integrated graphics only in U330

[qba]

Great!

I was afraid that this feature wasn't needed by lots of people, and that was the reason it was not in the product. But this doesn't seem to be the case. So,

@JaneL, Mark_Lenovo

what should we do? is there any (un)official channel that we can use to get to some people that can do something about it?

[linoptor]

This is the one reason I would not recomend this notebook to anybody else. Lenovo locks you onto Vista if you want decent battery life.

[neuro_pl]

Yup, exactly. I really like the compactness of the U330, I like the fact that it's solid. It's a great product hardware-wise.

However, whenever a friend of mine who dislikes Vista or uses Linux asks me if it's any good I have to say "no, you'll get decent battery life only on Vista". It really is a show-stopper for many tech-savy people.

Please Lenovo, put this really simple option in the BIOS.  What is the official channel by which such a request/plead should be reported?

[bluejade]

Well, I think that's really an important function which should be provided.

I'm using Windows 7 RC now and I have to use the ATI HD3400 Card for there is no VGA driver support for two VGA cards under Win 7.

As a result, my U330 could only provide at most 3 hours of battery life.

[Mark_Lenovo Administrator]

All,

I acknowledge your request and will raise it to development for consideration on this.   I will note that even on ThinkPad, switching is handled via Vista, and on IdeaPad the preload is Vista.

I do see the logic of the request, wo let me summarize to see if I've got it right...

1) It would be nice to support other OS's thanVista for accessing integrated graphics.

2) That even in switchable mode, more power is being used having both chips active to some level, and that if the BIOS could somehow provide the switch from just integrated to just discrete, that power could be saved and battery life extended when running either, but probably more with the integrated running (23w-16w = 7w draw based on the math in a previous post).

Of course, you would have to reboot, go into bios, save and exit and reboot in order to then change under another OS.

I will look into this, but again want to set expectations that this is a potentially significant design / feature change and is not a defect of the product to be corrected.  The product presently works as designed, and is consistent in operation (as far as I know) with the ThinkPad models that support swtichable graphics.

Best regards,

Mark

Message Edited by Mark_Lenovo on 04-30-2009 06:16 AM

[cdislater]

Mark,

Thanks for forwarding our request.  Just about everything you have said is correct except with regards to switchable graphics on Thinkpads.  On the Thinkpad line there is a bios setting to have only integrated graphics.  So with Thinkpads you can select switchable, integrated or ATI.  Thanks again for passing our request along. 

[neuro_pl]

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Mark_Lenovo wrote:

2) That even in switchable mode, more power is being used having both chips active to some level, and that if the BIOS could somehow provide the switch from just integrated to just discrete, that power could be saved and battery life extended when running either, but probably more with the integrated running (23w-16w = 7w draw based on the math in a previous post).

Of course, you would have to reboot, go into bios, save and exit and reboot in order to then change under another OS.

Message Edited by Mark_Lenovo on 04-30-2009 06:16 AM

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Yup. To clarify it a bit more:

Currently there are two settings:

1. Switchable graphics - Intel and Ati card running. Allows Vista to switch graphics by software. In other OSs (like Linux) both chipsets are powered on. In Linux it is possible to use either chipset in this settings (configured via the graphics server's settings), but since both are powered on, the total power drawn is about 23W.

2. Discrete only - Intel is off, Ati curd running only. Under Vista, no switching by software, only Ati graphics card available. Under Linux, only the Ati card is visible on the PCI bus and only this card can be used. Since the Intel card is disabled, the power drawn is smaller and equals about 16W. 

The point is: the Ati card is more power-consuming than the integrated Intel card. An ideal solution for power saving in other OSes would be to introduce another setting:

3. Integrated only - Intel is on, Ati is off. Under Vista, the Intel graphics driver gets picked up. Under Linux, only the Intel card is visible on the PCI bus and can be used by the graphics server. Since the Ati card is disabled, the power drawn should be smaller than 16W (presumably by 5-7W compared to Ati-only), because the Intel integrated chip is more power efficient.

Switching graphics under other other OSes would require going into the BIOS to change the setting. 

And thank you for looking into the subject

[neuro_pl]

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Mark_Lenovo wrote:

All,

I acknowledge your request and will raise it to development for consideration on this.   I will note that even on ThinkPad, switching is handled via Vista, and on IdeaPad the preload is Vista.

I will look into this, but again want to set expectations that this is a potentially significant design / feature change and is not a defect of the product to be corrected.  The product presently works as designed, and is consistent in operation (as far as I know) with the ThinkPad models that support swtichable graphics.

Message Edited by Mark_Lenovo on 04-30-2009 06:16 AM

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Hi,

What's the progress on this issue? Has it been accepted as a feature request by the U330 BIOS developers? Is there any hope this will be introduced?

[shaunliv]

yeah, what's the update on this situation?

[Mark_Lenovo Administrator]

All,

The answer came back on this today, and development views this as a new requirement vs a defect in the product and therefore is not planning to implement on the existing U330 model. 

However, this will be considered as a customer desired feature for possible inclusion in future models.

Best regards,

Mark