 with the dedicated card or not.

Thanks.

 

It's not that the function is disabled. It was never enabled or built for in the first place. Switchable graphics isn't a feature that will be enabled just because a processor happens to have an onboard GPU

 

I guess 'disabled' may not be the correct word depending on the specific reasons why a Dell laptop doesn't allow users to access the technology.

ATI says it is up to the notebook vendor to 'enable' the technology, but what is limiting Dell's capacity, or desire, to do so? It certainly isn't the fully-Switchable-Graphics-compatible hardware combination of the Intel i5 CPU (with IGP) and ATI HD5470 graphics card.

Bottom-line: built-in hardware technology that is not available to the end-user due only to Dell's decisions to disallow end-users to take advantage of the technology, whether we label it ' disabling' or ' not enabling', ultimately seems like a waste.

Thanks for the response. It is appreciated.

 

Don't single out Dell. Not every manufacturer is incorporating switchable graphics into their laptops across their product lines, and they're certainly not doing it retroactively. It's a new technology that's not going to be universal. If you really want it, you may need to pay a slight premium.

FWIW, Dell does offer switchable graphics, at least on the m11x

 

Yes. I guess it did sound harshly directed at Dell, but only because that is the vendor I'm considering buying from at the moment.

Whether this is new technology might be debatable, though, as it seems to have been around at least since Oct. 2008. That seems a long time in computerland:

ATI Quietly Enters Switchable Graphics Technology for Intel Centrino 2 Notebooks [UPDATED] - X-bit labs

Seems the reason may be more about differentiating product lines as opposed to newness or cost / effort of enabling the technology in any laptop sold with both an IGP and dedicated card inside, hence it's available in the Alienware line as you pointed out.

Nevertheless, the more moderate tone of your comment is appreciated and probably more appropriate.

Thanks.

 

You might be able to enable the intel IGP:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...-have-switchable-graaphics-2.html#post6519819

Will it be useful, probably not.