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

i can't justify the jump in weight, thickness, or TDP of a gaming laptop until optimus becomes more widespread on GTX configurations.

muxless has its problems, but it is the future.

 

I just finished going through all the customization of the 8130 and it came out to a bit over $1,800 which is more than I thought yesterday, but it seems I added a few more options like dead pixel "insurance" and an extra year of warranty.

I'm planning on the following (comments welcome, but make them quick, as I want to order this morning)

- 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) (New Sager Option)-
- 30 Day No Dead Pixel Warranty (On any screen)
- -2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM, 2.2-3.3GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- Standard Finish
- ~ 750GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)-
- ~ 6X Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive - Special
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- None Standard--
- Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- Sager 2 Year Parts & 3 Year Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support
- No Xotic PC Gear

 

Is a Malibal Lotus the same thing as a Sager?

 

I think so, but you'd get better responses posting in the Sager forums.

 

Yes. The NP8130 and the Lotus 151 are both built on the same Clevo unit.

 

thanks to both of you. (I just posted in the Sager forum)

 

If I was going Sager, this is pretty much the same config I would go for. Pricey, but a nice rig for sure!

 

I couldn't agree more! The GTX560M specifically is the sweet spot in mobile gaming GPUs. However, it's also a power hog, so until Optimus becomes more widespread for the GTX series, it seriously limits the ability to go portable on battery power.

The DV6/DV7 are still a potent package for anyone that doesn't rely heavily on more intensive OpenGL based apps. There's no question that the GTX560M will be more powerful than the 6770m, but I can live with the performance that the Radeon 6770m GPU offers, even with the current muxless issues, with the major benefit for me being the amazing battery life. The size/weight are just added bonuses. I now also have about 25 games installed (mostly through Steam) and have yet to find a current game I could not play at descent frame rates on the 6770m at 1080p using the 6770m. Granted I can't max out the settings in the most intensive games, but even Metro2033 plays quite well in FHD at high settings. Personally, I'm still astounded at how good the gaming performance is for a roughly $1K notebook!

 

ahhahahha what a joke:

Twitter

 

I just "did" it! Hit the Submit button to order an 8130. wish me luck, guys! I need to put my bad experience with switchable graphics behind me!

 

I will be using my computer mainly for gaming GTA4,COD,NFS and will also use for CAD esp. autocad will it pose any problems to these things?
If so is it a driver problem that can be rectified or hardware problem?

 

Congrats sir, what's the return policy from Xotic?

 

Bobmitch actually pointed me to the thread. Here it is:

CATALYST and OpenGL - what works and what doesn't - Rage3D Discussion Area

I'm not sure if it is still active or if there are other threads. But it appears they should be aware of the issue.

 

Just a short lesson on Sager notebooks.

Sager builds their laptops based on a Clevo chassis. Alienware used to use Clevo chassis but now they design their own.

There are many Sager resellers that basically manage your order and warranty work. Some offer additional promotions or features which require the laptop to be shipped from Sager to the reseller so they can install something additional if it's unique to them, but for the most part it's shipped from Sager directly to you. Sager's customer service is for crap, look at the BBB, they get a D or F rating, but the resellers all get A+. Sager tends to cater to the resellers, so it's best to buy from them. They will give you first class service and manage your order and warranty. XoticPC, LPC-Digital, and PowerNotebooks are a few of the many resellers you can go with. Each have reps here at NBR.

There are many "boutique" shops that buy their own Clevo chassis and build the machine themselves, and they usually brand it by their own name like Mythlogic does.

Malibal is kind of a mixture of both. Malibal machines are also built by Sager, but they just smack the Malibal logo on it instead of Sager. Pricing is pretty much identical to Sagers though.

 

30 days and just pay to return it and $28 towards the free shipping that I got on the initial shipment.

 

thanks for that primer!

 

The thread is certainly still active. I know that some AMD graphics people frequent that board...and I can't believe that AMD is just not doing anything.

 

I am planning on taking your advice, but you mentioned to use the stock drivers that came from HP (which includes the Radeon drivers, CCC, and the intel drivers). But then after that, you said to go to safe mode and run driver sweeper. Will this delete the current drivers on the system for the Radeon AND Intel? Won't we need those as a base to install the hotfix onto, otherwise switching won't work?

 

No problems with anything you've listed. The most recent iterations of AutoCAD have also gone over to DirectX.

 

You dont have to use Driver Sweeper if youre not experiencing install problems. I would just install the 11.7b hotfix over your HP drivers and see how that goes. If there is a problem then use Driver Sweeper in safemode and start over again - with HP drivers first, then the hotfix. Hope it works!

 

ah cheers for the link guys

 

Hey guys planning to order a dv6 qte but first does any one know whether a driver fix will allow us to do some ocing in the future ??

I'm sure the OpenGL will be fixed tho

 

Thanks for clarification,
And hope the issue is fixed soon

 

No one knows for sure if AMD or HP will fix either issue. At a guess Im more confident they will fix OpenGL support rather than OC

 

Has anyone tried using this laptop with either Autodesk Maya or 3dstudio max with regards to the switchable graphics issue...3dstudio max is allright cause it can be configured for it to use directx but Im concerned about Maya..

if anyone can shed a light on that, this would be great. My main issue is if Maya is able to utilize the radeon card and not the intel hd card, cheers everyone

 

For all the apps and games that make use of openGl go to List of OpenGL programs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and many of the games and applications given here can also work with DirectX so only few which are specific to OpenGl try with the exact software website

 

Is anoyone else having problems with 11.7 and 11.7b with TErrible Screen flickering and double imaging

 

Sonyco-When I click "not assigned" and change it to something else and click apply, it will just change back to not assigned after a few seconds

 

Don't use that link! It's wrong!

You need to determine whether your program EXCLUSIVELY uses OpenGL.

Many of those programs also use DirectX and so they work

 

Two questions:

1) I still don't understand if I will buy a new dv6t with 6490M graphic card will it have openGL support or not? In the first post it says that the problem only applies 6770M version (Or at least it doesn't say anything about the 6490M version). Did someone has the 6490M and it doesn't support openGL?

2) Someone knows here can I buy the dv6t of the 6000 series that does worldwide shipping?

 

I think the reason no one gets the 6490M is because
1) it's basically a step sideways from Sandy Bridge graphics
2) the 6770M is only $25 more. Consider the time when the only way to leave Intel graphics was to pay $200 for a measly GeForce G105M...

And yes, the OpenGL issue should affect all Radeon 6000 series cards that offer switchable graphics today.

 

Wait a minute. I was thinking, if you play a DirectX game and then alt-tab, the graphics card is running. Let's say you start a DirectX game, alt-tab, then start an OpenGL game. Shouldn't it work then?

 

Try it. (Not sure what OpenGL app you have in mind though - I had no problems running Maya 2011 on the Intel graphics for just rotating/zooming/etc. for modeling.) My hard drive still fails HP Diagnostics so I don't want to reboot pointlessly.

 

I won't be home until late tonight so I don't think I'll be able to try it until the weekend.

Download the Minecraft demo | PC Gamer

try the minecraft demo. it's openGL. if you can play it smoothly on high settings, the graphics card is working.

run a directx application (set it to high performance just in case). alt-tab and run minecraft - or better yet, try to run the dx application in windowed mode and run minecraft simultaneously.

It sounds like it should work - either integrated or the dedicated is active, not both. So...if it does work, then you can run a BS directx application that is not intensive, get the graphics card to start up, then run whatever OpenGL application that you want.

 

That sounds like a great idea! try it soon and let us know

 

I still haven't seen results of gaming on battery yet though. Has anyone run 3DMark06 or Vantage yet at least? I'd like to see those results if possible?

 

I read somewhere that there might be some complication with regards to updating the graphic drives? That we are supposed to update with HPs drivers not AMDs directly because of the intel integrated card?

I ask this because I'm was downloading an 'optional' windows update. Just cancelled it because I recalled this

Did I misread something and should I go on with it, or something else? How am I supposed to update my graphics drivers?

 

I think the graphic cards render each application individually and places it in the buffer as needed hence software needs to be written for the OpenGL renderer to make it work.

 

afaik with the Intel / AMD combination you will need drivers from HP. With the DV6z it's all AMD so you can use drivers from AMD's site.

 

Funny you should mention this. With the Envy, installing AMD drivers is more difficult than on the Pavillion. I installed the Catalyst 11.6 drivers right over the HP drivers. Mind you...the HP package has updated drivers (usually much older than what AMD releases by about four months)...but the HP package also updates the Intel drivers.

To update the AMD drivers on the Pavillion, I downloaded the 64 bit mobility 11.6 Cats here:

AMD Catalyst 11.6 WHQL (8.861 May 24) - Download & Discussion - Guru3D.com Forums

Start the install. It will expand the drivers into an ATI folder...fine. I did a custom installation...choosing everything EXCEPT Catalyst Control Center. I wanted to maintain what switchable control I could. Drivers for AMD card are now the 11.6's. Check by going into device manager and you will see 8.871

That's it...done! Intel drivers are the same as you had.

 

But if I update the AMD drivers only (via windows update or otherwise) would it cause issues, or would it simply result in outdated Intel drivers?

Hm, okay, so your drivers are 11.6s but it shows them as 8.871 because of the CCC?

Also, I have the 61xx model, with muxless switching. Is there further lessening of control over graphics switching in the 11.6 drivers?

 

The reason why you have to do an extra step cause it is illegal for AMD package Intel drivers in their driver package directly.

Also, you might face some instability issue when your drivers are "desynced", as they have no recollection that they exist to each other.

Another issue, that you wait for HP to release any stability or feature improvement/additions with the Intel. The version you guys got vs the currently out, to me is a significant improvement, especially the switching.

Oh, the time table for HP update the video drivers is ~ 4-6 months but it will stop by the time, they release a refresh of your series which is ~5 months from now.
----------------------------------------------------------------

@cyanide
Ignore the Windows Update for your graphic drivers, it is the same one posted in the HP Downloads.
You are basically installing it twice.

 

Listed in Device Manager as: 8.861.0.0 dated 5-24-2011. My mistake...typed a 7 where it should have been a 6. Even with the HP drivers, I don't get any info in CCC like I do on my Envy. I get no issues having left the CCC from HP. I get full functionality AND...to show that the drivers and the 6770 work...I have three ways that I assured that the drivers work

1. 3D Mark 11 runs fine and I actually gained close to 100 points with the 11.6's on the Pavillion. Also..3D Mark can't run on the Intel GPU...3000 doesn't do DX11
2. Run Heaven benchmark tool 2.5 and run it in DX11 mode. If the switching doesn't work...the program won't run...because the Intel GPU can't do DX11.
3. Did a test with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat. Set it to run in Direct X 11 mode with many features on high. Also have another copy installed on my Envy. On the Envy, I manually set to run on Intel GPU. Left the Pavillion alone...to dynamically switch.

Results...S.T.A.L.K.E.R. crashed on the Envy, stating that due to incompatible drivers, Direct X 11 settings could not be achieved. The Pavillion ran it like a champ.

I have NOT seen any bad effects of upgrading the Catalyst to 11.6. Test yourself. Heaven is free. You can run 3D Mark 11 free mode and if you have any DX11 games...install them and set up. If it runs...you are on the AMD.

I run the 11.6's on the Envy as well...not had any problems in the month they have been installed. I HAVE to maintain my CCC on the Envy...or I lose manual switching. No biggie...I run the AMD on the Envy most of the time, since it is plugged in. When on battery...Intel...

Hope this helps

 

I have 10 days to figure this out. I'm considering returning the dv6-6190 that I have for an HP Envy 17 or XPS 17. Want to get best performance for the $

 

Agreed with the above statement

 

Yeah, that workaround didn't do anything

Pretty funny though, I played Arkham Asylum on max settings at 1080p for 3 hours without my machine breaking a sweat, and Minecraft brings it staggering to its knees

 

Isn't minecraft runs in JVM? If it is, I wouldn't be surprised why it would be slow.

 

I am an engineering student and I need opengl for cad programs. I understand this whole mess pretty well but was hoping if someone could explain this whole hotfix to me. Is this an official driver update or something that has just been developed by a fellow user?

 

None out at the moment, maybe in a few months.

 

Also does anybody know a place where I might be able to buy a dv6tqe-60xx series. I do not want to give this computer up. I like the design much better than any of the other manufacturers designs. Also the price was just too good