Dell :: Studio Xps 1647 Switchable Graphics Support?
Jan 11, 2010
It looks like Dell will be upgrading to the mobility HD 5730 (which is lame, by the way, since there will amost certainly now be no gddr5 memory but thats for another thread).
But my question is whether they have enabled the switchable graphics or are making us pay for an IGP we will never be able to use.
I'll bet the lazy engineers at Dell wont bother with it and argue that you dont need intergrated graphics if you have discrete graphics and so on ......
I have been asked to start this thread by a Dell representative so this issue can be cleared up. It will also serve as a thread where future information relating to the 1647 chipsets (and ultimately switchable graphics) can be posted. This has been talked about in the owner's lounge but I'm sure most owners agree that this issue is of enough importance to merit its own thread.
As most 1647 owners are aware, the 1647 is not being shipped with the HM55 chipset, despite Dell's website claiming it would be:
Instead it is being shipped with the slightly older PM55 chipset which was introduced back in September 09' with the quad-core mobile i7's, and is the chipset used on the 1645. This has been confirmed here, here and here.Why would you want the HM55 instead of the PM55? For most, it's one simple reason. The HM55 chipset supports utilisation of the on-die IGP on the new Arrandale range of CPU's. The PM55 unfortunately does not; it cannot transfer the IGP data to the laptop screen, due to the lack of Intel's FDI bus capability (Flexible Display Interface).What does this mean? As the PM55 can't utilise the graphics processor built-in to the new Arrandale CPU's, then switchable graphics is not possible.So if we had the HM55, would we have switchable graphics? At the moment, no. Basically something like NVIDIA's Optimus software is required. Currently ATI do not offer a switchable graphics software solution. BIOS support would also be required from Dell.But, if software and BIOS support is eventually offered, I won't be able to utilise SG anyway, as I have the PM55, right? Correct. This is what we need Dell to clear up. Most owners (not all) purchased the 1647 on the premise that they would receive the HM55.For those interested, some further information on the PM55/HM55 chipsets and switchable graphics can be found here. Chipset information can be found below.
Mobile Intel® PM55 Express Chipset Mobile Intel® HM55 Express Chipset
There is however one "flaw" that would be present if Dell actually went by the chipset and CPU listings on their website. The flaw is the i7-620M. It's a dual-core 32nm Arrandale CPU with an IGP. In other words, it's far more like the i5-520M and i5-540M than the quad-core 45nm i7 CPU's. So, according to Dell's website listing, the i7-620M (as it's an i7) is to be shipped with the PM55. This issue will hopefully be cleared up by Dell also, so let's wait and see what they say.
Please let me know if I have missed out important information and I will include it here. Similarly, this applies if any of the above information is incorrect, please let me know and I'll correct it.
I have an InspironR Special Edition 7520 and my AMD 7760 2GB will not activate or do any graphics processing. It is stuck on the Intel Graphics. I am running windows 8.
-My laptop is set on high performance and is plugged in.
-I ran NovaBench and it used the intel graphics card
-FurMark detected Intelgraphics as my main graphics card
-I ran a small game called "Slender: The Arrival" on the lowest settings it could barely handle it
-During the game and the graphics run I had Catalyst Control Center Up and it showed 0% usage of the graphics card, indicating it failed to switch
- All the drivers are up to date, per the windows solution and from downloading them from the AMD website.
I would like a solution to either, have the switch start working, or to change a setting so only the graphics card is constantly used. If this does not work I fear I'll have to return the laptop for faulty hardware.
From the looks of it, it will support any pc running windows 7, a 200m or 300m 40nm Nvidia gpu, and an IGP.
Their new driver scheme allows both GPUs to be used on a per application basis. The discrete GPU can power down completely when using apps that don't need its power, and power up in 300ms when you start an app that needs it.
Best part is, no more relying on sony to package new drivers or hacking them together for you Z series guys. It is supposed to let you independently update drivers for each GPU.
For other models, this looks like it will enable switchable graphics provided we can get the IGP enabled in BIOS. So the challenge now is to find the offset for the IGP like people did for the VT hacks.
I'd be interested to see some of the Z owners install the optimus drivers and see what happens since they already have an enabled IGP.
I recently purchased an Inspiron 15R 5520 with duel graphics with the standard intel HD 4000 and a AMD Radeon HD 7670 with 1mb RAM. I tried for the first time to play some graphic intensive games and found that the graphic cards weren't switching. Opening up the Catalyst Control Centre I find that the only option available to me is to change the orientation of the desktop. When I select hardware, nothing shows except the system information button. On the other hand, the intel control centre shows all. I'm sure this can't be normal. The documentation says the graphics should change with the power supply.
I bought this laptop 4 days ago. I am playing NFS MW 2012. Â I couldn't find much difference with switchable graphics. I getting video less than 30 fps with complete resolution(1920 *1080). I have tried uninstalling AMD driver and install a new driver from dell website(A04). But driver uninstalled with errors and i am unable to install a new driver. Now I am unable to select switchable graphics.
System Configuration: i7-3632qm 8gb ram, 2gb HD 7730m, Bios: A09
I recently downloaded an AMD driver update. It removed the switchable graphics option and I have spent hours searching the internet on how to get it back. I can't find any drivers or anything to get it back. Also after I did this Sony Vegas won't open. I have a HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC, Windows 7 64-bit. Is there any drivers or anything I can download to get switchable graphics back?
I have Dell Inspiron 5447 i3 with AMD Radeon R7 M265 with Windows 8.1 and have recently updated all needed windows updates.
I know how to add applications in the switchable settings as high-performace with *.exe extension but when I installed applications from the apps store (i.e. Asphalt 8 - Airborne, etc.) I cannot seem to add them to the switchable graphis settings to get the AMD GPU used. I know that the AMD GPU not getting used because I used a monitoring tool (openhardwaremonitor) that says it was not used. I can add applications like some other games I installed but not from the windows apps store so now I am really confused.Â
How can I get the AMD graphics to work with some apps in the apps store (specifically in my case, Asphalt)
Is there anyway to stay on the Intel Gpu on mains power , every-time i re-boot the notebook it is on the Intel for the first 30 seconds or so and then it automatically switches to the ATI 4330 and i have to manually switch to the Intel Gpu.
I will be using the Intel 95% of the time, I only need the Ati 4330 to play Battlefield 2.
I have an HP Envy-m6 with switchable graphics, with the usual combination of an Intel HD 4000 and an AMD Radeon HD 7600M card. Â When I had just bought the laptop and hadn't realised it had switchable graphics, I made the mistake of updating the drivers for one of these cards via the manufacturer's websites, causing it all to go haywire. I eventually managed to restore this, and was told that the only way in which you can update these drivers is via the driver software offerend on the HP website (or perhap using HP Support Assistant). Â However, just today Windows Update indicated it had updates for both the AMD and Intel drivers. My question is simply this: can I update both drivers through Windows Update, or will this cause switchable graphics to break?
If I cannot use Windows Update to update these drivers, is HP going to release a combined driver package that incorporates these new drivers on the Support website at some point?
I had to clean install Windows 7 due to a problem I created in the first place. Anyway, everything runs fine, except for the Radeon graphic card.Â
I own a HP Pavilion g6-1279sl Notebook. It's supposed to have an Intel HD Graphics 3000 and a AMD Radeon HD6470M.
I installed the last version of the Catalyst driver, and when I right click on the desktop, it says "switchable graphics", but if I click on that, it just shows me another option from the Catalyst, HydraGrid.Â
Using a tool that displays which graphic card is running, I noticed that even when I'm running games, the Intel Graphic Card is working, giving an overall worse performance than the Radeon should give. I mean, the Radeon is never working. I also tried to disable the Intel from Device Manager (I think it's called like this, I have an Italian laptop), and it gave problems due to the Radeon card not working properly.
The BIOS is updated and no option is there about Switchable Graphics.
Is there anything I can do to have back that feature?
I've bought a B590 and installed a Win 7 64bit. I have installed all available drivers from the support page and have the following issue: Â Device Manager: I see 2 graphics devices Intel HD Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M
The discrete card is disabled with error code 43 and has an exclamation mark near it [URL] .... Moreover, if i start the NVidia Control Panel it gives me an error with text: "current display is not connected to nvidia GP" GeFoerce Experience is not starting with a back-end error [URL] ...  Now here are the ways i tried to use but it did not work: 1. Enable high performance and update with manually downloaded nvidia driver 2. Do the same with HDMI cble connected to a plasma 3. Disable enable the device (screen goes black, than to normal and everything stays the same) 4. Format c: reinstall Win8.1 64 and install all drivers - same thing 5. Format c: reinstall Win7 64  and install the graphics drivers after everything else (h1d9d9.exe h2d903.exe) 6. Update GT720M drivers  from device manager  (driver is up to date) 7. Run a high-performance 3D game (War Thunder)  - it uses Intel HD  What else can i do? I saw people with switchable graphics use some kind of application to specify the game-apps that should use a discrete videocard. I don't have such an app to specify my games.
I replaced hard drive with SSD and installed windows 7 ultimate (X64) on my HP Pavilion G4 notebook. However, I am not able to install switchable graphics on my laptop now.  I have tried this 1. Installed HPSA and ran update and tuneup. It asked me to update "AMD High-Definition Graphics Driver" but it failed with multiple retries and after some time now it doesnt ask to do this update at all. Now everything is green in HPSA but I am still not able to switch the graphics 2. Tried to download from HP drivers page but it says "AMD Catalyst Mobility cannot be downloaded due to incompatible harware/software on your computer" 3. Tried uninstalling the driver but windows updates the drivers automatically. 4. I also updated BIOS as suggested at [URL] ..... but still no luck......  Product Name: HP Pavilion g4 Notebook PC Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Service Pack 1 Product number : LQ375PA#AB
I am looking to get a Studio XPS 16 soon, but can't quite decide on which model to get and had a few questions...
1) What is the battery life of the 1647 (i5) compared to the 1645 (i7) assuming they have the same specs. I've read that i5's should last longer, but I really couldn't find anything comparing the two for these systems.
2) When configuring the 1645 and 1647 side-by-side with the same specs. The 1647 is about the same price as the 1645, if not more (depending on which processor selected). I thought the i5's were supposed to be less expensive than the i7's. Since they are about the same price, would it be better to go with the i7? Any reason to choose the i5 over i7?
I'm getting this next month (or the order says I am), and I have a couple questions reading this forum:
1. I'm getting an i7 Quad Core -720, that's still a 1647 right? I keep reading that the 640 is what that goes up to, but am not sure.
2. What is throttling? I do a search on the internet and all I get is Drag Racing info Is that when the fan starts to spin super hard?
3. I've got a 1640 that I'm selling once I get it....it's new from Dell because of an exchange so no warranty (but can be upgraded by the buyer), what do you think is a fair asking price? It's a P8700 2.53 Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM 320GB HD, 512MB ATI 3670. HD screen, etc.
I've been starting to see more references about Studio XPS 1647 here and on Dell's site, but I couldn't figure out what distinguishes this model from the others (1640 & 1645).
i am planning to buy sony fw from Sonystyle.com with the following configuration..but i hav doubts,
1.Can i be able to play high games like assains creed ,gta 4 in this ati card system specification provided with fw
2.can this blue ray read only write dvdr,dvd+-rw
3.i hav heared about region code problem like on playing dvds,blueray..is there any way to overcme it....i mostly use dvds which i write so does regon code make any issue in this..
config: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66GHz) Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit Black 4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2) 320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm] Blu-ray Disc™ Read Only Drive ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB vRAM LCD 16.4" (XBRITE-ECO™)1600x900
Im thinking about picking up this bad boy but I dont want to get caught like I did with my Inspiron 1520 when I bought it 3 years ago (I bought it and then 3 days later they bought out the 1525 which was 20% lighter etc).
Also i've heard lots of things regarding XPS machines running very hot, is it very bad? Or is it one of those things that are just blown out of proportion?
I currently have the Studio XPS 1645. My uses for the machine are client visits, presentations, and occasionally gaming on the road.
I probably only log 5 hours a week on the laptop 3 weeks a month and 30 or so in the other week (when I am not at home).
I have read about the throttling issue and this is my last day to return. So knowing my usage pattern. Would you keep the quad core or change out for the 1647.
From what I've heard it seems like the Dell Studio XPS 1647 has good enough specs to play a good number of games. But I want to ask the community who owns a Studio XPS 1647 to give me their opinion on it when gaming on it. Note that I'm well aware that the Dell Studio XPS 1647 isn't made for just gaming. Anyways I'm planning on buying one but I'm not too convince to do so.
I plan on playing games on the Studio XPS 1647 most of the time, but I'm also willing to do other things such as surfing on the internet, homework, etc.. From looking at the specs I believe that it would be a good computer to buy, but having to look at the graphic card (ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB) I'm not too sure that I'll be able to play the games I want to play with the graphic details I want to play in. When I say games I mean like Bad Company 2, Starcraft 2 etc..
Just curious if anyone else is having this problem/glitch when I unplug the laptop from AC power and the screen brightness is turned up about more than 1 tick the screen turns really red and dark but then brightens up a second later.
It seems odd that it turns mostly red and then back up to normal in a second
Got a the beep codes, but apparently they don't mean anything with this model.I have no POST, and it's a black screen. The LCD icons (sounds, mutes, et cetera) are doing nothing out of the ordinary. I did the LCD BIST, and the colors came up fine.
today I bricked my new 1645 when I was examing the BIOS for the 1647. The BIOS release 1647_A00.exe released this month automatically begins flashing on an 1645
and does not seem to check compatibility or confirm with the user before it updates.
The BIOS is completely incompatible with the 1645 to say the least, so be very careful if you download it on to a non-1647 system.
Dell is building a new system due to this really sad event. Rip XPS 1645 - December 5th 2009.
Turns out from the Dell Canada website that the new and (supposedly) improved studio xps 1647 will only sport the ATI's mobility 5730 which incidentally does not support gddr5- EVEN AS AN OEM OPTION! Many expected to see the mobility 5770 in the updated SXPS'S or at the very least, a 5750 WITH 1GB OF GDDR5. The 5730 is simply unacceptable! Dell charges TOP DOLLAR for these little puppies and now they are cutting corners on the GPU'S! Dell should be ashamed!This laptop does not even deserve the XPS moniker. The graphics are too weak. It should be a Studio Pro 1647.
AS WE ALL KNOW ALL OF ATI'S NEW MOBILE CARDS USE A RATHER LAME 128 BIT MEMORY INTERFACE AND AS SUCH, RESONABLE PERFORMANCE CAN ANLY BE ACHIEVED WITH THE USE OF GDDR5 ram which runs at about twice the speed of GDDR3.
