Nvidia launches its Optimus technology, designed to make switching between integrated and discrete graphics in a laptop seamless. We explain the technology, test how well it works, and tells you what it means for netbooks and Apple laptops.

. And there's no shortage of laptops that have this capability today, including Editors' Choices like the , , , and . But using the technology involves too many steps that most users just don't want to bother with. Nvidia plans to change all that, with its new Optimus technology.

Laptops with switchable graphics come with both a discrete graphics solution (for 3D-intensive tasks) and integrated graphics (for saving on battery life). The user can switch between the two depending on the task at hand. Unfortunately, making the switch usually requires a reboot, logging out of your computer, or at the very least, a long screen flicker.

Less than 1% of users whose laptops have this capability actually make the switch, according to Nvidia. Fact is, few usage scenarios call for the extra 3D horsepower and faster graphics suck up battery life. Nvidia, however, may have found a way around all of this.

Optimus, which Nvidia calls its breakthrough technology, will make this graphics switch completely seamlessno reboot or logging out of your computer, not even a screen flicker. Based on what application the laptop is running, Optimus determines when to activate the discrete Nvidia GPU without any user intervention whatsoever. And there's a lot at stake here: Intel's newest processor technologies for laptops (codenamed ) and netbooks (codenamed ) have pretty much kicked Nvidia out of the integrated chipset businessthe same Nvidia chipsets that can be found in Apple's current laptops, as well as certain netbooks (with Ion). Nvidia's objective with Optimus is to convince Apple, netbook makers, and everyone else that discrete GPUs are still worth having around.

How Does Optimus Work?

Optimus is a completely new technology, one that would require next-generation Nvidia graphics cards, new motherboards, and Nvidia software to make the switch between graphics automatic and seamless. With existing switching graphics technologies, hardware components called multiplexers ("muxes") would handle this switch, taking up valuable space on the motherboard and slowing transition times. Optimus is less demanding from a hardware standpoint and decides for the user which graphics system yields the best results, by developing an entire software ecosystem around it.

Instead of the user, an Nvidia software driver decides what tasks need more graphics horsepower. For instance, basic tasks like checking e-mail, installing software, or creating documents are recognized by Optimus as non 3D-intensive. For these tasks the discrete GPU and all the PCI-e lanes will be turned off. According to Nvidia, there is no current flowing to the graphics chipset when the discrete GPU is disabled, and thus, battery life would not take a hit. Conversely, if a 3D game was launched or a Website like Hulu begins playing back high definition clips, the discrete GPU is instantlyand automaticallyenabled.

Determining when the discrete GPU should be utilized is trickier. Since there's no longer a way to manually switch graphics systems, Nvidia relies on what it calls Optimus Profiles, similar to how virus definitions are written for malware. These profiles are written for each application based on their call types. Certain video playback, for instance, will trigger the switch, as will CUDA-enabled applications, which is based on Nvidia's proprietary software. The third and probably the most difficult profiles to create are for 3D games, which, if you think about it, should come natural given Nvidia's reputation. Not only does Nvidia have to create a different profile for 3D games like Crysis and World in Conflict, but it also has to create individual ones for basic 2D games like Minesweeper and Solitaire, instructing the discrete GPU to stand down during these scenarios.

Does Optimus Work?

Optimus is hardly vaporware. ASUS is showing its full support for it by launching the , a 15.6-inch consumer ultra-low voltage-equipped (CULV) laptop that runs on Optimus and has two graphics solutions (an integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD and a discrete Nvidia GeForce G210M graphics card), and several others will debut at a later date. Nvidia sent over an UL50Vt-2B for testing.

For the most part, Optimus does what it promises. It works without the need to flip a physical switch, change software settings, or sit through a long screen flicker. There were multiple instances when the Nvidia GPU didn't kick in or shut down when it should have, but the overall experience was pretty seamless. Nvidia even provided a downloadable tool that indicated whether the Nvidia GPU is on or off during each task.

I tested video playback thoroughly, using various video formats that were encoded at high bit rates. Playing back high definition videos can harness the power of a discrete GPU; but while H.264 clips (720p and 1080p) activated the discrete Nvidia GPU, WMV (720p and 1080p) videos did not (they played back fine with Intel's integrated chipset, though). And as expected, other tasks like DVD playback and standard definition (480p) video playback did not activate the discrete Nvidia GPU.

Optimus also detects sites that can take advantage of Adobe's Flash 10.1, like . The switching experience wasn't perfect, though. Just idling on YouTube's homepage, for example, would occasionally turn on the Nvidia GPU. Meanwhile, Optimus failed to turn the GPU off when standard definition clips were playing in several instances. Most of the time, though, Optimus made the appropriate call, whether it's a Flash 10.1-heavy Website or a text-only one like Craigslist.

Games worked flawlessly as well, at least with the ones I used for testing. Of course, there are many more games that I haven't tried out yet and probably as many that don't have Optimus profiles yet (Nvidia will continuously update these profiles and automatically download them to the laptop, though). With games like Crysis and World in Conflict, the discrete Nvidia GPU was activated as soon as the game launched. Even 2D games like World of Warcraft and Spore were able to trigger the discrete Nvidia GPU. Basic games like Minesweeper and Solitaire, on the other hand, ran on Intel's integrated graphics.

Battery life is arguably the most important indicator for Optimus, given that discrete GPUs are not battery-friendly. With a battery test like MobileMark 2007, the suite is made up entirely of office productivity applications, so Nvidia's GPU didn't get called into action. Thus, battery scores were very respectable at 7 hours 55 minutes. Running down the battery using HD videos from Hulu, however, will likely result in shorter battery spans.

Final Word

Nvidia's Optimus will be well-received among laptop makers who are already using switching graphics technology in their products. It makes the graphics switch completely seamless as long as the manufacturers are willing to adopt new motherboards and Nvidia's latest graphics cards that support Optimus (so far, that number includes the Geforce 200M series, the 300M series, and the upcoming Fermi cards ).

More intriguing is what will happen to laptops that run on Nvidia's integrated platform only, namely the Apple MacBook, , , and Ion-based netbooks. These laptops have no choice but to move to Intel's new processors, where integrated graphics is bundled into the processor package. In other words, Nvidia will have to make a strong case as to why these particular models should use both an Intel chipset and an Nvidia discrete GPU. And Optimus will no doubt be a key selling point.