Switchable Graphics on Hp Laptops

How do you switch graphics card in Windows 7 on a switchable graphics machine (for example the dm4-1060ea)?

If I was to install Windows XP which graphics card would it detect? Could I disable the ATI graphics card in XP and just use the Intel?

 

Mine does it automatically on Windows (dv6 machine, but same processor and graphics card). When I'm plugged into an a/c outlet, I'm operating at performance. If I'm on battery power, I am on battery saving mode. If I plug/unplug, my power settings automatically switch me (provide I exit all programs). I can also go into the ATI control panel and override/switch.

 

You could also right click on the desktop, and there is a context link called "Configure Switchable Graphics", which let you change manually and the option to let it do it automatically.


It's the same one that SVTWannabe mentioned.

As for XP, it would detect the intel graphics first, then install a generic vga driver for the ATI. --The ATI card would be just always on, doing nothing based on my observation on the dv6t.

 

For XP, when you say it would always be on does it draw power? I take it both cards show up in device manager? XP would permanently use the Intel card then as it has no ability to switch (which would be fine for me in XP).

 

It would continue to draw power

 

You could always just run XP as a virtual machine on your Windows 7 install so you won't lose the ability to switch to the integrated gpu when you want.

 

Actually, that would drain the battery faster than using xp naively with both cards on.

 

Windows 7 has better power management options and you'll be able to run in integrated graphics with dedicated turned off. You'll have higher cpu usage due to the VM though.

Windows XP would have the dedicated gpu draining power while doing nothing. Wouldn't that offset the increase cpu usage of the VM?

 

You have to consider other factors like hard drive usage and higher heat generation.

 

Not sure what you mean by that. You'll have additional hard drive access booting up the VM but after that it's going to access the hd depending on what you do. Just because you have a VM running doesn't mean that is will access your hd constantly.

As for higher heat, you either have Win 7 along with a XP VM using cpu and integrated or have XP with cpu running along with integrated graphics and dedicated graphics running doing nothing. I would imagine the extra cpu load with the VM would cancel out the head generated by the dedicated gpu doing nothing.

 

It also depends upon the VM. I've seen some VMs use minimal CPU, and other VMs use up 100% CPU. This is for the host CPU, btw, where the guest VM was idle (yes, it's weird seeing the guest VM be at nearly 0% CPU, yet the host CPU is sucking 100% maintaining the guest).

 

I've used VirtualBox and VMWare Player. Both are nice applications for running virtual machines on a desktop environment. Their resource usage is minimal.

I ran a quick test on my laptop. Envy 14 i520 cpu with 6Gb RAM on idle running on integrated graphics.



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I then created a Unbuntu VM using VMWare Player and allocated one CPU core, 1Gb RAM and 10 GB HD space. Resource usage will be dependent upon what your doing of course, but the impact of running off a virtual machine isn't an issue.



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Yes, I'm sure that what you're seeing. I, too, have WinXP and Ubuntu VMs running under virtualbox on my dm4, and their CPU usage is minimal.

However, I have another system where a WinXP VM sucks up 100% host CPU, even though the guest VM CPU is at 0%. It's never bothered me enough to investigate it, as it's on a old quad-core desktop.