Poll: How often do you switch graphics cards on your MBP?

[cosmokanga2]

I'm interested in seeing how many of the people that own a unibody Macbook Pro switch graphic cards on a regular basis. I know when the unibody Macbook Pros came out people were complaining that switching graphics cards required logging out. Is this still an issue or do most people stick with one? I just switched to the 9600M after being on the 9400M for about two months as I needed the extra power and battery life wasn't an issue. Thanks!

 

[kastenbrust]

Sometimes when im doing two or more things like running itunes, Programming using Coconut, Debugging and other things, all in different spaces then I have to change to the 9600 graphics card or my typing (even on this forum) seems to become laggy, almost like im writing two words ahead of whats on screen, i cant explain it well, but since it doesnt happen when im using the 9600 chip i know its something to do with graphics.

 

[be300test]

I'm interested in seeing how many of the people that own a unibody Macbook Pro switch graphic cards on a regular basis. I know when the unibody Macbook Pros came out people were complaining that switching graphics cards required logging out. Is this still an issue or do most people stick with one? I just switched to the 9600M after being on the 9400M for about two months as I needed the extra power and battery life wasn't an issue. Thanks!

there is 2 graphics cards in the unibody !

lol jk

i usually do it 2 times a week

 

[kastenbrust]

there is 2 graphics cards in the unibody !

lol jk

i usually do it 2 times a week

When i first read "there is 2 graphics cards in the unibody !"

I actually did this:

 

[REBELinBLUE]

I switch to the 9400M when mobile and will switch back to the 9600M when I need the extra power (i.e. when playing a game). I don't just bother to switch back simply because I am no longer mobile.

 

[ayeying]

I don't switch out of the 9400M unless I'm tempted to play CoD4. Even then, I still have to log out and log back in which is a pain. Feels like rebooting but faster.

 

[kastenbrust]

I don't switch out of the 9400M unless I'm tempted to play CoD4. Even then, I still have to log out and log back in which is a pain. Feels like rebooting but faster.

I dont actually see any real reason for this log in/log out rubbish, i think in Snow Leopard you wont have to, you'll just press power saver and that will be it, i bet you have to log out and in, in Leopard just to make people upgrade to Snow Leopard. It makes sense because Apple can be sure Snow Leopard will run well on any Unibody Macbook Pro.

 

[pavenger]

as Ayeying said, I only use the 9600 for playing call of duty, other than thank im in the 9400 whenever im mobile and until i need a boost, be it for CoD or PS or Ai.

 

[Quu]

9400m unless I'm playing a game. The notebook runs cooler by about 8c with the 9400m and the battery lasts longer so unless I have to use the 9600GT for its extra performance I just keep the 9400m active.

 

[mickbab]

Well after voting with what I would predict of myself, it is interesting to see what people do. This does put a little doubt in my MBP over MB thoughts (besides screen size, firewire etc.)

Hmmm...

 

[SoybeanStasher]

I switch to the 9400M when mobile and will switch back to the 9600M when I need the extra power (i.e. when playing a game). I don't just bother to switch back simply because I am no longer mobile.

This describes me well. It's totally based on use. Usually it's on the 9600M for video editing and whatnot, and if I'm going mobile for less than a couple hours I'll just leave it on that. But for extended mobile use I'll take the effort to switch to the 9400M.

 

[NorCal-Cyclist]

My MBP gets noticeably hotter (quite warm to the touch) on the left side of the KB/Speakers - right above the mag-safe port - when I have the 9600 active. I tend to keep the 9400 active, unless I'm playing a game or messing with BIG photoshop files.

 

[RKpro]

The logging out is a pain, so I use the 9400 in OSX all the time. And the 9600 for the rare chance at gaming in windows.

 

[Junkie2]

The logging out is a pain, so I use the 9400 in OSX all the time. And the 9600 for the rare chance at gaming in windows.

x2

 

[Warranty Voider]

I know that this has been said in other threads before, but I don't get why people buy a "pro" laptop but don't even use the pro features. I know that some people just want the bigger screen, but would you still have bought it if apple just included the 9400?

 

[eldivino]

Never.. I switched it once to 9600gt. Never went back.

 

[Patriks7]

So far I only use the 9400, but I just tried the 9600 yesterday on my display cause it seemed to lag a bit with the 9400. But the logging out is such a pain, that I don't think I'll use it until it's fixed. I haven't had the chance to game with it yet, as my MacBook Pro doesn't accept ANY of my Windows install disks

 

[8767092]

I know that this has been said in other threads before, but I don't get why people buy a "pro" laptop but don't even use the pro features. I know that some people just want the bigger screen, but would you still have bought it if apple just included the 9400?

Nope. I bought a maxed out version that topped out at about $3300 (without tax) and I wouldn't have purchased it without dedicated video memory.

I use the 9400M in most cases because that is generally all I need, but there have been some cases where the 9600 was necessary to run the software I wanted to run. I think I would use the 9600 more if I didn't need to log out to switch because it is just such a pain to do that.

 

[blooz4u]

Stupid question -

How do I switch from one card to the other ?

So far I only use the 9400, but I just tried the 9600 yesterday on my display cause it seemed to lag a bit with the 9400. But the logging out is such a pain, that I don't think I'll use it until it's fixed. I haven't had the chance to game with it yet, as my MacBook Pro doesn't accept ANY of my Windows install disks

 

[ayasin]

But the logging out is such a pain, that I don't think I'll use it until it's fixed.

This is probably the biggest barrier for me as well. If they remove the logout requirement I'd use it much more often.

 

[Abstract]

The logging out is a pain, so I use the 9400 in OSX all the time. And the 9600 for the rare chance at gaming in windows.

If you use Windows using Bootcamp, Windows will only recognise the 9600M discrete graphics card and not the integrated 9400M, so you don't even need to switch cards when using Windows, as you have no choice.

 

[hamis92]

I read somewhere that you need to log out because OS X has to restart its window manager, it just wasn't designed to do quick graphics switching on the fly. I hope Snow Leopard has the ability to do this, or even use both at the same time.

I usually switch to 9600M GT when I'm about to start working in Lightroom, otherwise 9400M is just fine, it's better for lap use (this thing can get pretty hot with the 9600M GT).

 

[ayeying]

I read somewhere that you need to log out because OS X has to restart its window manager, it just wasn't designed to do quick graphics switching on the fly. I hope Snow Leopard has the ability to do this, or even use both at the same time.

I usually switch to 9600M GT when I'm about to start working in Lightroom, otherwise 9400M is just fine, it's better for lap use (this thing can get pretty hot with the 9600M GT).

I'm not surprised that it needs to reset the window manager. I'm guessing that later on for Snow Leopard, the window manager will still have to restart but it won't require us to save everything and log out to do it.

 

[alphaod]

I'm 100% sure there was already a thread with a poll on this less than a month ago.

 

[blooz4u]

If you use Windows using Bootcamp, Windows will only recognise the 9600M discrete graphics card and not the integrated 9400M, so you don't even need to switch cards when using Windows, as you have no choice.

Thanks! I thought there might have been something I needed to do.