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

Go with dllenos way.

 

New issue with anything that uses DirectX the image tends to blur. Take a look at the following from Calman, I've also seen it in VMWARE when using accelerated graphics and in DirectX games. So it seems to me while the graphics work on the desktop and Aero they do not work once a program attempts to use 3D acceleration, whether it be windowed or full screen.

The second is what it looks like if I min. and then restore. The first is what happens over time.

Has anyone else seen this kind of issue?
ERIC

 

On my first laptop before I exchanged it I got a little driver happy and tried several before I ended up on 11.7. There was really no noticeable difference so now I after the minimal image restore I just installed sp53025 on my new laptop and couldnt be happier. Everything works great and switching is smooth every time. Personally I dont see a reason to stray away from the hp drivers with this laptop.

 

well more power to ya, especially if you want to surgically remove stuff and replace it with other stuff. lots of happy and rewarding moments are ahead of you, Im sure

there's no reason to surgically remove stuff or risk registry corruption. the clean install is the way to insure OS purity, and the most succesful way to do that is:

1. boot up with the factory install or use the recovery mananger to start over and build it the way HP intended.

2. back up swsetup. this preserves all the HP drivers and sofware

3. do the clean install. restore swsetup

4. start installing the HP drivers that you want fro swsetup. get things running with the HP drivers that shipped with the laptop

5. when you connect to the network, configure windows update and install what you want

5. install service packs downloaded from hp as desired. the latest chipset and graphics drivers are intended to be installed over the to of what you already have.

 

This is a PC, it is meant to be used as you want it not as HP wants it, if I wantd that I'd buy an Apple.

No really, if they can not produce a set of drivers that are stable and support all the features that the video device are suppose to support (such as OpenCL), then they need to clearly state that this is not an AMD 6770, but a 6770- as in missing features.

So far all that is wrong is weird blurring, see screenshots below (which happens even with the stock image so its not my customizations, and OpenCL, everything else seems to work.

By the way selling a notebook, without HD encryption in BIOS is not acceptable in 2011. Wasted about a day setting up truecrypt and getting it to work with dual booting, because of this lack!

ERIC

 

It's a well known fact that lots of notebooks don't play nice with stock drivers and you generally have to install the manufacturer provided drivers. This is especially true for notebooks with switchable graphics. I'm not sure why you're surprised by this.

 

Ok, so you are saying that you validated a repeatable blurring issue with the stock image. if that is the case, and you updated the stock image with the latest drivers from the HP website, without uninstalling anything and without ever installing a non-HP driver, then you have an issue that you can take up with HP. fully testing the important use cases is vitally important during the first 21 days when you can return it to HP if it does not perform to you liking.

what app are you using as your test case when you get the blurring? and you do mean Open "G" L right?

 

Ok so i have been having this problem for a while (ever since i changed the gfx to lock on AMD all the time in the bios, if i recall it right). The screen goes black for like 3-5 seconds then the screen comes back (when i am tabbing out from Heroes of Newerth. And just recently for no apparent reason i just opend up the screen and i got a blue screen aswell after trying to play a youtube video) and then I get a message bubble down at the system tray saying "AMD gpu unit has been disabled" but everything seems to works fine after this error occurs. Should I switch back to automatic or should i get my computer checked? Anyone else with the same issue? Im confused and i rather not format or turn my computer in since I have alot of stuff on it... but if it is broken then I gues I have to.

 

fixed graphics setting in the BIOS does not lock on ther AMD all the time. this setting enables catalyst control center to control things. go into CCC power settings and, if the BIOS is set to fixed, you should be able to set the graphics to whatever you want whenever you want.

the flicker is normal when the system is switching.

have you updated to the latest graphics driverset and CCC on the hp website?

 

Ok but I know that I changed something in the bios to AMD. And i have downloaded the latest drivers I could find from the HP website. And the latest bios. But what is this CCC thing you are talking about... I'm pretty green on computers.

 

first, what is your model # - DV6 or DV7, AMD or Intel processor? At least for the Intel laptops, The graphics package from HP contains the ATI Catalyst Control Center for AMD switchable graphics. I'm not so sure about laptops with AMD processors though...

 

HP DV6-6136SO Intel I7 computer. I have the catalyst control center running btw.





edit: And btw the error bubble at the system tray tar says "AMD gfx unit has stopped answering and has been restored"

 

any chance you are accepting all window updates? there is an ATI -- Radeon 6770M driver update that windows keeps trying to install for me... DV7 owners do not accept this! . Windows is notorious for attempting to include OE drivers, and too often they break things. you need to configure windows update to "check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them".

as for your DV6 I know you don't have the 6770M graphics card, so this particular example does not apply to you. I just suggesting that if you accepted all windows updates its possible that it might have sneaked in a driver that broke something.

the switchable graphics capability of these laptops depends on having the exact driver from HP. have you ever uninstalled a driver or installed one directly from AMD? I'm assuming no, so here are some suggestions: go to hp.com/support. choose your region, then click on "drivers and software" and enter your product name. "DV6t" will work, or the model number reported by HP support assistant will work too. look over the software/drivers there for your laptop:

1. there is an Intel HD graphics driver 8.15.10.2291 there (get sp52473 for win7 64 bit). download and install that one -- just to refresh your integrated Graphics driver.

2. download and install the "AMD high-definition graphics driver" version 8.830.6.2000 dated 6 May 2011. this contains the AMD driver as well as catalyst control center. it could be that a driver refresh here could be helpful.

use CCC to configure your switchable graphics. When you open CCC, go to the "power" section and hit "switchable graphics". there you can specify which GPU to use, and what to do when changing power sources. if you want to run the AMD card, select "high performance GPU".

as for the BIOS -- are you certain you are running F.1A. even if you are, you can download and install it again which I think will reset the BIOS to factory settings. I'm running F.1A on my Dv7 and there is nothing in there to set to "AMD". when you boot up, hit escape. then choose F10 to get into the BIOS. scroll to 'system configuration' , then scroll down to "switchable graphics mode" and set it to "fixed".

 

Actually now when i come to think about it i updated bios again, just a couple of days ago. I will try to install those intergrated drivers now and see if it helps. Everything works fine is just sometimes when i close down games or tab out or whatever that the error occurs.




edit: Hm something strange just happend, when i tried to install those Intel updates it said "Your computer doesnt meet up to the minimum requierments" what the hell?

 

Install the HP AMD drivers on hp site, as your's does have the 6770m. The drivers from HP has both the AMD and Intel that is needed. That's why you can't install the ones from intel or amd because of the switchable graphics.
So download this one: AMD High-Definition driver sp53025.
From searching your PC, the dv6-6136so brought me to this page so I searched and here's the link for the driver:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-95342-1&cc=dk&dlc=da&lc=da&os=4063&product=5144847&sw_lang=

Here's the link for where you download all the drivers:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=4063&lc=da&cc=dk&dlc=da&sw_lang=&product=5144847#N240

 

Thanks lmanlo on the 6770M correction! Zgodni my apologies for the misfire lmano is right -- just install the combination sp53025 that is what I have done as well, my DV7 as well.

on the BIOS -- do you see the fixed versus dynamic setting there?

 

Yes i do see it the fixed and dymnaic setting in the bios, and i allready have these drivers 8.830.6.2000

 

hmm.. so no improvement after the driver refresh? you're BIOS is set to "fixed"? you can switch GPUs just fine in CCC but you have issues with just the one app? if you contact HP they likely blame the app, tell you to restore to factory image and re-test...

 

It was set to fixed, and this was when the error occured now I've been trying the default (automatic or whatever its called) for the last two hours and this is tricky cus when I play cs:s for example the intergrated gpu is in use. Im trying fixed again.


The error that occurs seems to happend when in fixed mode in the bios and the computer is switching between the gpu, e.g when I tab out from HoN or whatever.

 

it should not switch when you tab out. it should only switch when you tell it too, in CCC. the fact that yours is switching when you "tab out" suggests that the graphics mode is still dynamic, so I don't know how to explain your results...

I'd be tempted to refresh the BIOS, set to fixed again, and consider going back to fresh re-image and driver installation

 

What I said is not entierly true because the error occurs maybe 1 out of 5 times that I tab out. Its getting annoying because I dont want to be worried about the computer crashing everytime I tab out of games :/. I have turned on the fixed setting now, and have set the radeon gpu to be in use all the time when the power supply connected (like i did before) only difference now is that i put the the intergrated gpu when running on battery, before I had the radeon to be used all the time even when running on battery.

 

Hi guys for updating the ati graphic driver, do I need to uninstall the amd driver and install the new version?
or just directly install the newer driver over the old ones?
I tried to install a newer driver over the old ones and did a reboot, graphic now is undetected =/ it seems intel hd graphic is not reading too..

 

I have a HP Pavilion dv6-6141eo. It has two GPU's, one power saver GPU and one high performance GPU. It switches automatically between the two whether I have my laptop plugged in or not.

I find the fan noise too loud when the laptop is plugged in since the laptop switches automatically to the high performance GPU and therefor runs hotter. I always need to switch manually back to the power saver GPU when the laptop is plugged in. How can I set it that the power saving GPU is always selected unless I manually change it? I can't seem to find in the ATI Catalyst Control Center.

I have the newest BIOS version (F.1A) and I've tried changing the settings in BIOS between fixed or dynamic. The fixed setting switches between the GPU's based on whether the laptop is plugged in or not, the dynamic seamless setting seems to automatically determine if it needs more GPU power.

I only have the high performance GPU selected when I play games so I want to just be able to manually switch to it before I start playing a game and have the setting fixed on power saver GPU otherwise, regardless whether it's plugged in or not.

Excuse my English, it's not my native language.

 

First, in your bios change it to " Fixed Mode."

Scroll to the bottom of this link and expand the " [+] Change the switchable graphics settgs in Fixed mode" How to Configure ATI Mobility Radeon Switchable Graphics - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

In the switchable graphics menu, UNCHECK the " Automatically select power-saving GPU when on battery"

Then you can switch back and forth as you need.

 

so i installed the bios and the amd driver updates but when i reboot into f10, under system config, there is no option to change to fixed and i am positive i have the the bios and drivers intalled.

Model number:XW899AV
BIOS: F.1A
AMD Driver: 8.830.6.2

 

Hi!

Just got a dv6-6169er Pavilion with 6770M 2GB Radeon GPU.

Unfortunately, I experience image stuttering in most games (moving camera in 3d-environment is not smooth). It is not due to low FPS, which is 60 and higher, and is visble on any settings/resolution.

Is it a common problem?

I updated all drivers, including video, and bios to latest versions from hp.com. Switchable GPU is set to high performance (Radeon 6770M is enabled).

On my previous Pavilion (Nvidia 230M) gameplay was smooth out of the box. I can clearly see the difference as I was playing on it just a week ago.

Games affected:
Fallout New Vegas (start strafing and stuttering is noticable and annoying)
Starcraft 2 (scrolling over map is not smooth)
Borderlands (image tearing is clearly visible, vsync setting in drivers doesn't help)
Rage (can not even start, I have up to date Steam version)

Only game which I tested that works fine is World of Warcraft (I don't play it though).

Could it possibly be due to this: AMD Radeon HD - Notebookcheck.net Tech (see second paragraph)? And there is no option in BIOS to completely turn off integrated GPU. Dynamic/Fixed option doesn't fix it (irony ), as integrtated GPU continues to work in "high performace" mode.

So, upgrading to a new Pavilion allows to run games at better settings and fps, but stuttering and tearing makes them unplayable (painful for eyes and nerves). At least tell me that HP engineers regret using notorious Radeons...

Kind regards,
Alex.

 

That is something completely different. In that case, they are using 2 identical GPUs each rendering every other frame and the output is weaved together. On your dv6, the intel HD 3000 may ( or may not, I don't know) not actually be disabled, but its output is definitely NOT making it to the screen when the 6770 is enabled.

 

I have been trying to play games on 2 Monitors (because the DV6 cannot output to 3 due to the build of the computer).
So far I can get them to run fine on two monitors, only in windowed mode, which is worth it, but since there are 2 monitors, the screen is split right down the middle and it sucks for every single game especially for FPS's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY5zCQOXWA0&feature=related

Now I can set custom resolutions in a game and have it output to a size that fits 3 monitors so that way I can set the window to place the middle on the left monitor and the right on the right monitor.

Sort of like this:

(1) [2] [3]

So that I can move the window to show properly on 2,3 and don't care about 1. So that means if I play a shooter I can see the crosshairs on 2 normally but get an extra view to my right.
The problem is that Windows sets the maximum width of any widow to be the maximum of the combined values of the monitors. So in other words I can set the game to display 3 x 1080p but windows resizes it to 2 x 1080p

Does anyone know how to override the windows width limit?
Any suggestions?

 

Hello all,

I have been using this thread since I got my DV6Tse a few weeks ago. I have been wrestling with screen tearing in Portal, Bioshock 2 and a few others at higher settings. I did everything, drivers, settings manual/dynamic switching and many other not-so-orthodox things, but one thing never changed until I tried it today:

I found that the screen tearing goes away for me completely by disabling AMD Powerplay in CCC-> Power -> PowerPlay -> Remove the check from the box labeled "Enable PowerPlay." This completely solves my issue with screen tearing and stuck textures.

tldr; turn off powerplay

 

I was wondering if it is possible to map the graphics switching to a key on the keyboard?

 

@Dekabal
yes, you can assign the hotkeys from CCC.

 

Hi guys. new to this forum and new to my dv6 6105tx too.

Just finished some after-purchase-configurations. here is what i have done.

1.updated display driver from hp (only for amd 6770 not e intel one) dated 2011-09-16 , Version:8.830.6.3000

2.updated bios to 2011-07-22 , Version:F.1A,

3. updated IDT High-Definition (HD) Audio Driver to 2011-05-06 , Version:6.10.6329.0

4. go in bios to change dynamic switching to fixed.

heres some prob i face.

1. if i have the dynamic switching on, it lags and freezes for about 1second when it is doing the switching, eg when watch video from youtube, change from 480p to 1080p. (this is also the reason y i have it fixed now).

2. after updating the driver to amd 6770, ccc is gone from bottom right tray. though not a major prob as i can still access it by right click on desktop.

3. now on fixed high performance, still there will be some random freeze when playing video. this happened when i was watching a non hd (probably 480p) movie full screen and for the duration of about 2hours it freezes about 3 to 4 times. freeze as in sound will still play but just that the video freezes at 1 frame.

4. I assume openGL now works fine, but how do u test it? i have done a furmark testing (i didnt check any of the additional box, just run the test), the temp shoot up to about 85 degrees max. so since furmark can run, it means openGL works?

5. random clicking sound which i suspect coming from blueray rom. (or hdd? hope not) is this a source of concern?

other than these, this dv6 6105tx runs beautifully. idle at 45-50 degrees for both cpu and gpu 6770m. Im most concerned about problem 3 and 5 i stated above. anyone faced similar issues and have solved it( or all my problems stated? ) haha. thanks!

 

Does Rage game work for anybody? On my dv6-6169er (Radeon 6770M) it just dosen't open or freezes ingame almost instantly. I have official Steam version and latest drivers from HP. There are graphics issues in other games too.

And most importantly, is there any official statement about the fact that AMD doesn't support HP solutions in latest drivers?

AMD Catalyst? Control Center / AMD Vision? Engine Control Center 11.9 Release Notes
"The following notebooks are not compatible with this release:
...
Switchable Graphics enabled notebooks using Intel® chipsets."

Nvidia supports its switchable GPU solutions. Why AMD doesn't, is HP fine with it (customers who play games on HP notebooks are certainly not), and what is being done?

 

^ try install AMD 11.10-preview3 driver which has BF3 and Rage fixed.

 

hi. can we actually use this AMD 11.10-preview3 driver for dv 6 61** series? i thought it will cause some problem as amd drivers are not meant for switchable graphics with intel chips?

 

Yes you can use the driver but u gonna need to install it on top of HP driver, else it won't work.

 

by on top of it u mean that i need to install it without uninstall e hp drivers?

 

Yes, only install the driver. So do a custom installation uncheck everything and just check the driver and install. Due to switchable graphics, you need the CCC and intel from the HP driver isntallation.

Here's another good place to look and has a link to the modded drivers:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-pavilion-notebooks/615893-most-stable-6770m-driver.html

 

Here's another video of the LG 1080P Display. This was taken from a camera as I don't have a video camera. Hope the quality is good enough to see it.

DV6T 1080P Anti-Glare Display

 

How would you go about doing that and/or is there a guide on mapping the graphics swtiching to a key?

 

Open up CCC and on the top right you'll see Preference, click on it and then click on hotkeys and just set up the hotkeys you want.

 

Rage freezes almost instantly with 11.10-preview3. It works for ~30 min before freezing with with 11.10-preview2. So preview3 is worse than preview2. I tried other versions too, including DNA drivers (1.8.3) with no luck. Including different catalyst application profiles and settings within Rage itself.

The point is that AMD officially doesn't support our notebooks (see my previous post), so they don't have to test it on our systems.

I tweet CatalystCreator about the issues regulary though, maybe they will look into it. He wrote that preview 3 is almost idential to release (will be released on October, 31). So I'll be waiting for 11.11 or 12... Or untill HP will hopefully step in and support its [long-term] customers.

There is no option to return a purchase (at least a hi-tec one) in my country. And in fact I am completely satisfied with my notebook in every way (usual for HP products for me) except for this Radeon graphics, weird up/down keys (very bad design IMO) and very annoying HP logo light (why no option to disable it is beyond understandable).

 

If you seen HP previous history with longterm driver support for AMD switchable graphics, they pretty much stop updating the graphic drivers once a refresh of the series is released.

 

i have been playing at 18-24 fps on high with 11.10 preview 3 for couple hours with no issues on fixed graphics at 1080p no oc yet

 

as i understand there is problems only in BF3 and Rage games or some more?

 

Can anyone confirm/deny that they're able to change the voltage on the gpu with the latest 11.10 preview 3 drivers?

 

Okay guys, got a bit of a problem here. I'm porobobly doing something really stupid wrong, but here goes. So, I just got a DV7t w/i5-2410M and 6770M. When I got it, I updated to CCC 11.10 V3 first. I later updated to the newest BIOS, F.1A, I believe? So, I then tried to play Minecraft, and it wont run on the 6770M. I can run it on the HD3000, though. I tried both dynamic and fixed, as well. So, did I miss something? Thanks!

 

I can't change the voltage anymore with 11.10-prev drivers and newer.

Try downgrade the driver to 11.9 or latest from HP and use Fixed switching to use HD6770M in OpenGL. I also have problem opening OpenGL applications with 11.10-preview 2 and 3.

 

How did you change it with 11.9 and lower?

 

Express uninstall AMD Catalyst Install Manager and reinstall HP driver + 11.9?