Clevo P150HM Graphics

[Pavel15]

Hi,

I plan to order a Clevo P150HM (from Eurocom) and I'm looking for a little information about graphic cards of the notebook: I would like to know if I remove the MXM IIIB graphic card, will the notebook boot with Intel's Sandy Bridge integrated HD Graphics 3000 ? :biggrin:

I have read here: "The on-board graphics card, the HD Graphics 3000, always remains inactive because there is no automatic or manual GPU-switching technology in place here."

What does it means ? Does the integrated HD graphics blocked and/or unusable ? Or just switching is impossible (if no dedicated graphic card so the integrated will work) ? :hmm:

Thanks for your help guys

 

[mnewsham]

AFAIK there is no way for the integrated graphics to work. Removing the MXM chip will just disable any video output at all. Might i ask WHY you want to remove it?

 

[heymrdj]

He's probably wanting to go a kind of manual Optimus technology, to use it the majority of the time with power/heat efficiency. Sadly the market has not been kind even to us 3.5+ grand spending desktop replacement lovers like me. As much as they pushed it, no one will adopt it. I would gladly throw down even a 500$ premium between two otherwise equal models to get seamless switching between integrated (cool and battery conserving) and full power (power sucking but fun) graphics. Granted my switching is off, i will typically do light work all day long, but in the evening I want to game. A desktop for gaming is not condusive when you're moving between 3 houses over 1000 miles every month, but I am stuck doing it anyways because 2 hours of battery life was no longer worthwile on a dv9550t.

 

[Pavel15]

Might i ask WHY you want to remove it?

To enhance relative battery life. 2 hours is not much.

AFAIK there is no way for the integrated graphics to work. Removing the MXM chip will just disable any video output at all.

Can I ask you how and/or why ? Normally, it should work, unless eurocom intentionally block integrated video output...

@heymrdj: +1.

 

[heymrdj]

To enhance relative battery life. 2 hours is not much.

Can I ask you how and/or why ? Normally, it should work, unless eurocom intentionally block integrated video output...

@heymrdj: +1.

The traces on the mb have to be designed to take the IGP feed from the Core processor and get it out to the video display. Instead, those traces come from the MXM slot. You can't just dub one over the other. That's why Optimus was designed. You have to have a hardware and (or not supposedly) software layer, so that the mb can switch between the two feeds, first shutting off the graphics card and killing the traces that run to it, then enabling the traces that give the IGP the lanes to the output displays (be it on the notebook or through its expansion ports).

 

[Pavel15]

Ok, thank you very much for your tuition.
So no possibility at all for activating HD Graphics, and no possibility to buy a MXM iii B low power graphic card: I give up for this model.

Maybe I'll choose the W150HNM of clevo... It's an optimus but i'm on Ubuntu only (no Windaube* double boot): in the case of a fresh install of Ubuntu 10.10, what graphic chip is enable at the first boot of the OS: integrated or discrete ?

* 'Windaube' is a french expression for 'Winsuck' (Disclaimer: there is no troll inside, just my taste )

 

[heymrdj]

My money would be on this bad boy coming out, looks like it's going to have some serious power. http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/22/gigabytes-15-6-inch-p2532-worlds-thinnest-second-gen-core-i7/

I'm waiting to find a 5k beast with 5 year warranty sporting the AMD 6970M graphics, but switchable. Sadly you can't have both. I'd love to have a Core I7 with the 6970M, i have no problem basically planning 1 grand a year for the laptop (5 grand over 5 years), but amd's switching tech won't go with intel and nvidia's won't go with AMD. The 560M from Nvidia is paltry compared to the 6970M, but the Phenom II X940BE quad from AMD is anemic compared to the big I7's.

*sigh*