What is NVIDIA Advanced Optimus and how it differs from Optimus

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What is NVIDIA Advanced Optimus and how it differs from Optimus

Advanced, differs, NVIDIA, Optimus


As a reminder, Optimus technology allows Switch between the integrated graphics processor embedded in notebooks, to save battery. Therefore, we can take advantage of iGPU and eGPU in the same system in an efficient and automated way.

Now, in conjunction with Dynamic Boost NVIDIA unveiled Advanced Optimus, the emergence of technologies created 10 years ago and equips almost all bookmarks sold today by product GPUs that allow to fully utilize the power of both of their images to save battery to deliver better performance. We'll see below what it contains.

NVIDIA Advanced Optimus Technology

Advanced Optimus: G-Sync Optimus together eventually

Although Optimus is excellent and represents significant improvement in terms of efficiency, the most important thing for bookmakers in the quest to save battery, has always had a direct impact: the driver of the interface it is using (IGP) remains the IGPU, which means your maximum can be limited.

In 2010, when Optimus first appeared, this wasn't a major problem, but now with the technology of flexible screen frequency (FreeSync, Adaptive Sync, G-Sync) tables have turned, from time to time Intel integrated Gen 11 graphics (available on Ultra Low Voltage Ice Lake processors) This feature is not supported on the GPUs.

A common consequence of this is that the adoption of revolutionary technology in laptops was very low, and in cases with it, you do not have Optimus (not to use IGP for IGPU but one of the designated images) so it is only limited to high-end storage machines. In some cases they have been able to use it using a multlexer (mux), but to move from one system to another requires a laptop to be restarted, less efficient and canceling the "automatic" feature promised Optimus.

Advanced Technology Technology

Advanced Optimus solves this problem

With Advanced Optimus NVIDIA seems to have found a way to achieve this limit, incorporating a powerful mux that allows the laptop to switch between compiled and dedicated graphics without restarting the computer; simply, if you are on a desktop using an iGPU and using a 3D program, mux flashes the dedicated graphics and starts using its IGP, it will support a flexible screen refresh rate in the state of having it.

In general, Advanced Optimus is designed for the shortcomings of previous technologies with modern and smart implementation, which has translated into new times (remember that Optimus dates from 2010). So, in addition to making the screen-refreshing technology available, it also removes the latency penalty Optimus had as it was. the buffer will not pass through the GPU now but will be created directly in dedicated drawings.

As for software, Advanced Optimus behaves more or less the same as Optimus. That means it looks at 3D applications in a list and then switches from one GPU to another automatically, which has its advantages and disadvantages as a whole: on the other hand it's ironic that if you don't have the software updated and running an unlisted program, dedicated drawings may not work. and will have very low performance with IGPU. The advantage is that it doesn't matter if the software is a window or full screen, dedicated graphics will also work.

Ultimately, NVIDIA's goal is to prepare laptops with Advanced Optimus to enjoy this battery-saving technology and mechanical devices and even displays with a variety of refreshments, including, of course, G-Sync.

NVIDIA does not reveal how they used this mux

Now, when it comes to technical details, this NVIDIA was more than a short one and, in fact, they didn't. So it is currently unclear how NVIDIA solved this powerful mux operation.

In fact, some think that NVIDIA might have used a display driver directly in mux, something that might be disrespectful because the party will have a total of three IGPs and will use only one, but it is actually quite reasonable to put everything together a single display controller that handles everything.

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