Hardware Discussion Thread

[ZLRK]

Hello.
Seeing that graphic-hybrid (Optimus) laptops have been already mentioned few times here, I had some -basic- doubts since I know little to nothing about them and I'll probably need to get an Optimus laptop at long term...

Optimus technology uses AFAIK as constant default base the integrated graphics (Intel, IGP) and the discrete graphics (Nvidia, DGP) when needed, at least on Windows.

Does Windows automatically loads Nvidia driver when executing 3D apps (games, emulators), or does one have to manually tell someway which apps run with Nvidia? Or depends on each rig?

If the scheme now is "Nvidia used only when needed", this would mean Nvidia no longer renders Windows system in general and things like system animations, resolution and other possible system stuff are managed by IGP. Even though still possible to use with games, what if I needed, for example, a higher resolution on Windows that could only be handled by Nvidia?

And overall, how good would you say Optimus laptops are for PC and emulator gaming? Is there some comparison to old scheme where PC's had either integrated or dedicated graphics?

Thanks.

[KHg8m3r]

Follow this thread Part 2 on how to get Dolphin to run in High performance mode with Optimus: https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-unofficial-laptop-performance-guide

As for how good it is, when just doing menial work the iGPU handles everything, but when you launch a game or other application that has been set to use high performance, that screen/program gets rendered and displayed by the Nvidia GPU. If its in windowed mode, then the iGPU will take care of the other stuff in the background.

[ZLRK]

Read the entire thread.
So, Nvidia cards on Optimus laptops now come as directly solded chips instead of "removable"... Bad news, I really miss the past times...

Does someone know how good or bad Lenovo laptops are about heating? Take for example Edge or Y50 models. Would I be able to play PC games or Dolphin on one of those models, or would I forcibly need that horrible Arctic termal compund thing in order to not melting Nvidia chip? (Horrible because I think that kind of thing is not sold where I live, and I've never disassembled a laptop).

[KHg8m3r]

It depends on the laptop, as some gaming laptops aren't soldered to the motherboard, but are the removable MxM style card (or some similar type)

Light usage of Dolphin/PC game on those laptops are ok. However, it's better to go with a gaming laptop that has a separate heatsink and fan for the CPU and GPU.

[Garteal]

So it seems Intel has changed their plan and will release unlocked Broadwell chips a bit earlier alongside Skylake-S.
Hopefully it'll be something interesting.


Other stuff talked about were "2 in 1" solutions.


Source: Intel Technology Conference 2014

[ExtremeDude2]

I have forgotten if I wanted to wait for skylake or cannonlake

Edit: Must be cannonlake cause I won't have money when skylake comes

[KHg8m3r]

Can anyone else figure out this issue with the devices not show up in the dropdown box: https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-it-wont-let-me-set-any-of-my-keys

[Xtreme2damax]

(11-07-2014, 09:43 PM)Garteal Wrote: Have you done some testing then? Monitor both your CPU and GPU usage, clocks and temps and verify whether that is the issue.

Well I just decided to change global settings in my Nvidia control panel to prefer maximum performance rather than adaptive and the slowdowns disappeared. Performance is not too shabby on this aging card considering the game only uses one gpu makes it more amazing. I'm running the game with max settings @ 1080p.

[wizardsmagic007]

Intel i7-3630QM = 44fps
AMD FX-8120 = 66fps
Attached Screenshots of Super Mario Galaxy 2

Neither are GPU bound so the i7-3630QM in theory should have more FPS? Unless Intel HD graphics drivers are so bad they degraded CPU performance?

[Link_to_the_past]

(11-09-2014, 07:44 PM)wizardsmagic007 Wrote: Intel i7-3630QM = 44fps
AMD FX-8120 = 66fps
Attached Screenshots of Super Mario Galaxy 2

Neither are GPU bound so the i7-3630QM in theory should have more FPS? Unless Intel HD graphics drivers are so bad they degraded CPU performance?

Of course intel graphics are bad, you should use low ir to not have any gpu bottlenecks like 1x (frankly i remember cases when a dedicated graphics card improved fps even at 1x ir by a bit). You can't compare intel hd 4000 with a gtx 470.