Discoveries on Vaio SA/SB/SC Switchable Graphics

so did i get this straight? we can use the official AMD drivers and still have the graphics switch working correctly, but using the official Intel drivers causes the loss of that functionality?

 

Hi,
I await some advice also on this

If I run the AMD autodetect for updates, (as follows); it does suggest the 11-11 update - but I am not sure if this will cause the SA 'speed/stamina' graphics swithcing to fail

AMD Driver Autodetect

Cheers,
t

 

you got that right

 

Oh well you shouldn't try installing it if you want to keep the manual switch

 

Everyone probably knows by now, but Sony already released new driver package 21NOV2011

I think it has AMD CCC 11.9 (up from 11.8 in previous 23SEPT2011 package), but seems to keep the same Intel 2476 drivers as last time (though Sony site lists battery life improvement as a something to gain from this recent package, so I don't know what's up, but more battery life is always good for me... )

Thank you Sony!

 

Hi,
Not seen this in UK yet; latest I see is Graphics Driver (AMD) - 8.862.4.1000
I will hope they post an update to this & BIOS soon,
Cheers,
t

 

i think the September 2011 SONY driver package is based on the AMD 11.6 rather than AMD 11.8, although the SONY's CCC version is supposedly the same as AMD's 11.8. i haven't installed the newer SONY drivers yet, but according to the SONY drivers page, the driver version is still in the range of 11.6, maybe tweaked a bit.

 

Well I tried to install newest Intel driver 2559 with Nautis's INF, and it has been working flawlessly tho I had to manually edit the version and date line in the INF file. Thank you Nautis.

 

Can you upload your modded files?

 

Here you go.

 

Thanks - I grab this from the US site & works fine.
Cheers,
t

 

How did you install the sony graphics driver package? I tried doing it, it says installed, but doesn't change anything. My intel version is still at 8.15.10.2253.

 

Is your switch in SPEED mode? I dunno, maybe we are using different version schemes? I know Sony already messes with the AMD driver version number, lol. I'm using the one reported in the Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel -->Options and Support -->Information Center-->Driver Version 8.15.10.2476.


Otherwise, when I got my SSD, I just did a straight up clean OS install.

 

Nopes in stamina mode. (btw, since its a combined driver, i suppose the position should NOT matter right? otherwise whats the point of a combined driver?)

The driver version reported in the intel GMCP remains the same.

I also tried uninstalling the original driver from control panel, re-installing the new one. But it doesnt install cleanly. The driver version still remains the same for intel, and any switch to the ATI results in a BSOD. I had to system restore to the saved point just before I started fiddling around.

I wonder how we can go about this? Lets say I want to uninstall the current one, and completely install the new one - the Intel one gets installed but as I mentioned above, the ATI crashes.

 

Did you just install it over the existing installation? Or did you do something else?

 

the instructions for the driver say to set it to speed or it won't install

 

The first drivers I installed (the SEPT23) were on a clean install. Second set (NOV21) were over the SEPT23 drivers.

Yup. Official Sony support site stipulates the switch must be set to SPEED. Probably due to a BIOS level or driver level control that disables the AMD GPU entirely (and hides it from the user-space, where the GPU drivers reside now, iirc) when in Stamina (unlike nVidia Optimus where a virtual GPU is always "enabled" in drivers, and AMD DSG where the PCIe bus of the GPU is always on [called BACON, Bus Alive, Chip Or Not... I think]).

 

This is what I did:
1. Install original driver from Sony.
2. Install 11.11 from AMD.
3. Install 2559 (newest from Intel) with modified INF from Nautis (had to manual change the date and version number like n.dinh90 said).
Done! And yes, I just did a clean install 2 days ago.

 

The modded INFs from the earlier version work with the latest 2559, except for small change?

 

Sorry what do you mean by "except for small change"?

 

Thanks man, got it working!

 

What I mean is: there are many files which differ between Nautis's modded driver and the original intel 2509 driver. Now if they have a 2559 driver, do all those files again have to be modded or just the one file posted on the forum here?

 

It has been working flawlessly for me. I think we only need the modded INF.

 

does anybody know where i can download the first updated SONY video drivers for SA (not the original one and not the newest one released on Nov. 21, but the one in the middle)?

i've installed the newest video drivers with VAIO Update, and Battlefield 3 kept crashing and hanging tonight. after the driver update, my OC which was completely stable at 725MHz/945MHz/903mV for weeks now in FIFA 12 and BF3 caused a driver crash the moment a BF3 multiplayer match launched and i started moving in the map (error message: "Display driver amdkmdap stopped responding and has successfully recovered"), and when i increased the voltage to 904mV, it became more stable but still crashed twice in about three hours.

i really didn't want to update my drivers as my system was very stable and working flawlessly, but i assumed that nothing bad would happen. i really would like to revert back to the previous ones and keep my OC voltages down, but SONY only has the newest driver and the original one for download.

EDIT1: with the new drivers, the 3DMark06 scores were reduced by about 100 points. so not only the machine is less stable, it also performs worse. wow!

EDIT2: nevermind, found the link to download them in this post, and then i found the .exe package in %AppData%\Local\Temp on my SA. apparently, VAIO Update leaves all the update packages it downloads behind after installing them.

 

^
now another question: how should i go about reverting the drivers back? i didn't make a restore point before installing the newest drivers, so i can't use System Restore to go to the previous state, unfortunately.

- should i uninstall the current ones from Control Panel, reboot, and install the older ones?
- should i uninstall, reboot, delete the old driver (if any present) from Device Manager, use Driver Sweeper, reboot, install the older ones?
- ...?

i'd appreciate your help.

 

^ anybody?

 

Hi all!

Just purchased the Vaio VPCCB290X to do some 3D cad work on. I'm stuck using the integrated Intel Graphics Adapter, which is terrible.

I have the context menu item to open Switchable Graphics, but of course it doesn't work. I have searched for updated drivers, Sony forums, etc.. I have found this forum, but no driver for my model that I can find. Can anyone help point me to modified drivers?

Regards

 

The CB line uses the AMD Dynamic Switchable, iirc? Doesn't that mean AMD OpenGL support is out the window?

 

After i installed Catalyst 11.11c, i finally could view videos with the AMD card!!

A catch though, for some reason, in CCC I'll have to disable De-blocking, Mosquito Noise reduction and Edge enhancement, else the picture will look extremely weird.

 

Update: with Catalyst 12.1 Preview drivers, videos are not working again. Black/green screen

 

^ 12.1 is a preview driver release. have you tried 11.12?

EDIT: sorry! actually 11.11c is newer than 11.12, so if 11.11c was working for you, just stick with it.

 

Hey guys,

New to the forums here with a new Vaio SA. How are you guys getting the 11.11/12 and other newer AMD drivers to install? I have tried following the instructions here, but the AMD installer updates the Catalyst Control Center to the new version, but does not update the video driver, which remains in its Sony stock form.

Thanks, and apologies in advance for what is likely a stupid question but it is driving me nuts.

 

its wierd. you have to use this link to download the CCC alongwith the new driver:

http://www2.ati.com/DRIVERS/mobile/11-9_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc_ocl.exe

now the above("11-9") is for 11.9. you can replace it for 11.12 and use that file.

the "dd" in the name means device driver.

 

Same thing happening to me Had to go back to 11.11c

 

Hey, someone help me please... i tried everything, uninstall all the graphics drivers, install only the sony ones, and then the sony + ati, but my aero is lagging everytime ! In game it runs nice and smooth, but when im surfing the internet, or doind that kinds of stuff, my aero is laggin... if someone can help me, i would thank a lot..

 

Thanks - this seems to have worked with the 11.12 link. Not sure what was going on but this seems to have fixed it.

 

I got an SSD for Christmas, so I fresh installed the version of Windows that came with my SA, then did the latest drivers, then the fixes mentioned and my switchable graphics didn't work as they did before. I also tried uninstalling everything, installing the stock drivers (not updated 11/21) then following the instructions on the first post of this thread, which also didn't work for me. I was running previously off the default install and I hadn't played with the graphics and the switch worked fine. I have put in the previous HDD in the ODD slot, so I can access the previous driver setup, but I don't know which ones were actually the drivers. I've kept the switch at 'Speed' for all the installs, but I don't really know which one is powering the graphics currently: it is 1600x900 so some driver is working, but I'm not seeing the flash/flicker of the graphics change of the switch.

Any ideas? I don't have restore discs unfortunately.

Unrelated, but if anyone knows how to get Windows to shut up about it not being genuine (I installed the key from the bottom of the laptop, so the HDD and SSD have the same install). I'm OK with uninstalling Windows from the ODD as long as I keep files on there and Windows shuts up.

EDIT: I've found after updating to just the most recent Sony drivers (11/21) everything works ok in SPEED mode, but not Stamina (just tested with TES V:Skyrim). It's as if the switch doesn't work and it's permanently in the SPEED position, including worse battery life. I'm going to try the fix in the first post again.

EDIT 2: Tried it again to no avail. It's most definitely stuck on the Radeon 6630M and does not switch to the integrated Intel at all (or perhaps the Radeon 6630M dedicated never shuts off). The Intel drivers/software shows itself at Desktop > Right click > Graphics Properties but otherwise, it must not have an effect.

 

Hello, Ive now owned this Sony vaio SA290 for say 2 months. Ive recently noticed that Im only getting 3hrs and 30 minutes of battery life during normal day to day tasks (Youtube, Tumblr, facebook etc) while before when I first got the device it would last max 5hrs+ under normal use in low performance mode/stamina mode with brightness all the way down; I believe this is a bios issue of some sort because I have recovered the hard drive back to its original settings... no luck I hope im not the only one having this problem, Help? (Sorry for my horrible spelling/grammar)

 

uninstall all graphics drivers (AMD and Intel), then use Driver Sweeper to completely remove all remaining junk. reboot, and you should see Windows in 800x600 resolution. (if it doesn't show up in 800x600, it means that there's still some junk remaining; go to Device Manager and make sure you have uninstalled all drivers for Intel and AMD GPUs, then run Driver Sweeper again.) Now install one of SONY's driver packages while the switch is on SPEED. good luck!

 

i don't think this post belongs to this specific thread.

EDIT: seems you have also posted in the SA owners' thread. see my reply there.

 

does anybody know if the graphics switching (physically switching from STAMINA to SPEED or vice versa) generates a hardware event ID? i checked Event Viewer and could not find a clue. could it be possible that somehow VAIO Event Service intercepts that event and does not report it to Windows?

 

b u m p !

 

For anyone curious, AMD 11.12 + Intel Nautis 2509 runs beautifully.

 

^ do you game on your laptop? if so, how is the driver's stability?

 

I do!

It is the only combination that allows me to run Minecraft and DX:HR flawlessly.

I thought my laptop was defective, I had issues with even the stock Sony/AMD/Intel driver.

This combination saved the day - thanks Nautis!

 

Has anyone found any tangible performance increase from going from the stock 8.862.4.2000 (1st Dec Intel 2476, AMD 11.9) Sony drivers to nautis's Intel 2509 drivers and AMD 11.12 driver set? or even battery life?

 

I don't have the benchmarks, but I know my Minecraft FPS went up.

I also know that the stability is very nice.

 

Hey xDSMx, how do u updated ? you've installed the sony drivers, then the ATI, then Intel by nautis ?

 

Install Sony Driver -> Restart
Install Sony Driver Update -> Restart
Install http://www2.ati.com/DRIVERS/mobile/11-12_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc_ocl.exe -> Restart
Install Multiupload.com - upload your files to multiple file hosting sites! -> Restart

 

You can skip the first step since step two will install all the basic stuff as required.

Yeah, 11.12 + 2509 combo is very fast, but not sure about battery life yet. Will need to give it some time to get a good measurement.