Nvidia is launching its Optimus technology today in an effort to match your laptop’s graphics horsepower to a given application.
The technology will assess a running application and decide whether to engage Nvidia’s own graphics chip or an Intel-provided graphics component that is part of a laptop’s chip set. Optimus can thus deliver the most appropriate graphics power while preserving battery life.
The new technology recognizes an old fact. A lot of laptops come with built-in 3-D graphics within the Intel chip set on the motherboard, or main circuit board, of the machine. On top of that, the laptops often have a stand-alone graphics chip to provide better graphics performance on 3-D games. It’s kind of like how a hybrid gas-electric car has to choose which engine to use in the name of energy efficiency.
But Optimus is a recognition that sometimes the stand-alone 3-D chip is overkill. If it isn’t necessary, it’s better not to use that chip in order to save battery life. This is the kind of task users don’t know how to manage and really don’t need to know either. Nvidia is taking the problem off their hands and automating it. Nvidia says Optimus extends battery life up to two times.