I would quit any obvious GPU hogs such as Photoshop, iPhoto, or iMovie, but I couldn’t easily tell whether my MacBook Pro had switched to the integrated GPU. When working away from my desk, I want to get the longest battery life I can. (You can turn off automatic switching in the preference pane, which leaves the Nvidia chip active all the time.) Otherwise, the integrated Intel GPU provides the graphics without burning through the battery’s charge. Starting with the mid-2010 models, the switching occurs automatically: when an application is launched that requires more graphics power, the discrete Nvidia GPU fires up. The former is designed for low power consumption, and therefore better battery life, while the latter kicks in to provide graphics horsepower when needed.Įarlier dual-GPU MacBook Pros required that you specify which graphics mode to use in the Energy Saver preference pane, and then log out and log back in to your user account. This laptop also includes two graphics cards (designated as GPUs, or graphics processing units): the integrated Intel HD Graphics, and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 330M. That cycle gives me plenty of use out of each machine, but also means I leapfrog into features that appeared in intervening models.īuying a new MacBook Pro (with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 processor) last year was like a surprise birthday gift: It boasts significantly better battery life, the full range of multi-touch trackpad gestures, the aluminum unibody construction (which I’m surprised is one of my favorite features-it just feels so much more sturdy than previous models), and a high-resolution LED screen. Roughly every three years, I replace my MacBook Pro with a new model.
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