switching GPUs

[disturbed13]

first of all i want this to be a discussion
so reguardless of how the consensius of this thread turns out
i will still buy the products that im looking at

so lets start
first of all lets take a look at the hardware
CPU: i7 - 3770K link
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H link
GPU: EVGA GTX 670 4GB link

now the question:
if i was to connect a monitor using the HDMI port on the mobo for the on-die GPU
as well as have the same monitor connected using a DVI port to the GTX 670
if i was to disable the GTX 670 with the input on the HDMI so i am using the on-die gpu, would i see a temp and power consumption differance?
if i was to actually disable the device driver
or would i be better off severely underclocking the GTX 670 to force it to use less power

what im looking to try and do is to reduce power consumption anywhere possible
the reasons:
1) save money when i move out on my own
2) in my area it has been very hot! almost every day reaching the 100s
the hottest day has been 107 so far, and augest just started
the less heat produced by my computer then less the ac would have to work

thanks for any thoughts

 

[OhSnapWord]

Usually when you have onboard graphics and a discrete graphics card, you could use one or the other.

When you're not gaming, the graphics card doesn't use a whole lot of power or throw off much heat.

 

[disturbed13]

cool
but would it stop running if i disable the driver?
im thinking the answer to that one is no......

if so then it would prolly be better if i just underclock it
but would that reduce power consumption?
i think it should......

thanks for the help

 

[BikerEcho]

about the underclocking:
well underclocking will reduce power consumption under load, but the question is will it reduce power under idle?
that i don't know. you can test it out yourself.
i don't think it will make a difference that is worth switching GPU profiles every time you enter a game and exit a game.

just switch GPU when you want to save power.
my laptop has an option in the right-click menu when i click the desktop that allows me to switch GPU on the fly.

 

[disturbed13]

got a screenie of that?
also who made your lappy?

 

[BikerEcho]

i found these pictures online:
http://219.142.122.173/userfiles/image/2_EN-Configure Switchable Graphics.jpg
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

it's a part of AMD's catalyst control panel.
i am sure Nvidia has something like this as well.

the laptop is a HP Pavilion Dv7 something. (my sister have it at this moment)
and yes, it's an Intel CPU. it's the core i7 mobile sandy bridge.

 

[disturbed13]

cool thanks
so i sat down and really started to do some homework
first i started to look at those pics
so i chased down your AMD switching GPU system
and i saw a mention of Optimus from NVIDIA
so i started to look at that, its notebook only
and then a saw a mention of a system that is basicly Optimus for the desktop PC
called Synergy
and tried to hunt it down but i cant find any info beyond 2011 postings.....
and then i came back to Virtu by Lucid
Lucid Virtu link
which comes on the mobo

but this brings up one last question
the mobo i listed in the first post has 4 I/O display outs
VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort
does this mean i can run 4 screens?
and how well would the i7 3770K GPU (Intel 4000) handle that load?

thanks for all of the input
its greatly appreciated

 

[BikerEcho]

no problem. ^^

i don't think you can use all 4 at once.
the new Nvidia cards can display 4 monitors at once. so can AMD card's with there infinity technology.
the Nvidia 500 series could only display 3 at once. and the 200 and 300 series could only do 2. (don't know if 400 could also only do 2)
so i will highly doubt that you can use more then 2 on the mobo running Intel graphics.
besides i think the motherboards display outputs will be deactivated when you have a dedicated graphics card installed.

i have actually never heard of a motherboard with more then 2 outputs for monitors. interesting.

 

[ja6on]

i think the ivybridge igpu will allow 3 monitors on an extention of the desktop. (my mobo has three graphics out too.