laptopwiki:guides:general:optimus

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laptopwiki:guides:general:optimus [29/06/2024 15:17] – created - external edit 127.0.0.1laptopwiki:guides:general:optimus [08/03/2025 18:58] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 === Drawbacks === === Drawbacks ===
  
-   * Besides sometimes picking incorrect GPU, which can be manually fixed, there is a performance hit. Due to how optimus works, all the display output is routed through the iGPU. dGPU processes the image, and then pushes it to the display through the iGPU. This introduces performance penalty, which can be as high as 10%. The penalty can sometimes be bypasses. Some laptops, like those from Lenovo Legion lineup, have at least one or more laptop ports routed directly to the iGPU. By connecting an external monitor to one of such ports, this penalty can be bypassed. +   * Besides sometimes picking incorrect GPU, which can be manually fixed, there is a performance hit. Due to how optimus works, all the display output is routed through the iGPU. dGPU processes the image, and then pushes it to the display through the iGPU. This introduces performance penalty, which can be as high as 10%. The penalty can sometimes be bypassed. Some laptops, like those from Lenovo Legion lineup, have at least one or more laptop ports routed directly to the iGPU. By connecting an external monitor to one of such ports, this penalty can be bypassed. 
    * iGPU by its nature doesn't have its own video memory. As a replacement, iGPU uses the system RAM. This can be observed as "reserved ram," which means a portion of your memory will be off limits for other uses. Can be an issue in laptops with low memory to begin with, especially for laptops with 8GB RAM or less. When there is not enough memory for Windows, Windows will reserve a portion of the storage drive to work as a stand in for RAM. Not noticeable for general use if laptop has a decent SSD, but very noticeable when using a demanding application or a game. The bigger the laptop RAM, the smaller the issue of iGPU having a portion reserved    * iGPU by its nature doesn't have its own video memory. As a replacement, iGPU uses the system RAM. This can be observed as "reserved ram," which means a portion of your memory will be off limits for other uses. Can be an issue in laptops with low memory to begin with, especially for laptops with 8GB RAM or less. When there is not enough memory for Windows, Windows will reserve a portion of the storage drive to work as a stand in for RAM. Not noticeable for general use if laptop has a decent SSD, but very noticeable when using a demanding application or a game. The bigger the laptop RAM, the smaller the issue of iGPU having a portion reserved
    * The reserved RAM can be anywhere between 0.5 - 2GB. Sometimes the size can be manually set.    * The reserved RAM can be anywhere between 0.5 - 2GB. Sometimes the size can be manually set.
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-===== MUX Switch and Hybrid mode =====+===== MUX Switch, Hybrid mode, Ultimate mode etc. =====
  
-Hybrid mode is a Lenovo name for the MUX switch, which means they are functionally the same thing. MUX allows manually turning the iGPU off. MUX is not mutually exclusive with Optimus / Advanced optimus. A laptop can have both MUX and Optimus inside it. While MUX is a hardware switch, it is still controlled through the user interface. Either through BIOS, or through some proprietary laptop application, for example, Lenovo Vantage application.+Hybrid mode is a Lenovo name for the MUX switch, which means they are functionally the same thing, and can be found in Lenovo Vantage app. Other manufacturers may call it differently, for example in case of ASUS, it can be called "Ultimate mode" in the Armory crate. MUX allows manually turning the iGPU off. MUX is not mutually exclusive with Optimus / Advanced optimus. A laptop can have both MUX and Optimus inside it. While MUX is a hardware switch, it is still controlled through the user interface. Either through BIOS, or through some proprietary laptop application, for example, Lenovo Vantage application.
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