You can switch off between these two chips to get either better video performance or longer battery life. While you have to log out and then log back in to switch graphics chips’”and some people might complain that you can’t simply switch on the fly’”it seems like something you’d decide beforehand depending on how you’re planning to use your ‘Book.
For people who use their MacBook Pro in a home or office setup, plugged in and attached to large monitor and separate keyboard, the higher performance graphics mode makes sense because they’re not concerned with battery life. However, when traveling, say, on the plane working or watching a movie, then switching to the integrated graphics chip will conserve battery life. For gaming or other graphics intensive operations, the Higher Performance mode would be the way to go, regardless.
You can change your settings via the Energy Saver preference (whose icon has changed from a standard light bulb to a cute energy-saver style compact florescent).
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