Question on Notebooks:

Everyone wants longer battery life and more powerful graphics capabilities to play current games. However both requirements are mutually exclusive. If I am not playing games or don't need discrete graphics to kick in (which is most of the time), why should I sacrifice battery life just so I can keep the option of having a graphics card? The switchable graphics is the ideal solution, but I fail to understand why this concept has not taken off. Are there any technical limitations?

I have not been able to find mainstream laptops with switchable graphics except for the Asus UL80VT and Lenovo U330. Do you know any other laptop with slightly better graphics and/or a slightly faster processor?

Submitted by Hasan, via email

Answer:

Switchable graphics have been around for only a relatively short period. Though Sony had a model which used both integrated and discrete GPUs, it required the machine to restart when switching between them. It was only when the platform hit Centrino 2 did true switchable graphics that did not require a restart appeared.

A possible reason for the glut of notebooks sporting this technology could be market demand. If portability is important, then the majority of users are contented with integrated GPUs which preserve battery life, while power users will have little use for anything other than discrete graphics.

Still, we can expect more models with switchable graphics in the coming year, though we suspect it will remain a niche market for now.