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109907
M4600 Dell Mobile Precision Workstation Intel HD Display Adapter and Optimus missing ?
I have two M4600 work stations. Both are running Win 7 Professional, A08 Bios with i7 quad processors. They are similar configurations in most respects but not identical. Device manager reports two display adapters, (a Quadro 2000M, and Intel HD) in one machine and only reports the Quadro 2000M adapter in the other. I've only been using the machine for a week and just noticed this tonight as I was adjusting a new monitor and checking the driver update status. There is no option given for setting Optimus on or off in the Bios setup in the laptop where device manager shows only one adapter. I tried installing the Intel HD driver provided for this machine number and OS on the Dell support site but it will not install. Both machines have the original Dell factory image files and operating environments. So I am wondering if there is a problem or defect in the machine that does not report the Intel HD onboard graphics or have the Optimus (on/off) setting in the Bios. Can anyone out there shed any light and help me understand what gives with this M4600. Thanks for your comments or suggestions.
Joel Breiner
10 Posts
1
January 24th, 2012 15:00
The mystery is solved. After two weeks of digging and speaking to a half dozen Dell support techs finally the problem was solved. I have two M4600 work stations. The most recent machine arrived without switchable graphics. The earlier machine had both nVidia and Intel graphics and two adapters were reported by device manager. In the new machine DM reported only the nVidia adapter and the option to enable Optimus was absent in the bios. I assumed I had taken delivery of a brand new, malfunctioning system. I became frustrated thinking the system had some hard-to-diagnose hardware defect. Not so. Turns out the second machine had the IPS RGB LCD panel option (a sigificant upgrade and cost I would not have chosen had I noticed up front) that was not apparent to me in the original configuration spec. This option precludes (is not compatible with) Optimus (the switchable) Intel (on board) graphics processor. None of the 4-6 Dell support technicians I spoke to knew this.
After replacing the system board and graphics card and trying all sorts of diagnostics to figure out why the option was missing from this machine and bios it turns out it was never available. Nowhere in Dell's support documentation could a normal mortal find that information published. So, if you choose or opt for the IPS/RGB display option you will not have Optimus switchable graphics, nor will you have an available slot for an onboard WAN Card because the LCD panel does not have the requsite antenna wires (probably because of no room) for the additioanl radio. My machine has an SSD card in that slot. Having said all that when I place the two M4600 laptops next to each other on my desk the one with the IPS/ RGB panel stands out like a big sore "you know what". Significantly brighter, more color depth and saturation. I noticed this early on but attributed it to manufacturing differences between like LCD panels. Apparently not. If you have the extra $ to spend the IPS panel is definately the better alternative. I'm happy it's behaving like it is supposed to. Chow.