What is the point of Optimus?

Obviously, I understand it's intended to make things easier, but all it seems to do is the exact opposite. At this point in time, it's unproven, buggy technology. Yet a lot of new notebooks are shipping with it, and it's really turning me off because I want absolutely nothing to do with the technology.

Doesn't work with Punkbuster games, may cause additional lag, actually hinders battery life versus regular graphics switching between integrated and dedicated, etc.

What is the point? Why are laptop manufacturers forcing me to use buggy software?

*rage*

Is pressing the fn key and hitting a number key simultaneously REALLY that difficult for graphics switching?

For instance, I've wanted a new m11x with the i7, but refuse to purchase it because of optimus. I bought a new xps15 for my fiancee, but am panicking because the damn thing has optimus.

Why can't things be implemented when they're ready, instead of forcing consumers to deal with buggy/unproven/bleeding edge technology? Or at least allowing the user to configure the system with/without it. That would satisfy both camps, no?

 

Totally agree with you. It also can't be used with Linux. The only advantage it has over ATI switchable graphics is it doesn't make the screen flash when switching. Hardly worth it for all the problems it causes.

Edit: btw, shouldn't this be in the graphics cards forum?

 

Optimus removes the need for a mux, more complex DSDT tables and additional software to do switching. It lowers manufacturing cost but is dependent on Win7 APIs to clone from the processing gpu to the rendering gpu.

Means then Optimus will not work under Linux.

 

..... and even on an Optimus system you can still switch manually with the included nVidia drivers. You can choose manually if you want integrated or only nVidia GPU or Optimus.

 

Somebody has to lead the Autobots and you saw how "great" a job Grimlock did.

 

How do you do that?

 

if you can't turn off optimus I agree, but if you can I don't see any reason not to have it in there. There's no amount of QA testing that will properly reflect distribution to the public. These things need to start somewhere and be refined over time.

 

Worst thing that can happen with manual switchable graphics is, you press switch and it switches to a monitor that isn't connected, so you press switch again and presumably (though you can't see it) you get the dialog box which states you have to close so and so program before the GPUs can be switched.

I am still quite surprised that Optimus doesn't have switch GPUs according to power profile set. (afaik, it doesn't do that)

 

And, to make thing worse, you will have lower aero W.E.I score under optimus, because the score will be benchmarked using Intel IGP rather than nVidia AGP. It not that important actually, but for some people, that really annoying. Btw, anyone know how to force the system to use nVidia instead of intel IGP for the aero?
__________________________________________________________________
U35JC | 13.3" @ 1366X768 | i5-460m 2.53GHz | 2GB RAM | Geforce 310m/Intel HD (Optimus) | 500GB 7200RPM HDD

 

Does WEI matter at all? Its a useless, inaccurate benchmark at best. Who cores if its low?