MBP - To get NVIDIA graphics card or not?

Hi all - my basic question is this: **What real world benefit do i get from the NVIDIA card?**
i know it's a quick and simple question but I'm having a surprisingly hard time getting an answer on this on the Net.
The background is this: I'm a part time web developer who just bought a refurb late 2013 MBP 15" 2.6Ghz 1TB with the NVIDIA 750 card (running Mavericks) and am pretty appalled at the battery life I'm getting.
While doing 'normal' tasks, like browsing the web, listening to itunes, watching a movie in VLC etc etc i get about *3 hours* or less and that's without any coding or development work! this increases to around 5 hours if i 'switch off' the NVIDIA card and force it to run on the IRIS chipset (using gfxCardStatus).
so i decided to try running Aperture, Photoshop and other graphics intensive apps in IRIS only mode and didn't see any real difference in performance from when i have them running with the NVIDIA card active (various filters and layer effects etc seemed just as fast)
Now - i can return this machine and buy a NEW MBP from Adorama without the NVIDIA card for the same price that comes with 3 years of Applecare AND an Apple TV!
So - what would i be losing? which apps would see a significant drop in performance? I'm sure Cinema 4D and Maya and the like would be much happier with the card, but i dont really do any 3D modeling and only very occasionally some light CAD stuff.
i do use Photoshop and Aperture quite a bit, however - but like i said, i haven't seen any noticeable difference between using them with the NVIDIA card vs the integrated chipset.
Truly the only difference i notice is the battery drain!!
Am i missing something important here?
I'd love to hear from some of you professional web devs out there (or anyone else with knowledge on the matter).
Soon as possible would be great!
Cheers all - and Happy Holidays
- Bennett

Hi Col,
Had already several questions, about crawling CP. Mostly it was linked with big files on systems with too little dedicated memory for graphics and/or to little RAM-memory. The minimum requirements specified for Captivate will perhaps work if you have only that application open and with small files. Of course, since you'll remain with 32-bit only 2GB can be used by programs, so that leaves memory for graphics if you have 8GB. Personally I always have preferred a dedicated graphics card, my laptop has 1GB card (NVidia) and my new desktop a 2GB card. But I'm also using a lot of Adobe applications (not only Photoshop but also Premiere Pro, After Effects). I know that when I added 8GB RAM to my laptop (it had a NVidia card) to the available 4GB, Captivate got a boost.... My desktop has 32GB of memory but I'm a real multitasker. I was told that the buitl in Graphics now work much better than a while ago, and honestly never tried with a system without a graphics card.
Lieve

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hi amcalvert,
Welcome to Lenovo Community Forums!
Can you verify that this card was present before,
There are models that does not have the Nvidia on it but Intel HD alone.
You can send me the Serial Number of your computer through private message and let me check your system's Original Configuration.
Thanks
Solid Cruver
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MOVED: Nvidia graphics card was not detected in your system

This topic has been moved to MSI Notebooks & Netbooks.
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=178616.0

^^Gecko, I'm not bustin' on you, but you're wrong. Or, you are, but I doubt it, one of the lucky ones.
I've gotten 3.1 installed by running the setup .exe file from the DVD via Windows Explorer. Everything seems OK except the graphics/resolution. My NVIDIA card isn't recognized and my resolution options only go up to 1280 x 800.
The Window 7 Performance Information and Tools shows this:
"Graphics
Total available graphics memory Not detected
Dedicated graphics memory 0 MB
Dedicated system memory 0 MB
Shared system memory 0 MB
Display adapter driver version 6.1.7600.16385
Primary monitor resolution 1280x800
DirectX version DirectX 8 or earlier"
Apple, please, help us!
Message was edited by: K Dubb
Message was edited by: K Dubb

Today I stupidly tried to install CUDA accelerator forgetting I have Intel/AMD combo graphics card and not NVidia. Now when I try to launch AE or PremierePro I get this Last log message was: 140735120521568 GPUManager 2 Sniffer Result Code: 3 Help

Today I stupidly tried to install CUDA accelerator forgetting I have Intel/AMD combo graphics card and not NVidia. Now when I try to launch AE or PremierePro I get this Last log message was: <140735120521568> <GPUManager> <2> Sniffer Result Code: 3. I have trashed the CUDA program and reinstalled Premiere and AE but no joy. Same message followed by another error box with options to Retry, Send to Apple or ignore. I have tried all 3 options but nothing works! Every time I launch either program same message appears.

Hi? today i too have this problem.
I found a solution here: https://discussions.apple.com/message/25137524#25137524
Now all good.
Good luck!

How to get Windows to see the NVIDIA graphics card on y Macbook pro?

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last reply
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I've just purchased a mid 2012 macbook pro
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Nope - it's likely just the card in use at the time when you do the More Info...
...to check to see if the card is 'there' hold down the option key and select System Information from the Apple menu. Go under Hardware>Graphics & Displays and two cards should be listed.
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This tutorial is a step-by-step tutorial on how to "fix" issues of a new graphics card not appearing in Windows 8.1 Pro, or not appearing (as a device) in Device Manager, or it's not being detected by Windows 8.1.
This is the "second part" of a Step-by-Step Tutorial on how to install AMD Radeon graphics card drivers in Windows 8.1 Pro.
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Method 1:
First, I would suggest you to run the following Microsoft Fixit to get the problem automatically detected and fixed. This Microsoft "fixit" App checks if the device is currently disabled or turned off or the driver is not installed.
Hardware devices are not working or are not detected in Windows.
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/hardware_device_problems/en-us
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Sometimes, some devices in device manager are hidden due to corrupt or missing drivers.
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Press the Windows key + X
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Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 and hit enter
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If your graphics card is now being detected by Windows 8.1 in Device Manager, but has a "yellow exclamation" mark (or video drivers are not found or not properly installed or the device is disabled) then install the latest graphics card drivers and proceed with this Step-by-Step Tutorial on how to install AMD Radeon graphics card drivers in Windows 8.1 Pro.
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This tutorial is a step-by-step tutorial on how to "fix" issues of a new graphics card not appearing in Windows 8.1 Pro, or not appearing (as a device) in Device Manager, or it's not being detected by Windows 8.1.
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If the video card is in fact installed properly, but the problem of the video card not being discovered/found by the operating system persists, then try these following methods below to check if this solves the problem.
Method 1:
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http://support.microsoft.com/mats/hardware_device_problems/en-us
Method 2:
Sometimes, some devices in device manager are hidden due to corrupt or missing drivers.
Follow the steps below to show hidden devices in the device manager and troubleshoot accordingly.
Press the Windows key + X
Select Command Prompt (Admin)
Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 and hit enter
Type Start DEVMGMT.MSC and hit enter.
Once in Device Manager hit the View menu and select show hidden devices.
From here, remove each instance of the AMD or Nvidia card you see as well as each unknown device. Exit Device Manager and reinstall the latest drivers you can find for your graphics card.
After you install the drivers, reboot and see if you get any different results.
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Please help :) Error Ray-tracing on the GPU requires an approved NVIDIA graphics card and CUDA 5.0.

Hi All, if anyone can help me fix this error I will be most aprreciative.
I get this error when I open After Effects.
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Kind Regards Toby.
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Hello,
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Since silence is the only thing you get from apple on this subject here is a little help:http://www.tonymacx86.com/416-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-march-2014.html
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Here is what happens
As soon as I open Illustrator on a Mac without a NVidia graphics card and I attend to apply an shadow effect, Illustrator crashes. If I do this procedure on a Mac with a NVidia inside, all works well.
I tested this on the following Macs
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MacBook Pro (Early 2011) with Radeon 6750M - doesn't work
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Already got in touch with Adobe
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With Illustrator CS5 it worked like a charme, so I assumed it could be an Adobe issue. But Adobe support told me, it's Apple's fault since 10.8 uses different processes for the graphics performance.
A typical response. IMO it's most likely a combination of Adobe's reluctance to fix the issue combined with Apple's desire for advancement and change. I've personally experienced several things that've become broken owing to Apple changing fundamental aspects of the OS, and the developers of the third-party software in question have either never fixed their software, or are taking their sweet time. WireTap Studio and Snapz Pro from Ambrosia are a case in point, though they eventually fixed Snapz Pro. Eventually…
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Anyone, please?
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Premiere Elements 9 crashes with multiple NVIDIA graphics cards under Windows 7

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Over in the Premiere Pro area (or maybe it was in the Hardware section... didn't pay a lot of attention 'cause it really didn't matter to me) I read a message about using two nVidia cards with no problems (other than no dual-card SLI support)
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NVIDIA Graphic Card doesn't work on T430S with Windows 8

My T430S laptop runs Windows 8 and has a NVIDIA graphic card. Somehow I was never able to enter the NVIDIA control panel and got the error message below. I checked the setting in BIOS and it seems that NIVDIA Optimus mode is not availale on Windows 8. I updated the most recent driver released in Feb 2013 from Lenovo but it didn't solve the problem. I was wondering how I could use the NVIDIA on my compueter.
Link to image
Moderator comment: Image(s) >50KB (or totaling >50KB) converted to link(s). Community Rules.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi, jumper1127
There is also a BIOS update availabe for your machine that came out around the same time as the Optimus driver. That can be found here and may help your issue.
Best of luck. Let me know how it goes
Adam
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MBP - To get NVIDIA graphics card or not?

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