Netbook Review UK

NVIDIA is introducing a new technology  that allow laptops and netbooks to switch between integrated and dedicated graphics chips.  For example, if you’re on Facebook, writing email, or just doing light surfing, you could switch to your chipset’s integrated graphics chip to save power.  Then, when you’re watching an HD movie, or playing a graphics intensive game, NVIDIA’s new technology will automatically switch to the higher performance, dedicated, graphics card.

The technology, which Nvidia showed off today, is called Optimus, and it’s designed to work with GeForce 200M, 300M, and GeForce M GPUs as well as the soon to be released NVIDIA ION 2 graphics processor. It supports Intel’s Core 2 Duo, Core i3, i5, and i7 processors and Intel Atom N450 CPUs.

This is a logical move for Nvidia, since Intel is pushing towards integrated graphics, which looked to be pushing Nvidia out of the laptop and netbook game since most of them use Intel processors.  The Optimus system will let users manually switch graphics, from the integrated, power efficient Intel solution, to the higher performing (hopefully) Nvidia Ion 2.

Engadget’s Joanna Stern has been testing the laptop for a few days and she noted that most of the the switches occurred seamlessly between the integrated and dedicated graphics solutions.   Gizmodo  also reports that as many as 50 notebooks with Optimus should be available by this summer.