Use MBP2011 Integrated Graphics with External Monitor?

Instead of fussing with this, why not just let the MBP do its thing? The separate graphics card is built in just for this purpose and it's meant to be accessible to the system and the OS.

What would be the point of figuring out this problem other than to say it's possible?

 

Because the discrete card chomps battery life. If you're on battery in conference room giving a presentation and there isn't a handy power plug, it would be extremely useful to stay on the integrated card while using an external projector. This is my real world use case. It happens all the time when visiting client sites.

So if anyone has a constructive answer on how to make this happen, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

try using gfxstatus, it tells you which graphics card your computer is running and you can also manually choose the one you want running.

 

Erm, this isn't a constructive answer, but rather some well wishing. You're trying to do something Apple doesn't want you to do... good luck trying to get anywhere at all.

 

Dunno.. I tend to try to keep my presentations a bit shorter than the 5-6 hours you'd get out of the diminished battery life

 

LOL. Seriously, while I'm not trying to be a smart ass, buying an extension cable may be an easier solution than trying to outsmart OS X.

 

On the 15/17" MBP, the intel graphics card is physically incapable (due to how the graphics switching is set up) of sending a signal out through the displayport/thunderbolt port.

Even if you try using gfxstatus and set it to intel only it'll blank out the external display (as you found)

You're out of luck.

 

I tried yesterday to connect my 11' MBP via MiniDP to VGA to projector and it wouldn't connect. I tried everything and was about to give up until I checked the GFXCardstatus and noted that it was set to integrated only. When I switched to automatic, blammo it worked.

 

Yes, but it is in fact using the Radeon card. So we are at the same spot, either way. The best way is just keep your 17"/15" at home and take a 13" for presentations instead, like me.
I always do everything on my 15" and bring my 13" to school for presentations