NVIDIA teases Optimus notebook graphics tech
updated 10:15 pm EST, Tue January 5, 2010
NVIDIA Optimus may replace Hybrid SLI
NVIDIA today hinted at a new graphics technology for notebooks that could be key to systems from Apple and others using Intel's mobile Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Nicknamed Optimus, the technology will give any portable with an NVIDIA GPU better battery life without necessarily sacrificing performance. The chipmaker isn't clear whether the technology is directly related to Hybrid SLI, which switches GPUs depending on the power source, or is genuinely new.
The technology is expected to receive a larger unveiling in February and to ship sometime in the first quarter, which ends in March.
Optimus may prove essential to NVIDIA as it currently lacks a proper integrated GPU for any mobile Core iX processor. Its license dispute with Intel currently prevents it from producing a mainboard chipset that supports the newer Intel processors and consequently leaves those using the GeForce 9400M to either revert to Intel's slower graphics or add a costly and power-hungry dedicated GPU.
Apple in particular may depend on Optimus as all MacBooks and Mac minis, as well as the entry 21.5-inch iMac, use the GeForce 9400M. The 27-inch Core i5 and i7 iMacs, as well as the Mac Pro, use dedicated graphics by default and aren't under pressure to adopt the new technology. Dell and Toshiba also use the 9400M in some notebooks, like the Studio XPS 13.
