NVIDIA Optimus technology intelligently optimizes your notebook PC, providing the outstanding graphics performance you need, when you need it, all the while extending battery life for longer enjoyment.

With NVIDIA's Optimus technology, users can now experience the full performance benefits of a discrete GPU with the battery life of an integrated graphics solution. NVIDIA Optimus automatically, instantaneously, and seamlessly optimizes the notebook to offer the best performance or best battery life depending on the application.

NVIDIA Optimus Technology delivers great battery life and great performance, in a way that simply works. It automatically and instantaneously uses the best tool for the job - the high performance NVIDIA GPU for GPU-Compute applications, video, and 3D games; and low power integrated graphics for applications like Office, Web surfing, or email.

The result is long lasting battery life without sacrificing great graphics performance, delivering an experience that is fully automatic and behind the scenes.

When the GPU can provide an increase in performance, functionality, or quality over the IGP for an application, the NVIDIA driver will enable the GPU. When the user launches an application, the NVIDIA driver will recognize whether the application being run can benefit from using the GPU. If the application can benefit from running on the GPU, the GPU is powered up from an idle state and is given all rendering calls.

Using NVIDIAs Optimus technology, when the discrete GPU is handling all the rendering duties, the final image output to the display is still handled by the Intel integrated graphics processor (IGP). In effect, the IGP is only being used as a simple display controller, resulting in a seamless, flicker-free experience with no need to reboot.

When less critical or less demanding applications are run, the discrete GPU is powered off and the Intel IGP handles both rendering and display calls to conserve power and provide the highest possible battery life.

For more details about how NVIDIA Optimus is working and how to create unique Optimus profiles for exclusive applications (ability to specify a list of GPU-powered applications) is explained, please refer to the following NVIDIA Optimus overview:

• https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/technologies/optimus/ 

Articles:

• NVIDIA Optimus, https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/technologies/optimus/