On Monday 03 December 2007 02:14:51 Dr. David Kirkby wrote: > > None of Intel's cards have thermal sensors, and their > > driver software is very > > basic. NVIDIA is the only company to provide > > accelerated drivers and > > utilities to non-Windows operating systems. You > > don't set the resolution > > with the utlity, that's why the XRandR extension was > > such an important > > milestone to accomplish when X.org 7.x was instituted > > on OpenSolaris. Again, > > the Intel cards lack the functionality. > > > > James > > Thank you James. It looks like I am OK now, as I think both the Nvidia and > the Intel graphics are working correctly. I can live with reduced control > on Intel. > > I see some web page say Sony claim 4.5 hours typical use on the Intel chip > set of this laptop and 3.5 when using the Nvidia. I can't say I've seen > that from Sony, nor can I say I have measured it myself, but it does run > significantly warmer when using the Nvidia, so I can well believe it > reduces the battery life by 20-25%. > > > This message posted from opensolaris.org > _______________________________________________ > laptop-discuss mailing list > laptop-discuss at opensolaris.org
It's a penalty some are willing to take, although unless you do 3D modeling on the go or games, and are using a more frugal operating system like Solaris or Linux, the GMA950 is more than adequate for normal tasks, playing movies, etc. Sony has been known to make some questionable claims about their Vaios, it's no suprise to me that they claim to get as much performance with a NVIDIA-enabled system that a very respectable 13" Dell or MacBook (Not Pro) with Intel graphics can truely accomplish. It defies physics for any notebook with a dedicated hardware accelerated graphic card and dual core processor to get more than 3 1/2 hours, even with a 12 cell battery. Take my 15.4" MacBook Pro for instance, it has a Geforce 8600 GT, and amazingly I can get 3 1/2 hours with it, only reason though is the full power management support in Mac OS X, and constant dimming of the LCD. and downclocking using Speedstep. Now being able to use it in full without actually turning on the power features that are obvious (and annoying) is not a truth of modern and past age computers, it doesn't and won't happen unless our battery technology gets out of the Lithium stoneage. James
