GPU switching does not seem to be working...

[ask768]

Hey guys,

the other day i was looking at how to find which GPU is currently enabled on my mid 2010 mbp (just out of interest) and supposedly if you go into system information in lion (used to be called system profiler? seems so long ago ) and look under the Graphics/displays heading, you can tell which is disabled as it will say "Status:No Display Connected"

seems simple enough, so i had a look and it said the above under the GT 330m entry. fair enough, I'm only running a web browser. so i launched photoshop cs5 and did a cmd+r in the system information window and nothing had changed. i then ran the only 2 games i have installed on my mbp at the moment (touch grind and zenbound 2), so that all three were running and still the same was the case! it seems that no matter what i do, the system information window shows only the following:

Intel hd graphics entry
Intel HD Graphics:

Chipset Model: Intel HD Graphics
Type: GPU
Bus: Built-In
VRAM (Total): 288 MB
Vendor: Intel (0x8086)
Device ID: 0x0046
Revision ID: 0x0018
gMux Version: 1.9.21
Displays:
Display Connector:

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M entry:
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M:

Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0a29
Revision ID: 0x00a2
ROM Revision: 3560
gMux Version: 1.9.21
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected



Any ideas whats up?

 

[GuitarG20]

try installing gfxCardStatus and see if you can manually switch onto the 330m

 

[ask768]

thanks, i think I've sorted out what the issue is. after installing gfxcardstatus i found out that the gt330m is always running (when the gt330) and when i force the integrated gfx, system information now reflects this:

Intel HD Graphics:

Chipset Model: Intel HD Graphics
Type: GPU
Bus: Built-In
VRAM (Total): 288 MB
Vendor: Intel (0x8086)
Device ID: 0x0046
Revision ID: 0x0018
gMux Version: 1.9.21
Displays:
Color LCD:
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes





NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M:

Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0a29
Revision ID: 0x00a2
ROM Revision: 3560
gMux Version: 1.9.21
Displays:
Display Connector:
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected



so i i closed all of the applications i had running one by one to find out what was causing the gt330 to always be on.

Answer:Mozilla thunderbird

i always had this running to check for mail every 15 mins but had no idea it was triggering the discrete gfx, so atm I'm trying to figure a way around this. any ideas?

 

[GuitarG20]

use gfxCardStatus to keep the system on integrated until you need the dedicated... that's what i do; chrome and countless other programs turn on my 6750m, which kills my battery

 

[ask768]

use gfxCardStatus to keep the system on integrated until you need the dedicated... that's what i do; chrome and countless other programs turn on my 6750m, which kills my battery

I was thinking of that, but then thats kinda a workaround rather than actually fixing the problem...

But until this gets fixed, i think ill just get a mail widget and use that on my dashboard to check if any mail has come and only open thunderbird when i need to actually read or write a message. saves me a bit of ram as well (not that I'm running out, its just nice to know )

 

[GuitarG20]

I was thinking of that, but then thats kinda a workaround rather than actually fixing the problem...

But until this gets fixed, i think ill just get a mail widget and use that on my dashboard to check if any mail has come and only open thunderbird when i need to actually read or write a message. saves me a bit of ram as well (not that I'm running out, its just nice to know )

is that really the only program that turns on your GPU? because i have about 5 (chrome, skype, evernote, spotify, etc.) that i use constantly.

i agree it's just a workaround, but because the issue is programs using API's that activate the GPU, it's kinda the only solution for now.

and as for getting fixed? I doubt it. from the company's prospective there's no bug, they just happen to pull an API that triggers your graphics card. I doubt they'll change it.

 

[ask768]

is that really the only program that turns on your GPU? because i have about 5 (chrome, skype, evernote, spotify, etc.) that i use constantly.

i agree it's just a workaround, but because the issue is programs using API's that activate the GPU, it's kinda the only solution for now.

and as for getting fixed? I doubt it. from the company's prospective there's no bug, they just happen to pull an API that triggers your graphics card. I doubt they'll change it.

Its the only app that i have always running that triggers the discrete gpu. evernote and Skype i close when I'm finished with, so for me its not as big an issue, but after a bit of research, mozilla seems to have acknowledged this as being an issue but i can't seem to find any plans of fixing it any time soon. oh well...