Graphic Card question re new xps line.

Hey guys!

I was wondering..

I've been looking around for a new laptop recently and I really loved the feature that the 15" Alienware lappy has as well as the Lenovo T400 has where you can change from using the dedicated GPU to use an integrated chipset for the purposes of power consumption.

I may have misread a post someone made last night, but I vaguely remember reading something about the new XPS 13 and 16 having a similar feature?

Can anyone fill me in on if there's any truth to that, and if so, how does it function on these? (Alienware's requires a FN+F# key then a reboot. T400 does it dynamically using a small software tool)

Thanks alot.
-Dan

 

Hey there.

The Studio XPS 13 has this feature. It's the same as with the macbooks. So two Nvidia gpu's, one integrated and one dedicated.
A geforce 9200 and a 9400, run either or together as one and get "9500 performance".

The XPS 16 however, does not. It only has the ATI dedicated GPU.

As for how it switches, i believe its controlled via software, but i dont know if it switches on-the-fly.

Hope this helps

-Shub

 

Hmm, I wasn't aware of the Macbooks having a dedicated graphics card, only an integrated. Anyways, besides that, I think it's an amazing feature that I wish more laptops had. It makes a world of difference on battery life I think. (in my experience a dedicated GPU wipes an hour off your battery)

Running just the integrated chipset on the new XPS 13 I wonder what the battery life would be?

What are your estimations on battery life with a 7200rpm HD vs. a 5400rpm hd? Is it a significant difference?

Thanks alot for the reply Shub.
-Dan

 

I'm sorry, I meant the macbook pros, not the macbooks. Anyway, it was just to give you an idea of the feature.

And i totally agree with you, it's an awesome feature. I was really hoping Dell would use onboard intel gfx and let you switch when you need power. It helps save power and heat.
No idea on the battery life on the XPS 13 yet though..

As for the HDD, I've read several places that battery life decreases from 10-20 min when using 7200 HDD. But keep in mind that it performs 10-20% better than then 5400, so it kind of evens it out

Shub

 

How is power consumption when using the dedicated graphics, when not doing any graphics intensive work? Wouldnt the power use scale with the type of task youre doing? So, if youre just surfing the web, how much of a difference would that make compared to photoshopping, for example?

 

i wonder what the difference is in power draw with one dedicated and one integrated compared to a dedicated declocking automatically.