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

For the 100th time.

DirectX works 100%. OpenGL is the ONLY problem. 80+% of games use DirectX. Photo or video software tends to use OpenGL.

DONE.

 

thanks for the help! Will give it a try.

 

Done? Cool lets close this thread then, and ritually face palm anyone who dares ask such a question again

 

FSX is Direct X (one can use EITHER DX 9 or DX10). FSX does NOT work with the Radeon on the 6100, but works great on a 6000...

 

FSX works just fine on the first 6100 I have received... I thought we settled that.

 

no we didn't. it never worked on mine. send me yours and I won't have to beat you up.

 

ok I DL that and ran it and the benchmark said the graphics was the INTEL CHIP but for the first time I had HWiNFO64 show a current clock(MHz) reading of 775 for the ATI 6770 Card so I guess it is alive after all. I have never been able to get any indication that it worked at all. I suppose I feel better but it appears that this card is only going to be used by gamers as long as the dynamic graphics switching is in control. I could not get a pulse from it till I ran this. Thanks for the help!

 

When I run Heaven 2.5 on my Envy 17, and I KNOW that I am on the ATI card...Heaven still says Intel graphics. 3D Mark 11 also says the same thing, but I know my benchmarks...When running the ATI card, my 3D mark 11 is 1875. 3D Mark 11 refuses to run on the Intel card. Try the trial of 3D mark...if it runs...you know you are OK with the AMD/ATI card

 

I had a chance to try that as well. No luck. I am back on the latest original HP driver.

 

Are u using the factory driver from HP Bob? IceBlu was having the same issue with NovaBench reporting him using the IntelHD(even though he had manually set it too the 6770m) until he changed to the AMD Mobile Cats. I think its a common problem with the HP drivers misreporting.

 

..and don't forget people these are mobile GPUs you're benchmarking. I've seen many people complain they don't get high numbers on 3D Mark. You're not going to..lol My friend just built his new desktop with a Radeon HD 6990 and even with that 3D Mark 11 on extreme pushes the card to the limit and then some. As Bobmitch said, fire up 3D Mark 11, set it to "Performance" and if it runs trust me your 6770M is working..lol It's not going to be super smooth on Performance and forget about Extreme..lol

 

Thanks mate, sounds great! So if Photoshop, as an OpenGL appcilaction works fine on the 60xx series, then the problem is located in the changes HP made between the 60xx and the 61xx systems.
So it is indeed a major **** up for HP.

I just want to understand WHY they made such a stupid move. Nobody asked them to change but they did. Now many of us are asking HP to get back to what worked, but with no success yet...

In your experience, as a manual-switch user, are there ANY annoying issues while switching, i.e. flickerings, have to reboot each time after switch, system freezes, etc?

 

I had a 6000 with manual. worked great. just takes a few seconds for the change to occur. very simple. totally reliable.

 

Actually coming from a Alienware m11x r2, with optimus, the DV6-60xx series is pretty much a perfect implementation of manual switching. Miss a better screen(FHD) but meh, with all the dramas ppl are having I'm glad I got the DV6 I did.
As Dave says, the change is seemless, screen goes blank for about 1 sec then your good to go. 6770m powers down properly etc. Any system freezes I've had are from AMD/ATi graphics card drivers 'has recovered' errors, and thats an occasional glitch that all ATi(desktop or otherwise) users get.

 

List of Applications that do NOT work on the DV6 6100 - HP Support Forum

I started this thread on HP's forum. It is basically a copy and paste of Wikipedia's OpenGL list.

 

does anyone know why i can't update from 11.5 to 11.6? I downloaded the software suite and it says its not compatible. Catalyst Control Center 11.6 download (80mb) worked...but it still says that I have catalyst 11.5.

Also, anyone know when or if the dynamic switch will work with OpenGL anytime soon?

 

Do the integrated graphics work with openGL at all? I tried to run Minecraft on the integrated graphics and I get an openGL error, this-


Bad video card drivers!
-----------------------

Minecraft was unable to start because it failed to find an accelerated OpenGL mode.
This can usually be fixed by updating the video card drivers.



--- BEGIN ERROR REPORT 7fe0271 --------
Generated 6/24/11 4:08 PM

Minecraft: Minecraft Beta 1.6.6
OS: Windows 7 (x86) version 6.1
Java: 1.6.0_24, Sun Microsystems Inc.
VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (mixed mode), Sun Microsystems Inc.
LWJGL: 2.4.2
[failed to get system properties (java.lang.NullPointerException)]

org.lwjgl.LWJGLException: Pixel format not accelerated
at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsPeerInfo.nChoosePixelFormat(Native Method)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsPeerInfo.choosePixelFormat(WindowsPeerInfo.java:52)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.WindowsDisplay.createWindow(WindowsDisplay.java:185)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.createWindow(Display.java:311)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.java:856)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.java:784)
at org.lwjgl.opengl.Display.create(Display.java:765)
at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.a(SourceFile:287)
at net.minecraft.client.Minecraft.run(SourceFile:683)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
--- END ERROR REPORT ac566664 ----------


The point is, the old dv6tqe I returned did this too, right before it started blue-screening. Now I find out that this new HD screen peice of **** doesn't work either!? I'm starting to understand why one might buy a lower specced MacBook Pro over one of these for twice as much.... So does HP have any fixxes in the works or what?

 

Just as some basic reference, regardless of whether 6770m is at work, PCSX2 and Dolphin can emulate games at full speed - even with anti-aliasing.

PCSX2:

Spoiler

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Dolphin:


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EDIT:
6770m IS working. These emulators are much more CPU intensive than graphics intensive. Look at the MSI afterburner stats.


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You have 6000 (manual) or 6100 (dynamic)? If you have 6100 (dynamic) please explain how you get this to work?

 

Wow, your pcsx 2 with FFX-2 is oddly slow, I'm able to lock over 60+ fps (even the CGI) with dx11 3x upscaling with first preset with a 2630 with Nvidia GF 540m with Optimus.


To get it to work for your 6100, just add it to your high performance list either by right clicking the executable or by CCC.

 

pal version is limited at 50fps. the current fps is just slight deviation from speed, the actual emulation speed is 100% real time.

never mind. even with frame limit disabled the frame rate is still 45-50. i guess the frame rate is lower than yours for whatever reason.

 

We're making progress guys...

HP corporate called me today in response to a very angry/immature email I sent them the other day (good call on having us email corporate dave).

UNFORTUNATELY I was at work and didn't get a chance to answer. They did however leave me a message saying to call them back.

If I have time i'll call them tomorrow and see what is up.

 

I tried setting them to high performance, for at least dolphin it isnt working

 

The card will run hotter than the 6770, but the G73 has one of the best cooling system setups of any laptop period. EVERY review I read gave that laptop praise for extremely impressive cooling. It is not marketing hype.

 

Completely agree. Well said.

 

maybe the g73 has good performance, but it sure is god awful ugly LOL

 

When did Nvidia start doing this? Do you know the month/year?

 

Ha, never did happen... Tell it to my Asus UL80VT with the most up to date drivers (2009.) There is no support for early Optimus implementations ask the guys with a Dell/Alienware Mx11 and early Optimus. At least Asus put on a software switch to switch between IGP, GT 210M & dynamic switching, but using drivers this old kind of sucks. Both Asus and Nvidia dropped the ball.

 

I came very close to buying a G73 until I heard about the dv6/dv7s inheriting features from the Envy on Engadget's website back in Feb. I extensively researched the G73JH/JW/and then SW. I have done very little gaming on a PC/laptop for the past several years and enjoy my PS3 much more. I just wanted a laptop with serious muscle, because I intend to keep this one for 4 years or so.

I decided I wanted a very sleek, thin, sexy laptop with much better battery and was light. I got tired of my heavy fatter XPS M1710 after looking at it for 4 years!

 

Since the 5xx series, you can use the Nvidia drivers from the Nvidia site.

The first offical release was late of March of this year, but there were a few betas, a few months before.
Only ones that failed were models that their OEM supplier intervened by added their own type of switches instead of Nvidia's.

 

same here I looked at the DV6t QE but was discouraged by the low res screen, no back-lit keyboard and no slot load dvd. So I looked all around (envy 17, xps15-17, some stuff on xotic then came really close to buying the dell XPS 15Z but decided it was too weak and thought id feel like a poor little kid with a toy version of a Macbook pro LOL until finally I came full circle back to the DV6t after they added the 1080 screen and decided I could live without a back-lit keyboard and the tray drive would be fine.

the DV6t is an amazing package it looks nice and clean, light, thin, packs a lot of power and is affordable (especially with the 33% off coupon I used saving 640 ish bucks) honestly if it had a back-lit keyboard there would be no comparison it would be THE laptop to get.

also if they would fix the issue with the switchable graphics then it would still be one hell of a laptop. even without the back-lit KB. when I get mine next week (crosses fingers) ill check it out and once I actually have it in my possession ill see about talking to the BBB to help out. I figure doing something has to be better than doing nothing

 

I just complained to the BBB asking that our return policies will be kept past 21 days until the fix the issue, among the usual.

 

The ASUS G53 is ugly, true. Too bulky for my liking...

The dv6t just gives so much better performance than the XPS 15 to warrant buying an XPS 15. The XPS 15 is a bit bulkier, but also sturdier, and might look slightly better. The screen is also slightly better on the XPS.

I've researched all 3 models and I'm convinced the dv6t is the best choice for the money.

If only this problem was fixed :-/

 

I set Dolphin to High performance, and when emulating gamecube games i get 60+ fps. But with wii games i only get around 20 to 35 fps. What am i doing wrong?

 

Is your 540m operating on 1366 x 768 and not 1920 x 1080?

 

Are you answering me? I have dv6tqe-6100 so my graphic is 2gb AMD HD 6770m

 

I'm running on my native res which is 1080.

 

So does the 6000 series aka manual switching have trouble with OpenGL for the following programs?

Minecraft
FSX
Photoshop (seems to be okay from previous posts)
Premiere
etc.

Curious because have to return this 6100 by Monday? Thanks.

 

The manual switching has no trouble with anything -- you switch the system as a whole and you're done. Every application (OpenGL, DirectX or even 2D ones like Word and Excel) will use the selected GPU. That's why it's so puzzling that AMD and HP chose to change it to the buggy piece of trash in the 6100 series.

 

Ditto.

After reading so many posts on this issue, I didn't find that many people posting actual real world stats on software besides FSX.

On a side note, when updating to new graphics drivers, will the AMD ones generally work as long as they are installed on top of the existing ones that come with HP? nVidia certainly has this under better control though the mobile GPUs in this segment of laptops blow.

 

The G73SW-A1 might not win an fashion awards but I like the rubberized material it's made out of. No fingerprints and it looks very sturdy. IF I get this new job I'll be on the road 100% of the time so I'm probably going to send my dv7t back and get one. I love my dv7t but the ASUS seems like it would stand up better on the road with me.

 

My real world stats: Minecraft = 15 fps.

That used to be a major portion of my PC usage, but it dropped to zero percent of my usage after purchasing this. The lag is intolerable. However, I have found substitutes for my time, and am finding the graphics to be less and less of an issue, but I wish it actually worked like it should with OpenGL applications: minecraft shouldn't lag so badly on a $1000+ laptop.

 

Thanks for the verification. Are you on the latest drivers for the Radeon (8.830.6.2000), intel (8.15.10.2291), and the bios (F14)?

Btw, according to hash tests, all of these drivers are *exactly the same* for the 6000 and the 61000. And the intel chipset drivers are the same as well for the two systems, though I only looked at the version numbers: they match.
The only difference is that for the 6000, HP still lists the older drivers for the Radeon and the Intel while those drivers do not work on the 6100. I know as I tried them.

Can someone explain what may be some of the main, nontrivial differences between the 60xx and the 61xx series? I am afraid, if they are hardware-based (what does that mean: chipset, motherboard, etc?), then no driver fix could address the problems we have? I have no idea, just guessing here...

 

The BBB has no authority to tell any seller to change their return policy, regardless of the issues you might be having with the unit. The return policy is in place for anyone not happy with a product to return it to HP, no-questions asked (well, they can ask, but you don't need to specify anything beyond "I don't like it", etc)

 

Well Im on the 11.6 Cats(8.861-110524a-120880c-ATI) and my Intel drivers are 8.15.10.2342(as reported by my IntelHD CP) and BIOS F14. Word is there will be a Hotfix released for the 11.6 cats next week sometime. Wont change your situation tho.

 

hi sorry everyone but i have the dv6tqe 6100 version and after reading a few pages on this post i still don't understand the problem with the graphics.

What is the difference between manual and dynamic?
What is a opengl application and why i can't use it?(i really want to play the call of duty series and half life but in one of the lists i saw that you couldn't run them.
Is this a hardware or software problem? i mean will they be able to solve it with a driver upgrade or should i return the laptop and wait for them to fix it?

thanks again

 

I'm not sure about that list to be honest. At the moment, only DirectX games will kick in the 6770m...OpenGL games will only utilise the HD 3000 card. Try out CoD and Half Life and use a program called Fraps to monitor frame rates. If theyre like under 20 (playable games should be imo 30-40 plus) or so FPS then you know that 6770m is not working. Then up to you if you return it.

 

How do you know that the 6770 card is not kicking in on the openGL games? Just by looking at the framerates? Does HP just not believe you when you tell them its not working.

 

Well FPS is one way and the other way is to use GPU-Z and see the clock speeds (altho they dont give you accurate clock speeds, you can still see if the ATI is in use)

HP I think knows about the problem but theyre not openly admitting to it. A lot of people have complained so they should know. I read another poster saying that HP were working on it...but no proof so Im not 100% sure. It's annoying for me too as Ive just picked up minecraft (uses OpenGL) and that doesnt really run properly at the moment on this laptop.

 

Could the original poster or a MOD, modify the first post with the conclusions so far? There is a lot of people starting secondary threads because they don't want to read 85 pages to find out whats up.