E520 - immense problems with switchable graphics: 3D-requiring applications won't work!

[geogre]

hello, i know there are one or two similar threads, but since they are about how to run this or that game there was no solution for me. i have had the e520 now for 2 months and actually i love it, but there are two points i really hate, and this is about one of them... i HOPE so much that somebody nows help...: i need to work with CAD and 3d software (-> 3ds max and bricscad (autocad-clone). and both of them don't work properly. e.g. when i switch to rendermode in bricscad, where 3d-models are displayed shaded and with shadows, i simply get an error that the hardware doesn't support gpu-raytracing or so. and the overall 3d-working is much slower than on my 4-year-old laptop which i wanted to replace with the e520 in 3ds max, the performance when working with even small and simple models is AWFUL!! it's also so much slower than on the 4-year old vista-32bit machine, and that seems to indicate that the e520 simply doesn't use the ati-graphics. i did choose that in the menu (the .exe-file of the two applications),. but whatever i tried, nothing changes. i have to work with the laptop, so this is SOOOO ANNOYING!!!! please.... if anyone having the same problems knows help... i would appreciate that so much!!!

[desmoale1987]

Hi,
my customer have the same problem, and i don't want to discourage you but........
I cannot help my customer because the problem with this laptop is only software, BAD driver....
if you want to use switchable graphics install win xp sp3, i'm sure that you are installed w7 now...

bye

[geogre]

hello alessandro, thank you for your answer. this is so frustrating!!! i bought a new laptop and it simply does not work because the software has a bug??? is lenovo going to do anything about this?? i couldn't find any email-adress where i could write to them... if it's the same problem for all e520-users there must be a solution for this issue... if not, i will have to buy another laptop which is really a pity because i like the e520 and it took already a long time to find a quite silent laptop with a non-glare screen that felt 'right' and was quite affordable i wouldn't want to go again through this process after only 2 months.... PLEASE!!!! LENOVO!!! if anyone reads this, please update that driver or whatever is wrong, so the E520 can be used with CAD and other 3D-software!!!! thanks for any help or advice!

[desmoale1987]

my customer can use the switchable graphics only with some software, but not all...
some software can't found the secondary graphics chipset

i don't know what happened

[desmoale1987]

now i try to speak with a lenovo representative to try to found a solution

[geogre]

hello alessandro,

thank you very much for your help and information. this shows that there is a huge problem with the driver-software of the E520.

in "3ds max" i can display what hardware the program is using and it says "0: [X]Mobile Intel(R) HD Graphics    \\.\DISPLAY1" while the "Catalyst Control Center" shows at the same time that 3dsmax is using the "AMD Radeon HD 6630M". but that is completely wrong, 3dsmax is definitely using the slow Intel graphics, therefore running extremely slow and with graphical errors.

if it was just one game that wouldn't run... but a professional software - that is not acceptable!

i hope there is or will soon be a solution to this BIG problem. i don't want to pay for a graphics adapter that i'm not able to use

thanks for any help!!

[geogre]

hello all.

i still haven't found any solution, if the E520 just does not having working drivers, i may have to return the laptop (although i actually like it), but it's completely worthless if i can't work with it

please - if anyone knows any help - i really appreciate it!!

or even better - if LENOVO would read this and upload a fixed driver that would do what was promised when i bought this thing!!!

[Anno]

Your programs are OpenGL based, right?

OpenGL applications and games cannot use the discreate graphics card on Dynamic Switchable Graphics Laptops.

Lenovo could release some sort of update/BIOS update that would fix the problem/add an option in BIOS to switch to the discreate GPU (fixed instead of dynamic)..

Although it might be a problem with the AMD software...

[geogre]

sorry, no the programs are not openGL based.

in one, i can set between an intern mode, direct3d and openGL. in openGL i don't see anything anymore, so it doesn't seem to work at all on the computer.

but even in direct3D (in all 3 modes) the laptop does only use the Intel chips.

it does not switch the 'switchable' graphics.

i have tried to get a solution from lenovo, but i didn't get any useful help from the techsupport on the phone. i think they don't care about it.

it may work with games, but for anyone planning to buy this to work with, i can only say look for something else =(