Santa Clara, California-based NVIDIA has recently announced that three major portable systems makers that have already released their latest Intel Centrino 2 notebooks have incorporated the new GeForce 9300M and GeForce 9600M graphics solutions. In doing so, Sony, Fujitsu-Siemens and BenQ will enable their customers to switch between discrete graphics and onboard graphics, without having to reboot their systems.

 

NVIDIA's GeForce 9M series GPUs come with support for hybrid graphics, which means that users will be able boost the graphics performance of their notebooks by switching to a discrete graphics card. In addition, this feature can enable some serious battery saving, as users can now switch back to the notebook's integrated graphics. What is even more interesting is that this feature can be enabled without the need for a system reboot.

 

The notebooks that currently support NVIDIA's hybrid graphics feature are the Sony VAIO Z series, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo XI 3650, and BenQ Joybook S42. While the ultra-light laptop from Sony is featured with the GeForce 9300M GPU, the other two notebooks from Fujitsu-Siemens and BenQ are equipped with NVIDIA's GeForce 9600M and 9600M GT GPUs, respectively. All of them are designed for users requiring an ultra-portable system that can deliver a high-performance ratio.

 

“Engineering hybrid graphics was a significant effort between all involved, but the end result was worth it,” said Rene Haas, general manager of the notebook business at NVIDIA. “Now consumers can experience a new breed of laptops that eliminates the compromise between battery life and visual computing performance.” Haas added.

 

NVIDIA's hybrid graphics technology for Intel's Centrino 2 has been developed in collaboration with Intel and notebook makers. The purpose of this new feature is to allow portable systems makers to create a new type of laptops that can be both energy-efficient and high on visual computing performance.