MacBook Pro switching to GeForce 330M prematurely?
updated 05:50 pm EDT, Wed April 21, 2010
Users complain of shortened battery life
Apple's latest MacBook Pros may be prematurely switching to the GeForce 330M graphics, according to forum posts on MacRumors. Although the system automatically switches between systems in the background, users can view which graphics components are enabled by opening the system profiler and selecting Graphics/Displays.
One user has noticed that 330M graphics are turned on immediately after opening Tweetie, an app that would not be expected to require acceleration beyond what the Intel system is capable of running. Another user claims the 330M graphics are enabled after launching iGoogle, even while a multitude of other browser tabs were run using Intel components.
Reports suggest the MacBook could also experience problems switching back to the Intel system after a graphics-intensive program is closed, requiring the user to reboot. Similar problems appear to occur when using other apps.
Although the automatic switching system is designed to seamlessly balance performance with battery life, the recent observations have driven many users to call for more control. Earlier MacBook Pros requires users to log off before switching between graphics options. Apple's reasoning behind removing the additional settings remains unclear.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
ORLY?
"Apple's reasoning behind removing the additional settings remains unclear." - well, I guess it's because it is a royal pain in the *** to log out every time you switched your graphics engine. It's great that it's supposed to be doing that automatically now... even greater if it worked. Probably only a matter of a software fix?