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    Hybrid Graphics Switching

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by GuySmiley, Oct 20, 2008.

  1. GuySmiley

    GuySmiley Notebook Enthusiast

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    Okay so I've looked all over and searched and I cannot figure out how to turn off my dedicated video card on my T400 and turn on the dedicated graphics... how could I missing this? Can someone please explain to me how to switch between the two?
     
  2. Lithus

    Lithus NBR Janitor

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    Changing the Graphics Processing Unit

    To change the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), do the following:

    Left-click on the Battery Gauge icon in the task bar and select Switchable Graphics.

    Select either High-Performance Graphics or Energy-Saving Graphics.
    Click Yes to switch the GPU.

    Switching the GPU may take some time, and messages may appear during the process.

    For more details about Switchable Graphics, refer to the help for ThinkPad Power Manager

    Note: To enable Switchable Graphics, ThinkPad Power Manager must be installed on your computer.
     
  3. amphibia

    amphibia Notebook Guru

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    Are you using Vista or XP?

    Under XP, you cannot enable this switch

    Under vista, as Lithus said, make sure you have the Power Manager and Battery Gauge enabled in your taskbar. Left click on the battery logo->Switchable graphics-> choose among the two
     
  4. GuySmiley

    GuySmiley Notebook Enthusiast

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    Okay what the heck? I'm in vista and its not there!
     
  5. IBM_Lenovo_User

    IBM_Lenovo_User Notebook Geek

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    Do you think that we can do this in XP in the future? I mean, will there be a software or a driver in the future which allows us to switch the video card on the fly right in XP?
     
  6. Mikee99

    Mikee99 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I wouldn't count on it, as the ability to do that really rests on the new driver model in Vista.
     
  7. hellomuggle

    hellomuggle Notebook Enthusiast

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    yep. mikee99 is correct. Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) in vista was written mainly so that crappy video drivers didnt crash the system, since a huge percentage of crashes on XP were due to sloppy video drivers.

    the side effect of WDDM is that switchable graphics can exist :)

    wikipedia entry for WDDM