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    W520: Do I have to switch between graphics cards or does it happen on the fly?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by cabindory, Feb 4, 2012.

  1. cabindory

    cabindory Notebook Enthusiast

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    As the title says.

    My W520 came in yesterday and as I've been playing around with it, every mention of a graphics card is the Intel HD and not the Quadro? I see the NVIDIA control panel but no where in Windows, besides the device manager do I see the card.

    I came from a MacBook Pro that I had to specifically tell the laptop which card to use, I'm just a little confused as to weather or not it's the same case with this one.

    Thanks!
     
    cabindory, Feb 4, 2012
    #1
  2. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Switching is accomplished automagically when the BIOS | Configuration | Display setting is on Optimus (the default).
     
    Thors.Hammer, Feb 4, 2012
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  3. cabindory

    cabindory Notebook Enthusiast

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    Fantastic, that's what I like to hear! Is there any benefit to switching the card in the BIOS or should I just leave the default?
     
    cabindory, Feb 4, 2012
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  4. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    You'll get the best battery life on Optimus.

    If you need to do a presentation and need full control of the display properties in order to drive an external display device, you'll want to switch the BIOS to Discrete.
     
    Thors.Hammer, Feb 4, 2012
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  5. kirayamato26

    kirayamato26 Notebook Deity

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    Actually, I'm pretty sure that you get the best battery life on "Integrated" instead of "Optimus", but yeah, switching happens automatically.
     
    kirayamato26, Feb 4, 2012
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  6. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    Unless you are gaming or something on battery power you'd be hard pressed to get Optimus to use the NVIDIA gpu. Practically speaking the default Optimus setting is fine for the majority of people interested in reasonable battery power.

    If you need the extra gpu bump from the 1000M or 2000M while on battery, you're going to suck the battery dry in short order anyway.
     
    Thors.Hammer, Feb 4, 2012
    #6