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

I might have said this already but Minecraft, as good of a game as it is, is terribly optimized.

A game with the graphical quality of Minecraft should be able to run smoothly on 5+ year old machines integrated or not

 

It really should be.

I just don't think Java was made for a game of this scale.

 

The graphics system in the Envy 17 3D is superior to that in the XPS. The 6850M is about 15% faster than the Nvidia GTS555. I am a total Nvidia fan, my desktop has Superclocked GTX580, but the 6850 is no slouch. If you get the 17 3D version...you actually pay less than a comparably configured non 3D model. The 17 3D comes with shutter glasses and the works

 

AMD gets an earful about how bad its switchable graphics are.

Alienware M17x R3 Review - Laptop & Notebook computers

 

lol. Hope AMD reacts and fixes it. Although later in the review one thing that bugged me:

"The rest is a typical representation of Alienware extremes. A Core i7 2720QM, 8GB of RAM, dual 500GB hard drives in RAID 0 and a decent screen that runs at 1920x1080. Delicious.

If you decide to order one of these, we'd highly recommend breaking that RAID 0 set-up, despite the speed boost. If one hard drive fails, you'll lose everything. Best to opt for a RAID 1, or, at worst, a standalone scheme."

If one hard drive fails in a single drive setup, you lose everything too, lol. If anyone with a RAID setup (or any setup for that matter) doesn't have a regular backup, they're only delaying the inevitable heartache.

 

HTWingNut, that review is for manual switchable graphics... which is certainly not "unfathomably awful".

fun fact: I got iTunes 10's cover flow to activate the Radeon when I set iTunes.exe to be High Performance.

 

That review seem to be against manual switching though. Favoring the no prompt automatic switch method similar to Nvidia's.

 

I did what Bobmitch said (I could not deselect CCC because it said the latest version was installed) and Windows update wants me to install:

Code:

ATI Technologies Inc. - Display - Radeon (TM) HD 6770M

Download size: 53.3 MB

You may need to restart your computer for this update to take effect.

Update type: Optional

ATI Technologies Inc. Display software update released in April, 2011

More information: 
http://winqual.microsoft.com/support/?driverid=20423090

Help and Support: 
http://support.microsoft.com/select/?target=hub

Should this be installed?

 

finally HP admits that there is a problem
Official HP statement on Switchable Graphics and Open GL Fun... - HP Support Forum

 

Just one problem... sp53025 is an old driver which we've already failed to get OpenGL to run on the Radeon.

 

ah, you beat me too it. lol

 

Well, he did post that the driver does nothing for the newer dv6 and dv7.

 

Official HP statement on Switchable Graphics and Open GL Fun... - HP Support Forum

Hmm...

 

Has anyone checked this out?

 

If you need it for engineering, you will want the 1920x1080 display available as an upgrade in the 61xx series, and many other (Non-HP) laptops.

1366x768 is really low for CAD work, and it's not good for general multitasking either. Screen resolution is the most important thing, especially in your case.

The 60xx series only has 1366x768.

 

yes HP just acknowledged that there is a problem with notebook switchable graphics. they didnt solve the problem yet.

 

Acknowledging that you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

 

Hmmmmmmm is right it seems! What does that last statement mean?...

"The AMD graphics card in newer HP Pavilion dv6 and dv7 Series models may not run certain Open GL software."

Sounds like they are covering their A$$ with that statement.

 

Well if you read the statement there is no real acknowledgement that there is a problem! They seem to be indicating that their latest drivers will make the computer operate as it should. We all know that is not right.

 

Not quite. Here's the relevant text:

In other words, they are providing a new driver for Intel's graphics and acknowledging that the Radeon will not run OpenGL.

 

Does the Dv7-6099 series also having this problem???

 

no, it doesn't

 

Any machine with an AMD GPU is going to have this problem with opengl. It has to do with AMD drivers, not HP.

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

God reading! The issue has been around a long time. Not sure that AMD is gonig to do anything about it

 

Thanks for the info.

All AMD GPU that are muxless??. How about Nvidia? Do they also experience this problems?

 

I can only respond based on my experience with my desktop GTX 580 card...NO!

 

Nm.

----------

 

so Nvidia GPU supports OpenGL applications.

 

did you guys even read the first page? explains everything about what and why it doesnt work

 

That isn't a new driver for Intel, that's older than that preinstalled on the 6100.

 

They do, but they break it on every other new release though

@deadlytom
I'm using Nvidia Optimus, and no they don't experience the problem what AMD is having.

However, each OEM may add their own mux into their mix. Doing so, requires OEM drivers to work. Which may prevent the official Nvidia drivers from installing like the official AMD drivers.

Still you need to doing additional research to determine if the laptop in question uses Optimus, then determine if muxed or muxless, controlled either by software or hardware ....etc.

 

...oh? I didn't know that, guess my clean install's running on old drivers then.

 

Does the older driver work better? Why would they post an older driver?

 

So this isn't really just for the HP, it's for every computer with ths 6000 series AMD graphics cards?

So the problem will also occur with this laptop: HP DV6-6031EO (i5-2410M, 6770M DDR5)

Or is that laptop that "old mux-based" laptop, which the problem does not occur with?


And is that 6031EO a good overall laptop for gaming example? Nothing too hardcore, just plain normal level gaming.

 

For now, they have at least acknowledged that there is a problem, which is a start. Hopefully now they will hand it over to the software team to devise a fix!

 

Thank you Mr. Falco152 for that info.

It seems that Envy 14 beats edition (2nd gen) also having this problem even though it has a lower GPU (6630) still it falls under 6000 series AMD. Is this correct?

 

hello i have read these forums for a year or so but i just goot a laptop.
It was a gift and its my first so i have zero idea what to do.
The main problem is i have no idea of the internals and specs of my machine u installed cpuz and everest and they show i have some amd processor and 2 graphic cards i think.
One is for low power one is 6470 amd mobility.

Please help me out with the info and its a pavilion i know that.

 

since the DV7 have so many bad issues I decided to search some laptops. Now im planning to buy Asus G74SX-A1. It doesn't use Optimus, but in Nvidia site GTX560M support Optimus. What will be the consequence?? Can I use some OpenGL applications like Adobe Photoshop , Tina Pro etc in this laptop?

 

You really believe that, after the admission from HP that they understand the SG won't work with open GL? Sounds to me like they have given up.

 

HP can't do anything about it. They don't touch any of the driver code. They can only request AMD to change it, but I bet it isn't a simple change. I'm thinking it'll take some time if they did request it. A big if though.

 

Well, if AMD is shifting their focus from muxed to muxless graphics then they'll have to address the problem sooner or later. I'm fairly certain they'll fix it eventually... The question is how long they'll take.

 

I haven't used any code since I was in college. But to add a function to keep the discrete card ON all the time if a box is checked in say an advanced user tab is that complicated? Can't just have a function to keep the card on regardless of the other function which determines if the program needs the card or not? An override option should be a good temporary fix until they get the drivers fixed. Anyway, keeping this option permanently especially when the laptop is plugged in makes sense.

But I'm not a avid programmer so I can't comment on the complexity of such a function addon. I would assume the logic of programming would have isolated the instructions to determine if the card was necessary to be on from the commands which process the graphics information which is then sent to the IGP.

 

I think it is not that simple. There must be some wrapper code around the DirectX and OpenGL API that places the information into the Intel IGP buffer. I'm guessing it took them a long time to do the DirectX and ATI isn't known to support OpenGL that well (Crossfire doesn't work with OpenGL). They might not have enough experience to code it efficiently right now.

 

I'm guessing that there really isn't much demand for OpenGL support from people buying non-business laptops from HP in the first place. We all know 99% of the GPU usage is for playing games which are DirectX

 

Except for Minecraft!

But in any case to just ignore it is not a good plan especially from AMD trying to keep ahead of nVidia. Not to mention their DirectX 9 driver support is lacking as well apparently with the switchable GPU's. Many of the games that do run under OpenGL are most likely older, so should run decently on the IGP, but not all.

 

If Intel HD Graphics supports OpenGL 3.0, does it mean I can use OpenGL applications using Intel HD graphics?

 

How about adobe products such as Photoshop/Premier? I use them alot more than games. The intel IGP can be sluggish while doing some tasks.

 

Read. The. First. Page.

 

Not only the GPU acceleration in CS5 is so limited that you have to rely on the CPU most of the time, but it also doesn't take a monster of a GPU to run well, it's no Crysis. The HD3000 can perfectly handle the GPU acceleration in Photoshop as well as a discrete card. If some Photoshop tasks are sluggish for you, you probably didn't spend enough on your CPU.

 

An update (which can be total bull):

A user on the HP support forum has posted a chat session log that discusses an "upcoming" driver update to support OPENGL in the dv7. I'll assume that a tech support minion wouldn't communicate this to a customer unless it was actually happening.

OpenGL Support - Good News Everyone! - HP Support Forum

Sorry if repeating old info.

 

Well they managed to get a tech to outright say that a fix is imminent. Hopefully they're right and this isn't just some talk to get the guy to go away.

If we're lucky this'll allow for an overclock aswell.