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

ah, I'd love it NOT to switch, so that would be fine with me. But I see the 73 is a 17". I need to get a 15.

 

The 460m is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the 6770M.

However it will run HOTTER and use more BATTERY LIFE, and in general models with a 460M will be BIGGER.

The ASUS G53 has a 460M and is one of the better 15" laptops available. You shouldn't pay more than $1300 or so for a capable G53.

P.S. I'm not even a computer expert but unlike certain lazy people in this forum I do research on the advanced web site called google.com.

 

Ah, size is not a problem for me. I prefer 17" laptops anyway
Also thanks to Kalookakoo and Kahn20 for clearing that up for me. After much thought, I will go ahead and return the HP and get an Asus instead because I'd rather not have to worry about the "is this game running on the 6770m" issue every time I try to play a game.

 

Not to change your decision, but you would definently know if the game was using the dedicated graphics or not! On the integrated card, I get 5 FPS on Starcraft2, with the dedicated, I get 50... I can notice the difference.

 

Curious...I was just poking around the HP software on my dv7t and in HP Support Assistant under Graphics, Video and Display the 6770 is greyed out. Only the Intel HD shows any info....that good? bad?...lol Just mean the Intel HD is the one being used?

 

Thanks so much for this information. Do you mind posting the email?

 

I think I may end up just keep this laptop rather than hunt for another bigger rig. I should then just get a desktop that can blaze through video editing. I only see myself using Photoshop for 2D image editing and then games. I can hope for the fix as well.


Meanwhile, I am pestering the heck out of HP Customer Service, Resolutions Department, and now the Tech Department. Hopefully, I can get even some monetary credit for the lack of this function. What an oversight by these fools especially AMD who makes graphics products. And I don't HP is entirely to blame since they didn't make the dynamic Power Xpress drivers; however, some moron should have thought that maybe our customers might use products needing OpenGL support.

 

Some 'news' from AMD tech support. It took them 3 days, but finally I got a pretty long and detailed email, a refreshing experience in comparison to the HP "emails".
I had 3 questions for AMD, and I dumped here some of the more important bits:
-----
1. Why manual swithcing between the two video cards does not work, unlike in the HP DV6 6000 systems where it dos (even though that practically has the same configurations as the DV6 61000)?

Generally, AMD sources the graphics processor (ASIC) for the Mobility Radeon HD 6770M and HP provides the reconstructed HP OEM driver, BIOS and software to manipulate automatic switching when required. Please be advised that the software application to perform graphics switching is sourced by HP.

2. Did AMD change the implementation of its technology so swithcing now is not avilable no matter what for the 6100 series?

Please be advised that switching technology is designed by AMD Manufacturers -- Acer, Apple, ASUS, DELL, Diamond Multimedia, Gigabyte, HIS Digital, HP, Lenovo, PowerColor, Sapphire Technology, SONY, Toshiba, VisionTek, XFX -- and therefore, AMD is not involved with the technology, whether BIOS or drivers used for switchable graphics. [then there is a link to the the 11.5 CCC release notes] which states that:
"The following notebooks are not compatible with this release:
- Any notebook launched after this driver release
- Switchable Graphics enabled notebooks using Intel® chipsets.
- Toshiba® notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)
- Sony® VAIO® notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)
- Panasonic® notebooks (please contact the notebook OEM for driver support for these notebooks)

Probably I am missing something obvious, but I don't get:
1. why HP is not specifically listed (so what is so different/special with the other 3 manufacturers listed specifically?)
2. why the Radeon 6770m series is not listed, while many others (e.g. 6300m, 6800m, 6900m etc) are?
3. it seems a bit vague to state that "Switchable Graphics enabled notebooks using Intel® chipsets" will simply not be supported by Catalyst which is what HP tweaks into their driver releases? At least that is my understanding.

3. Does the AMD technology support the full, unrestricted use of the Radeon card for any OpenGL applications? Yes or no? If no, why not? Is it theoretically possible that a firmware/driver update can fix this issue soon?

Please be advised that the Mobility Radeon HD 6770M provides full OpenGL 4.1 support for applications based on the OpenGL API as described here.

This seems true, also supported by this article.
And since "OpenGL releases are backwards compatible" ( wikipedia) then I think it is fair to conclude that:
- any sort of fix (BIOS/driver, CCC update) should (and hopefully will!) come from HP
- it's good that there is no 'hardwired' limitation built in the newer 6100 series regarding OpenGL support

Then the email went on advising me to use the latest HP drivers.

While I am aware of the most basics, I am not a hardout tech geek, so this info was very informative for me, while many of you are probably know these stuff already
I think now HP is working hard behind the scenes to get things sorted out, but I would not just sit back and wait, so lets keep up the pressure...
Any comments/thoughts?

 

Dave have you looked at the MSi Force 16f2 on xoticpc.com? its a 15" laptop and is priced very well

compared to the dv6t, its a bit thicker and heavier obviously (as would any gtx 460m/560m machine) but price wise, it isn't too much more

 

Just out of curiousity...does Device Manager show both GPU's, and if so, is it possible to disable the Intel graphics so that, at least theoretically, all programs would have to use the 6770? How about disabling the 6770, and having the Intel handle graphics exclusively...is that possible?

 

Don't disable the 6770...lol It reverts to like 640x480 or something like that I'm running a 24" LCD monitor and it was rather funny.

 

Well verification that it is not a hardware issue alone is good news to me and justifies keeping the laptop in my eyes.
I must insist though that if you have not yet, Please file a complaint with the BBB against HP. That is the surest way possible to get our concerns heard as I stated a few pages back in another post. They have an A+ rating and over 7000 cases filed against them. That means that whenever somebody files a case against them they tend to fix/address the concern

It's not that hard people. It literally takes less than 5 minutes.

http://sanjose.bbb.org/business-rev...rvices/Hewlett-Packard-in-Palo-Alto-CA-207934

 

A quick BBB question. Shall I file my complaint under:

"Advertising / Sales Issues" - because it is indeed false advertising not mentioning anywhere the lack of OpenGL support
or rather:
"Problems with Product / Service" - since on top of the advertising issue, it seems that they knowingly screwed OpenGL support up, ie. changed the technology supplied by AMD that DOES support OpenGL into one that DOES NOT...who got those bright ideas at HP???

Or can I launch multiple complaints simultaneously?

 

@ otacon:
Odd...the Intel GPU must be rated for a higher native resolution than that, esp. since it can drive a 1080 laptop screen. Are you able to adjust the resolution above 640x480? How about disabling the Intel and letting the 6770take control? If this is possible, it might be a temporary work-around to address the Open GL problem, etc.

 

Good point, i should try this.\

This another email i got from HP about the issue, apparently they do not know about the issue as other have said.

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

From your email, I understand that your notebook’s switchable graphics are not working properly.



I am glad that you have forwarded your concern to us and have given me an opportunity to assist you. I understand your concern and I will do my best to assist you in this regard.



?????, I would to inform you that this is not a know issue. Please follow the steps given below to resolve or isolate the issue:



Step 1:- Uninstall and Reinstall graphics driver



(a) First uninstall the driver by perform the below steps:

1. Click Start.
2. Go to Settings and click Control Panel.
3. Double click on Programs and features; select the AMD High-Definition Graphics Driver.
4. Click Remove Button.
5. Follow the on screen instructions.
6. Click apply and click ok.

After uninstalling the audio driver, I request you to download and install the AMD High-Definition Graphics Driver by visiting the below website:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp53001-53500/sp53025.exe

Installation Instructions:

1. Download the SoftPaq .exe file to a directory on your hard drive.
2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.

(b) First uninstall the driver by perform the below steps:

1. Click Start.
2. Go to Settings and click Control Panel.
3. Double click on Programs and features; select the Intel High-Definition (HD) Graphics Driver.
4. Click Remove Button.
5. Follow the on screen instructions.
6. Click apply and click ok.

After uninstalling the audio driver, I request you to download and install the Intel High-Definition (HD) Graphics Driver by visiting the below website:

ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp52001-52500/sp52473.exe

1. Download the SoftPaq .exe file to a directory on your hard drive.
2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 2:- Reinstall Power Management



To reinstall Power Management, follow these steps:



1. Press Start, hold it and press R. This will show the Run option.

2. Type sysdm.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.

3. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.

4. Click the plus (+) sign next to System Devices.

5. Right-click the ACPI Fixed Features button and select Uninstall.

6. Restart the system.



On next restarting the notebook, Windows will automatically detect and install Power Management on the notebook.



Step 3:- BIOS update



Please go to the link given below to download and install the latest BIOS:



Note: - Please connect your notebook to the AC adapter before updating the BIOS:



ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp53001-53500/sp53216.exe



Note: Clicking the link may give an error indicating that it is invalid. If this occurs, copy the link and paste it on the address bar in your browser until the complete address is displayed in the address box.



Installation Instructions:

1. Download the SoftPaq .exe file to a directory on your hard drive.

2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions.



Please visit the link given below to get information about how to configure ATI mobility radeon switchable graphics:



How to Configure ATI Mobility Radeon Switchable Graphics HP Pavilion dv6t-6100 CTO Quad Edition Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)



Note: Clicking the link may give an error indicating that it is invalid. If this occurs, copy the link and paste it on the address bar in your browser until the complete address is displayed in the address box.

This should resolve the issue. If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.

For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our website
at:
HP - United States | HP Total Care

Sincerely,

Ray

 

BBB complaint filed. Took a little more than 5 minutes, but I really gave them quite a bit of reading material .

 

Nah, that is the typical scripted, email that they just probably made through templates, adding some copy-paste to it...
In my experience, only after email #13 when they started to take me a bit more seriously. Don't be shy to be a bit agressive, as showing frustration may trigger action. The latest development is that they "have been working on the issue". I also forwarded the recent email I got from AMD (posted here previosuly) so HP can't blame AMD.

Customer service is pretty much like psychological warfare. In the first email they'll try to make you feel so smart about "your excellent choice"; well, that's what ads do, too. Then they try to make you feel that there is no problem, or that your issue is really the "first" complaint in that regard thus downplaying the problem by planting the the feeling that it may be YOU who were not doing something right. Finally, they may suggest that you send your particular laptop for a customized fix.
It is much harder to address the structural problem, ie. it affects much more people that they'd like to acknowledge.

And don't even get me started on the review "feature" avilable (?) on the main HP site... my negative review posted 5 days ago will never show up, no doubt.

Our job is to hammer them mercilessly, make noise everywhere (dont just post on this forum alone), and use all means necessary to get them provide solution/fix for their mistakes.
Companies make mistakes. But it is indeed good customer service with effective communication that separates good companies from the rest.

That is why turning to the BBB option suggested by others is probably the best we've got now.

 

Amnesia: The Dark Descent does NOT work. It does not detect the Radeon. Also, I noticed that the Radeon does not usually switch unless you are running a 3d script in an application. In order to get it running I tried to enable the radeon to override application settings on the basic video option under Video in Catalyst. It shows up under HWINFO64 but I dont think it is actually in use...

 

Just something to try. Go into device manager and you will see two graphics cards. The AMD HD 6770 and the Intel Graphics 3100. Right click on the Intel and choose to Disable. Reboot. Because you disabled it...it should not re-install itself...and you should be running on the ATI card. Now try Dark Descent again...does it work???

 

I did not restart the pc due to the lack of time. It did not work, Dark Descent recognized some GDI generic driver or something and it failed to run. the Window manager also was at a terrible resolution

 

Disabling the intel, and then restarting, result for me for no graphics card to be read. It said there was no amd driver.

 

Ray, HP really is clueless. Looks like not much has changed in the past month, with regards to the lack of understanding HP exhibits over this issue. One thing they ARE good at is wasting their customers' time.

 

And you are sure that the AMD drivers are installed? That is very odd, indeed. The generic graphics you are seeing, seem to be from the AMD...since the Intel is disabled.

 

When are people going to understand that until (if) a revamped driver is created, NO amount of screwing around with current drivers is going to do a bit of good. disabling the Intel doesn't work. Reinstalling doesn't work. reformatting the HDD and starting over doesn't work. NOTHING will fix this issue until HP releases a NEW, working driver.

 

Right Bobmitch...most likely a driver needs to be installed, primeboss. I believe that if the Intel is disabled, and video is showing on the screen, then it must be from the 6770...there is no other way for the video to be displayed. Perhaps the stock AMD driver...which I beleive is the one some users have had no luck installing...could then be installed? If not, then I'd give the HP driver a try.

 

I'm honestly not to sure if you can file multiple complaints at once but i'd file under "Problems with Product" because that deals with the bigger picture. There's nothing stopping you from mentioning the false advertising in your complaint though because they're pretty much forced to read it.

What would be great is if more people file complaints that way some can file under false advertising and the others under problems with product. If we do that then there really is no way for HP to ignore us and not address the problem.

 

I can think of one other thing to try. I am awaiting the arrival of the new model dv7t...but I do have a new Sandy Bridge Envy 17 3D. Perhaps modding the latest drivers for the Envy might work. If you know the .ini file to mod...you can change 6850M to 6770M and install the drivers for the Envy on the Pavillion. That might work...and in fact...I have the latest drivers installed and switchable graphics works fine. The right click menu still has the manual changing of the cards and CCC has it too...

Get them here:

AMD High-Definition Graphics Driver HP ENVY 17t-2000 CTO 3D Edition Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

Run the installer...let it uncompress to a folder. In the folder, look under ATI\Packages\Drivers\Display\W76A_INF There you will find a setup info .ini file named C7110444. Search for 6850M. Every time you find a 6850, change it to 6770...this will mod the drivers to install with the 6770. Save on exit and reinstall the drivers. Now you should have a working set of drivers that will install on the Pavillion and hopefully with still fully working switchable graphics...

 

I doubt we will ever see the day when the BBB will force a PC mfgr to fix a bad graphics driver. I'm not sure at this point, that HP (or AMD) has the know-how to make switchable graphics function correctly since the big change from the 6000 to the 6100.

 

I am new here, but Dave your attitude doesn't seem to be very helpful. Just an observation.

So I am curious what is it that YOU think we the consumer should be doing about the issue?

And what have you done so far?

 

I will give it a try in the mourning

 

I'm pretty sure you have know way of knowing that man. Besides, I went to your thread and did what you asked which was email HP and complain even though I knew that was the most pointless thing we could do because the chances of the people reading them relaying them was zip.

I'm not saying we're going to get a fix from HP or anything but we have two options here.

1. Get HP to acknowledge that there is a problem and hopefully fix it.

or

2. Try to fix it ourselves.
But seeing as all of us here have busy lives and the issue doesn't affect most people enough for them to spend hours upon hours trying to fix, it seems highly unlikely.


Therefore I choose option 1.
Once again, if you've read any of my other posts or went to HP's BBB rating you'd see that they have an A+. I'm not even going to explain what that means for the 5th time in this thread as i'm sure you've seen my other posts.

We may not get a fix from HP but we sure as hell will be heard if all of us file a complaint. That's really all there is to it.

 

I've sent mine back, because 23 days ago, HP wasted most of a day trying to resolve the issue. I've been in contact with HP off and on and they still don't have a solution, so all the talk here is for naught. Oh, and I emailed the CEO, I complained on the official HP site, and detailed the problem to no less than four people at HP, besides the emails. Other than THAT, I've done nothing...

Other than hold a gun to HP's "head" I've tried my best to get them to fix this issue so that ALL OF US can enjoy this laptop.

 

one person claims to have received a phone call from HP as a direct result of sending an email to "the CEO" office. that's a start.

 

I honestly mean no offense or anything man, but if you figure things are hopeless at this point then why are you still here?

You already went through the hassle of returning your laptop and i'm sure you already received your refund right now.

There are plenty of other options out there for you to choose from. The HPDV6 clearly is not going to satisfy you at this point.

 

OK, well that's momentum then. Gives you all the more reason to file a BBB complaint, to keep it going.

 

First of all, it was easy as pie to return TWO laptops. returned them the same day. printing a label is easy. fedex drop off is about 4-5 blocks from my house. biggest issue is the wasted time troubleshooting with HP, which knows less than I do (not bragging, not being rude--simply true). They kept doing things via remote control that I knew were pointless, but I had to watch helplessly as the hours ticked by because with all the reboots, I had to be right there at my laptop as they messed around with it. they repeated some of the things I tried out of desperation. I told them many times, "i'd already tried that", but you know how that goes--they have to see for themselves.

oh, my refunds (over $2,500) were issued the day I sent back the 2 laptops. like I said, HP's refund process is easy.

i'm here because i hope to see that a fix is here, so I can reorder. at some point I'll give up but Im not that eager to get a different model, so I'm still hopeful. that hopefulness doesn't include any hope that by some miracle, without new drivers released, that someone here is going to get the current drivers to work. AMD/HP needs to make the fix.

 

Yeah, it probably is not in use even when you force it in Catalyst. Amnesia is an OpenGL game and the dynamic switching can't handle it on the Radeon even if it wants to. It will default to the IGP every time.

 

If you have WinRAR, you can extract the contents to a folder named ATI and then find the file...mod it and see if it works. All AMD drivers...if you downloaded from ATI...the installer would include ALL model names. HP just pairs it down to the specific card they are dealing with. So we pair it back up to the 6770M. I have had to mod ATI drivers before...and early on, HP didn't release too many Nvidia drivers, either. I modded all the time...until Nvidia started supporting notebook graphics cards on their own. Wish AMD would do the same...issue is now switchable graphics...what a pain it must be to write drivers

 

As another means of pressuring HP/AMD, in the gaming thread or a separate one start a list of programs including games that cannot work on the current dynamic setup. Submitting a list of commonly used software by the users might give them another reason to fix this issue.

OpenGL probably doesn't mean anything to the dumb reps who chat online or answer the phone, but communicating that commonly used software is not working right or at all is something more practical. Dave1812 might seem to complain to much, but if the rest of you sit back hoping that HP will release the driver fix, then it probably will never happen because the HP morons will less than likely read this forum. It would be just a bunch of educated people talking amongst themselves while the goofs will continue to remain aloof.

And to reiterate, the HP tech support staff are dumbfacks...period. They must read from a manual rather than understand the machine they are servicing. When even non-advanced users can tell you that reinstalling drivers won't change the fact that the switchable option won't be different and the response is well we only have 2 options: repair or reinstall, you are dumber than.... Rather than have them waste hours of your life, refer them to the threads here and say repeating other people's failures won't help. Get there case manager/supervisor who I will speak with tomorrow.

 

They get it fixed tomorrow or this Fall I don't care. The laptop does what I need it to do. I'm not a gamer and I use Photoshop for 2D stuff only. I worked with a few RAW photos tonight with no issue at all. I did what everyone else has tried, uninstalled, wiped the drivers, reinstalled, etc. Until HP or AMD releases a fix we just have to wait. Maybe the Linux guys can come up with something but I'm not going to stress over it. When I come close to my 21st day I'll re-evaluate things but at this point I have no reason to send it back.

 

Hi Guys,
I am new to this forum but before buying my notebooks, I used to take help from here. I bought two similar notebooks models are 6011tx and 6107tx. Both are hp pavilion dv6.

1. 6011tx have option to change the graphics from intel to amd and vice versa when ever you want to but while changing. It flikrs alot. Is there any problem to Flicker or is it a normal behaviour.

2. 6107tx have automatic switching from intel power saving to amd high performance. I just have to set it, however its screen never Flicker and the notebook is quite intelligent.

3. I have never seen, both of the notebook moving up than 2.0Ghz. Even while gaming.

Do let me know your responses. Thank you.

 

Any of you guys asked this guy for help over at Guru3D or tried his drivers? Modified ATI Catalyst 11.2 Switchable Graphics Driver - Guru3D.com Forums Dunno if its any use to u Dynamic Switching guys......

 

Otacon, you seem to be like a reasonable mate here so far. It's fair enough that the DV61xx is 'good enough' for you at the moment so you don't plan to do much other than "just wait".
Still, a degree better would be if you could join the few of us here who have been pushing HP hard. Even that does not guarantee achieving anything; but at least we try.
I presume it's hard work for HP to fix up this mess, so of course they are reluctant to allocate resources for that purpose. Because that is costy.
And they can hide behind the 'only a few people are having some issues' excuse-argument.
HP's attitude would/might change ONLY if enough number of people compain, and do that 'properly', i.e. BBB.

Your post actually can be used perfectly for HP to justify the waiting-it-out strategy, so it is rather unhelpful in this thread.
I suggest you start a new thread and title it something like "DV6/DV7 is good as it is, don't wanna bother" or something alike.

This thread is *still* about the issues around "dV6T/7 switchable graphics". These problems have not disappeared yet. It is perhaps best to keep this therad for complaints, sharing experiences, and reporting on some progress if/when they happen.

Finally, I am not sure if you realize this, but your post also promotes a sort of 'free-rider' attitude. It's almost like a slap in the face for those who have been trying to get HP do something.

I understand that you just recently got your laptop and you are happy, still in the honeymoon stage. I agree that it is indeed a good system. But it could be even much better if the problems are addressed properly. By HP, not by others. There are no linux guys. It is only LLStarks working on the driver modification front alone, extremely unselfishly.

So please reconsider next time you post. The best would be to see you support us

The good thing about this thread that the isolated individal, selfish efforts (after all, we just want to get our laptop fixed first, that's all) really have the potential to benefit a larger comminity, including those future buyers who weeks/months from now will get a system that works perfectly, and they may not have a clue about what it took for us to get there. And that's awesome...

 

I did not know about that. I have tried many drivers, so why not another one? I am at work but will try it when I get home.
Did you have a chance to check Photoshop in your system?
Sorry, I do not mean to hassle you or anything, just asking. It would be useful to know.

 

i have show this page on my previous post.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...tchable-graphics-post7597914.html#post7597914

I have tried but its not work on my hp 6020st

 

Yea just tried it. Works fine. Says detected video card: ATi Technologies 6700m etc etc, then gives me options for OpenGL.

 

Wait so the modified driver you posted works? You have dv6t qe 6100?

Also Alien9 made a new driver for switchable graphics for 11.6

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22674757/ATI_11.6_W7x64_Alien9_switchable_v3.exe

I am at work right now, so can one test, else i will test in around 2 hours

 

No dude, look at my sig. I own a manual switching DV6-6027TX i7. Was just testing for another user if it works for the Manual switch users

 

What can I do to make this dv7 use the ATI 6770 card? I have tried almost everything that I know to make it kick in but according to HWiNFO64 it is never in use. Everything is set to high performance in the CCC. Do I have to download a game to see that it works? What game will force it to work so that I can confirm that the card does indeed work? Is there a free game that I can use here as I am not a gamer but would like to know that this card at least works.

 

Download | Unigine (advanced 3D engine for multi-platform games and virtual reality systems) Download that. Its the Unigine "Heaven" Directx11 benchmark(229mb download). Put it on DirectX 11 and bench it. It will soon show u if its working or not...The IntelHD only supports DX10