MacBook Pro requires logout to switch graphics modes
Engadget —
... We just spent some quality time with the dual-graphics VAIO Z, so when we heard that the new MacBook Pros had a similar two-chip layout, we assumed switching from the integrated NVIDIA 9400M to the discrete 9600M GT would be just as easy -- it's ...
Notes of interest from Apple's MacBook event
AppleInsider —
... potentially delivers longer battery life by switching to integrated video instead of its more powerful discrete chipset, Apple notes in a support document that users can't just flick a switch and trigger the new mode. Instead, changing energy preferences to favor either better battery life (with the GeForce 9400M) or faster performance (with the 9600M GT) prompts the notebook's owner to log out and back in for the change to take effect. It's not known whether disconnecting or reattaching power makes the switch automatically. On the upside, however, the glass trackpad has ...
Switching between Nvidia GPUs in new MacBook Pros requires log out
MacDailyNews —
... Higher performance if playing games or carrying out other tasks which involve heavy graphics processing. When choosing a different graphics setting in the Energy Saver system preference pane, you will be required to log out for the new settings to take effect. After choosing Log Out (shown in the message below), you will have an opportunity to save any open documents or other work. By default, the MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) uses the Better battery life option. Full article here . [Attribution: Macworld UK. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "New MBP Owner" for the heads ...
We loves higher performance; no, we loves better battery life!
MacUser —
... Flipping the switch is as simple as, well, flipping a switch (okay, hitting a radio button). In the Energy Saver preference pane (now denoted with an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb—poor kids today will have Thomas Edison rolling over in his grave with their swirly curly cue lights) there’s a section labelled Graphics Performance with radio buttons for “Better battery life” and “Higher performance” (by default the “Better battery life” option is selected). ...
Yes, Virginia, you do have to log out to switch graphics cards on the MBP
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) —
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Macbook Pro Having options is good; saving energy is good; improving battery life on your laptop is very good. Having to log out and back in to switch between the two video cards on the MacBook Pro? Um... not all that good. Kinda annoying, to tell you the truth.
Engadget posted a video last night of the swap process (click one button in System Preferences, log out, log back in -- seems ripe for automation) and while it's not particularly onerous, it does seem very weird considering that ...
MacBook Pro does not shift GPUs like you shift cars
Infinite Loop —
... whose flight got delayed. Again. More importantly, though, is the way in which these two cards will be called into action depending on one's computing habits. Apple detailed this in a new support document , but in short: there's no magic gear shift for quickly taking the MacBook Pro up a notch with the 9600M. Instead, users will need to open the Energy Saver System Preferences pane, switch from "Better battery life" to "high performance," and then log out and back in for the changes to take effect. Apple's document also notes that the new MacBook Pros default to using ...


