Cannot use Switchable graphics on HP Pavilion G7-1226EM

Last month I have purchased the HP Pavilion g7-1226em notebook which is running core i5 processor. The specs of the notebook are as follows:

• Intel Core i5-2430M 2.4 GHz
• 6 GB DDR3 Memory (Upgradeable to 6 GB DDR3)
• AMD Radeon HD 6470M (1 GB DDR3) Graphics card
• 17,3" HD+ High-Definition LED BrightView Display (1600 x 900)
• 750 GB SATA (5400 rpm)
• SuperMulti DVD±R/RW with Double Layer
• Integrated 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet LAN

The notebook comes with a switchable Graphics. I assume that it should allow me to switch from dedicated graphics to the Intel HD and vice verse at real time. The problem is, switchable graphics do not work. Since it is a new Notebook, this was the first time I went to check the switchable graphics but it won’t work at all. How HP can let their product without testing. I assume that it is absolutely the fault from the manufacturer side?

1. Did you install the latest driver for your Graphics from the HP website for this netbook?
2. Did you try the AMD Catalyst control Center to switch the graphics?

You cannot control the switchable Graphics using the 3D Max. You have to control the Graphics settings using the AMD CCC. Using that you can easily switch the Graphics between the Dedicate and Integrated one. Otherwise you can try to disable the Intel HD graphics in device manager, if you want to run only Dedicated Graphics. In any situation, the Notebook must be set to performance more in order to use the High Graphics settings. For this, you have to open the Power Options and make sure that High performance option is selected over there. Since it is a notebook pc, in desktop PC it is no not needed.

I don’t think that it is a manufacturing defect since all HP products has been tested accurately before shipping. There are different levels of testing for each product and it should pass unless it is to be shipped to the market. If you think that it is a manufacturer defect you can request for RMA since it is just 6 month old. But I think that it is just a Driver or software malfunctions. The driver package which is bundled with the Notebook is not a right one for this model. Don’t worry, you can download the driver and software directly from the HP download center without any cost. You will get the updated drivers. Make sure that to choose 64bit or 32 bit drivers depending on the version of OS you have installed. You can get the AMD Catalyst control center from the AMD website.

One more solution is, you can directly contact the HP assistant via online where they will remotely connect to your computer and provide a free troubleshooting to you. If nothing has fixed the issue, you have return your notebook.

A agree that few HP Pavilion models comes with a switchable graphics. I also own one and I didn’t see any issue with it while playing games and during some other work. I know that these brands are little expensive but even after spending this much amount you won’t feel that you wasted money. Due to its performance I won’t think that it is that much expensive. I have configured the BIOS fixed mode but with this I started getting low FPS and due to that I again switched to the performance mode where all the graphics settings are at highest point. It worked fine. The catalyst control center give you an option to change the options of Graphics card at real time. So you don’t need to boot into BIOS every time to change the setting. I don’t know whether the Nvidia cards support switchable Graphics. Usually I don’t switch the graphics but when it is in battery mode, I may need to switch to integrated HD graphics to save power.

Switchable Graphics problem is previously known in few HP pavilion models but HP soon brought a fix for that. They have revealed the due to bug in BIOS, these notebooks does not allow switching graphics. So they brought a BIOS fix. The new BIOS is now available to download in the HP drivers section. Make sure that you have selected the proper Notebook model number while downloading the drivers and BIOS. This a recent fix. After downloading, you can directly run that file. It will flash the BIOS and system will reboot. Once booted, you have to reboot the system again and go into BIOS setting. There is a Switchable Graphics section where you have to switch mode from DYNAMIC to FIXED. Now boot your computer normally. Once you are in the Desktop, right click on it and click Switch Configurable graphics. There you have all the options. You can also change the settings like this way:

• When the notebook is plugged in to the power supply, set it to dedicated graphics all the time.
• When it is in battery mode, make it like auto switch to integrated graphics in order to save power.

You can easily verify the changes using GPU-Z. In BIOS mode, if the settings are on Dynamic mode, then you cannot switch the Graphics.

I heard same news about the switchable graphics problems in newest HP Pavilion family of laptops but then there is an updated story. Finally, HP managed to resolve the issue by a BIOS update. The new BIOS will surely bring back the option to change the Graphics manually. After BIOS update I noticed few things which actually changed. First of all you cannot change the graphics processor directly. You have to be decide on two things. First either high performance or better battery. Also you have to switch the BIOS graphics settings from Dynamic to fixed as described in the above post. Some applications needs dynamic mode in order to run. So it is little be irritating since I have to change every time. One more strange thing I have noticed that BIOS update messed up some settings regarding my web browser.