dv6t-61XX / dv7t-61XX Switchable Graphics Discussion

yes the 555m is a real discrete card. Optimus is basically nvidia's method of switching between the dedicated card and the intel gpu. nvidia is a bit ahead of AMD in this switching department. powerwise, the 6770m and 555m are around the same

 

Not quite. The 555M in that particular model is crippled with a 128-bit GDDR3 bus which means its memory bandwidth is half that of the 6770M. They're about even for scenarios where memory bandwidth is not important, but you will take a major hit in 3D gaming at 1920x1080 with the settings turned up. Of course, it's still a lot better than Intel's integrated graphics so if you need OpenGL and don't want to risk waiting for HP and AMD to get their act together, that laptop is certainly an option.

Actually, it's always been this way with ATI/AMD and Nvidia: ATI/AMD offers cheaper and better hardware, but their drivers are plagued with issues such as this one. People thought that they've gotten better, but as this thread shows, that is clearly not the case.

 

oh i didn't realize that there were different versions of the 555m

but regarding the plagued drivers, the dv6/7 were advertised with dynamic switching and AMD says dynamic switching isn't compatible with openGL programs. so it's not really plagued drivers, we just don't have the feature to choose dynamic or manual yet.

 

That's an awfully blanket statement. Yes, the Sager with the 555m has GDDR3 memory, however the MSI GX680 below it has GDDR5, its just a matter of being sure you select the correct laptop with the correct options.

In terms of ATI and their drivers. I've never quite understood the animosity towards them. I've had quite a number of ATI cards back since the RAGE 3D. Sure back then they werent great, but none were, not even the 'almighty' nvidia. Believe me, I remember the drivers for cards such as the Voodoo, Voodoo2 and Voodoo Banshee.

Since my X800XL I have had no issues with ATI and their drivers, my buddy had a 9800Pro which also ran (and is actually still running) flawlessly. (Since then I've owned the X800XL, X850XT, Radeon Mobility X1400, Radeon 4850, Radeon 5870, Radeon 6650m, Radeon 6770m (briefly in my dv7), Radeon 6870m) I've had no issues until this switchable graphics garbage started. Even then, the Alienware I am on now has manual switching graphics and it works great, its simply a case of poor or immature implementation of the dynamic switching. So the blanket statement of saying that ATI has poor drivers is just entirely untrue.


And dave, I know you're out to attack everyone on this board, but I was being quite general. I said 'some arent' not 'all arent'. There are a number of very good machines there and elsewhere that cost no more than the HPs we all bought and may give different options.

EDIT:

Btw most options with the Geforce 555m or lower will have Optimus, and many of the options with higher end cards will as well. Also, the MSI Force16F2 laptop on the line below the Sager with the 555m (Sager NP5175) is only $30 more and has the GTX460m which is better than the 555m

 

Btw most options with the Geforce 555m or lower will have Optimus, and many of the options with higher end cards will as well. Also, the MSI Force16F2 laptop on the line below the Sager with the 555m (Sager NP5175) is only $30 more and has the GTX460m which is better than the 555m[/QUOTE]


Indeed, I have been playing a bit on xoticpc and put together this laptop:

FORCE 16F2 / MSI 16F2
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- 10,240MB (10GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (1x4GB 3x2GB)
- 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s)
- 4X Blu-Ray Reader + 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Advanced-N 6205 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module

all this is for $1234.

I think now I'll be getting real serious about getting rid off the HP I received last week. And I'll let HP and AMD know aboutt this as well. Actually, when choosing the laptops at xoticpc, I run the search based on the video card. Strange that I'll have to adjust all the other things in a laptop to the video card so I'll get the feautures I want in a laptop, and working in the way I want...

Any thoughts on this configuration? I don't want to waste too much time, just want to get a strong lappy that will serve me for the next few years

I thought I have done my research before getting the DV6 but I was let down by both HP and AMD. HP is sneaky letting customers believe that they get a real dedicated card, when in fact there are limitations, listed in the fine prints on AMD... They should be sued for this... Anyway, probably they'll just get away with this.

 

I receive an error when attempting to run aticonfig: No supported adapters detected.
The driver is installed and I am able to turn the 6770m on and off by using the ACPI Call Module here ---> Linux Hybrid Graphics: Using acpi_call module to switch on/off discrete graphics card in Linux
I am confused...

 

I have a dv7t - 6000 and it incorporates the manual switching for the GPU's. I ran OpenGL Extentions Viewer and in testing the different versions of OpenGL it reported between 312 and 406 FPS. It also validated the ATI GPU as the current video card. I have also run Furmark as well and it too reports OpenGL compatibility.

 

edit: oops double posted sorry

 

just so you know, you'll need to purchase windows 7 as well if you don't already have something u can put on there because it doesn't come with it by default

also laptops with gtx 460m/560m are like twice as thick and weigh a few pounds more in most cases (especially Asus) for a gain of 20-40% in gpu power

i honestly don't mind my 170fps iin starcraft 2 on low xD

 

did you just reply to yourself ?

 

no lol it says it is but i just didnt feel like editting it..that quote is a gobbled mess

 

Can I suggest that everyone here complaining about the HP laptop go to HP website and post a review with 1 star rating (I did that myself). This may catch HP's attention.

 

Awesome idea! will do.

 

All comments have to approved and I doubt they will be.

 

Hmmm how did you get that from what I said? Anyways, yea I have OpenGL & OpenCL functionality as reported by Geeks3D GPU caps viewer. As for the photoshop test, if i get time i will check it for u

 

Dynamic switchable graphics are a terrific concept but have been seriously disappointing in execution, both from AMD and NVIDIA. I've now been burned twice by Optimus (once with the top notebook in my signature and the other being an M11x R2), and it looks like a lot of folks here aren't having much success on the AMD side of things.

There are only two current-generation notebooks I know of that have mid-range GPUs and no switching: the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460p and Y560p. Unfortunately, IdeaPads are not built to nearly the same standard as ThinkPads, which is something I also learned the hard way. I would have less of a problem with switchable graphics if it was all manual, like how it was on the Alienware M11x R1 or the very first Sandy Bridge HP dv6t notebooks.

I'm personally done with these feature regardless of how it's implemented. I'll take the loss of battery life if I'm not spending my time pulling out my hair making sure all my games work properly.

 

reboot and give vga_switcheroo a try. it's a part of ubuntu control center and makes it graphic switching rather easy. it might work.

Ubuntu Control Center 0.6.1 Released ~ Web Upd8: Ubuntu / Linux blog

 

vga_switcheroo was not functioning in opensuse so I may give this a try-if it is native (btw ew ubuntu and unity). I am not so experienced as to know how to build a kernel lol. If this works flawlessly and wine will run office, adobe cs5, and a few games(assassin's creed) then I will become a permanent convertee.


I just got off the phone with HP and asked for a driver update so that the manual switching would be possible, I talked to someone who seemed to know what he was talking about and he escalated the case to his supervisors giving me a case number and them my phone.

 

I forgot to address you. I mean to write to you as it seems that maybe only those -like yourself - with the manual option still on can check whether actual OpenGL applications can work in practice. That AMD fine print confused me, i.e. who is to blame more, HP or AMD...

And yeah, I am more interested in real results rather than relying on some 'benchmarks'

Thanks for checking it out if you have time.

 

Looks good, although 10 gig of ram is an odd number. Configured like it is with 3x2 gig and 1x4 gig you'll not have the best performance you could have. Admittedly it probably wont be noticeably lower, but when you're paying for a high end laptop like that you should choose the options that give the best performance.

I would honestly recommend the 2x4 gig + 2x2 gig (12 gb) config over that then if you really want more (its too bad that their 8 gig is 4x2gig), although I'd still recommend the 8 gig option over the 10 gig.

So you might go ahead and consider the 6 or 8 gig options (with 6 you'd only be removing 1 sodimm if you upgraded to something higher yourself, sure you'd sacrifice some performance at the start, but its cheaper out of the gate and you can wait for some ram to go on sale at Newegg), with 8 gig it'd be fully matched 2 gig pairs, and honestly you wont be able to tell the difference between 8 and 10 gig.

As someone else mentioned, dont forget that the config does not include Windows, however if you have a copy yourself or you're a student you can get it far cheaper than they'll sell it to you.

I must have missed something in your config cause I cant get it to the price you mentioned.



Other than that, it looks pretty good.

 

You may want to consult this.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HybridGraphics

 

Hi guys..............firstly............................i wanna thank this entire community for the brilliant work you guys put in ...day in and day out...............its amazing the way you guys work together to sort out issues....................i look to be a part of it and would like to my contribute my .1% of knowledge on a regular basis.........anyways coming to my question

I have a 1000$ budget for a laptop and i shortlisted the dv6t cause the deal was fantastic ..........update the 33% coupon is gone but the 375 $ discount seems still attractive..........anyways.............now this thread has been on for a long time with the radeon 6770 and switchable graphics issue............my question is should i go for this ........my usage would include.......usual browsing..........networking (i am into networking) , photoshop - am into photography .....running up virtual machines - multiple of these.........and finally gaming..........i do have a ps3 ...which am gonna do most of my gaming..but i like the odd game on my system - specefically fifa and black ops...........so do u guys recommend this system for me ..considering you cannont mannually switch the graphics..............also would you recommend going for the 1920*1080p screen - i heard radeon dosent work with it all ?? is that true??? also the 1368*720 p .........screen............how bad is that.........cant i use that or would you recommend going for a 1080p screen?
or would you guys suggest the dell xps 15 with the nvidia 540m considering i do game a little bit?
Also apologies if this isnt the most relevant topic..........but i think its relevant cause the only thing thats stopping me from buying the dv6t is the 6770 radeon

 

.............................

 

hahaha, ohh wittynorseman..............[pun]......you're so witty

 

joshjb, can you also test the latest catalyst driver?

there might be a switching option

also, post in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...erstand-fix-dynamic-graphics-61xx-series.html

 

If you are a professional photographer and use Photoshop extensively, I would stay away, as the main victim of graphics switching is OpenGL.

If you still go for this laptop, I would highly recommend the 1080p upgrade unless you really can't afford it. The 1080p is also a matte screen instead of glossy. This means there is no glare or reflections, and it does not have the artificial color boost of most glossy screens, so it will more closely resemble what an image would look like on print.

The 540M is a much weaker card than the 6770m. If you do go for the XPS, be sure to upgrade to the 555M. Actually, I see only the XPS 17 has the 555M as an option. If you'd be willing to go with the bigger screen (better for photo/video work and gaming anyway), I would recommend doing so.

 

Don't some games like Starcraft II and Left for Dead 2 use OpenGL? Wouldn't those games like fail without the switchable AMD 6770m?

 

From most reviews i've read Starcraft 2 works very well on it.

 

Sorry, I just dropped by this thread. So now the dv6/dv7 have automatic switchable graphics that fail just as bad as nvidia's initial optimus?

So exactly what popular programs don't trigger a switch to the 6770m? Examples?

 

StarCraft II does not use OpenGL. Furthermore, the games that do use it will not fail, they'll just run on Intel's graphics. This is not ideal because the discreet card is much more powerful, but it is generally not catastrophic because these games tend to be not so GPU intensive in the first place. People say that they can still get 30FPS out of Minecraft with only a few settings turned down.

The people who really suffer from a lack of OpenGL are those who use professional applications based on it. These are GPU intensive and it is fairly common in graphical work (e.g. anything from Adobe).

 

I am not a professional photographer.....just into photography so I think the 080p screen is a must......would you recommend going for this laptop or is thr any other option out thr that I could consider.....dam hp when will u sort this out...

Also does the radeon not work with the 1080p (reported in hp forum) screen at all or does it?

 

This thread is really about the 6100, not the 6000. The 6100 is the one with dynamic switching.

 

BTW, even though I started this thread, I am really loving my laptop, and I find that dynamic works pretty darn well, with the exception of emulators and the other OpenGL stuff. I am confident though that it will be fixed. All others loving the power of their new HP sandy bridge, 6770, beast of a laptop with amazing heat dissipation, awesome screen and lightweight frame, and not to mention slick svelt design, give me an amen.

 

so would you advise me for going for this laptop...cause for the money this seems like the best laptop in the market....also does the 1080p screen and the radeon work ? cause i read on the hp forum ....that it does not ??
I noticed you have a 1080p screen so you seem to be the best person to ask this

 

The 1080p screen has absolutely nothing to do with this -- the only reason people associate it with the mess is that it showed up at the same time. If you buy a dv6-6100 laptop, you will have the same switchable graphics issues regardless of whether you have the 768p screen or the 1080p one. In either case, the Radeon graphics will work, but not for OpenGL.

 

+1, dynamic switching is certainly not the problem that some make it out to be, and if HP can restore the ability to also manually switch, then the OpenGL issues go away as well. We get the best of both worlds!

Personally, I don't find the Intel HD3000 lacking at all for Photoshop and it would probably be more than enough for Autocad as well. Check out the Cinebench scores on Notebookcheck. The HD3000 isn't a slouch by any means! It's on par with the GT540m in one of the OpenGL tests. No, I wouldn't want to rely on it for gaming, but for business applications that are as CPU intensive as GPU intensive, you're not going to have problems. How many recent games are really using OpenGL as well?

 

Trooper- Let me straighten you out. The 6700 works well with the HD screen on Directx applications that are auto selected by the CCC (GPU control center) as requiring to turn on the Radeon 6770 card. If your application is not notified that it should be using the 6770 it will use the intel card instead. OR if you use opengl applications then the program will default to the intel. card. This mainly effects high end business users for 3D design applications like CS 5.5, and autocad since these applications need a GPU with high processing power to work. Furthermore, currently even leaving Adobe CS 5.5 in Directx mode the graphics card is locked onto the intel card, further slowing down photoshop use.

Point blank, if you are planning on doing RAW video or photo editing, this laptop will be slower than an older model without dynamics switching.

And for the record the AMD 6770M is used on Macs with open gl support

 

I play SC2 maxed out at 1080p, and easily pull in 50fps using the 6770m. Crysis 2 also plays beautifully on the 6770m at 1080p. Don't believe everything you read... There are no problems using the 6770m at any resolution. Dynamic switching (ie. you can't manually select), and OpenGL support are really the only issues right now.

 

So in a nutshell are you guys planning to keep this laptop ...or are you guys planning to turn it in.............given the +ve feedback you guys have given...i intend to order this laptop with a 1080p screen

 

It also works with OpenGL for the manual switching HPs. That was an AMD limitation with dynamic switching, not HP, and it will impact Mac as well for any MBPs that use dynamic switching.

 

Overall, I think this computer is a decent machine. I don't use any openGL software, so I haven't had any issues with the dynamic switching.

However, I do think it's ridiculous that the 6770m cannot be used with openGL software currently, and if I was one of the people that needs to use photoshop, etc, I'd be very angry right now.

How good are that chances that AMD and/or hp release a driver that adds the manual switching option?

 

I would by it again if I was offered the choice. the 6770 works amazingly, but it just fails to kick in with OpenGL stuff, which is not all that common anyway. I think its the absolute best computer you can get for the price, and the 1080p screen is awesome.

 

The question is not whether they will release it, but if they can release it. It may be a hardware limitation. I would love if they did, given that I love screwing around with emulators. But if not, for $1000 dollars? C'mon, you ain't getting anything nearly as good.

 

I'm complaining up a storm right now to HP because if I/we don't it will never get fixed but yes I plan on keeping mine when it freakin gets here because it's stuck in customs right now thanks to HP.

 

Not sure what your complaining will do. You can bet that AMD is working to get the switching as flawless as possible. There is no way they are not aware that it does not work with CS5. This is their rep on the line, not HP. Once AMD gets this worked it will inevitably be pushed to HP and all others.

 

Oh I'm complaining to AMD too....I'm an equal opportunity complainer.

 

I was just in the HP Pavilion Display forum and someone suggested that we all "rank up" the negative reviews (dealing with the graphics issues). I tried doing that, as well as downranking customer reviews that were overly glowing. The problem is that HP reviews all of the "was this review helpful?" choices before placing the results on their site. HP can prevent negative reviews from showing up at the beginning of the list of reviews by gaming the "review helpful?" tally to make only the glowing reviews appear to be "helpful". thanks a lot, HP...

 

Since bigger guns yield more power, perhaps complaining to companies such as Adobe might be in order as well. Every potential sale of software that is limited by a hardware manufacturers shortsightedness is money lost. This should pertain to any commercial software that cannot use the dynamic switchable graphics.

 

I can't imagine a bigwig at Adobe picking up the phone, or sending an email, to contact either HP or AMD over this issue. (not that I want to discourage anyone from giving it a try)

 

I'll complain to anyone that accepts email..lol Just reported a "problem" to Adobe.