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1. #GFXCARDSTATUS EXTERNAL DISPLAY MAC OS X#
2. #GFXCARDSTATUS EXTERNAL DISPLAY INSTALL#
3. #GFXCARDSTATUS EXTERNAL DISPLAY PRO#

I simply didn't have the stamina to test that claim, but I did make one nine-hour run with OS X reporting a nine percent remaining battery capacity. GfxCardStatus is a free download from creator Cody Krieger's website. well, now that you mention it, I guess it's only been about 2 years :) How many people have multiple graphics cards?Haha. Most 15"/17" MacBook Pros sold since 2009, if I remember correctly, have 2 graphics cards - one discrete card that is very powerful, but somewhat power-hungry, and an integrated one that is much less powerful but draws less power.

#GFXCARDSTATUS EXTERNAL DISPLAY MAC OS X#

Mac OS X automatically switches between the available graphics cards. When you connect an external display, load something up in Flash, start a game, etc. the OS will switch to the better graphics card, and when you're done, it will switch back to save power. But it's not perfect, and a lot of apps will inadvertently force the system to use the better graphics card. For example, Google Chrome and Skype, among many others. gfxCardStatus provides a lot of control over which card is in use at any given time, and can also just notify you when the system decides that you should be using a different graphics card, and shows you why exactly the switch was made (under "dependencies"). It's a great utility.Some Windows notebooks, like Toshiba's Tecra W50, have both integrated and discrete (usually high-end) graphics technology. The higher-end graphics technology on a mobile workstation or gamer's system can itself consume upwards of 60 watts of power. If that's your setup, go conservative and use the lower-power integrated graphics whenever the workload doesn't demand all-out video power, such as for Web browsing or writing emails. If you've got discrete graphics from Nvidia or AMD, you should also have a utility that lets you manually or automatically make the change based on load.

I'd also suggest that, when you're using the integrated graphics, use the most aggressive power management settings you're comfortable with. You can usually make power adjustments using either Intel's HD Graphics Control Panel or AMD's Start Now Technology screen, depending on which processor your computer is using.

#GFXCARDSTATUS EXTERNAL DISPLAY PRO#

This goes for Macs as well: A 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display can be ordered with Nvidia's GeForce GT 750M graphics accelerator with 2GB of video RAM. The system automatically switches between integrated and discrete graphics when you've checked the box in the upper left corner of its Energy Saver window.

#GFXCARDSTATUS EXTERNAL DISPLAY INSTALL#

If you want to manually go between graphics adapters on a MacBook Pro, you can install the free app gfxCardStatus, which tells you which of your applications are more power-hungry and lets you manually toggle between integrated and discrete graphics. Nearly every Windows-based notebook comes from the factory set to shut itself down when 7% of battery power remains. This buffer is meant to be an extra safety margin to provide enough power to shut the system down and not lose key data or documents. Several years ago, I started setting my notebooks to leave a 1% or 2% power reserve instead - as a result, I added more time to work, and I've never had a problem.īut in actual fact, it wastes 10 or 15 minutes of precious battery life.