gfxCardStatus Gives Dual-GPU MacBook Pro Owners More Control
Cody Kreiger’s gfxCardStatus is a free menu bar application for OS X that allows users of dual-GPU 15 and 17 MacBook Pros to view which GPU is in use at a glance, and switch between them on-demand.
Features
• Simple, clean graphics and UI
– Nobody likes dealing with bloat, so gfxCardStatus is super simple. Simple i and d graphics denote whether your MacBook Pro is using its integrated or discrete GPU.
• Updates in real time when the GPU switches
– Polling? Psh! gfxCardStatus waits for OS X to tell it that the active GPU has changed.
• Manually switch GPUs at will
– Want to save some battery life and decrease heat? Flip over to your integrated GPU and revel in the glory of your favorite new menu bar app.
• Localized in 15+ languages
• Growl support
– Growl notifications will alert you to the fact that your active GPU has changed.
• Dependent process list for discrete GPU
-Wondering what applications are causing the automatic switch to your discrete GPU? Just pop open the gfxCardStatus menu!
• Power source-based GPU switching
-Want to save some battery life while on the go? Set gfxCardStatus to switch to your integrated GPU upon unplugging your power cord!
• Automatic updating
– gfxCardStatus uses Sparkle, so you’re always running the latest and greatest version.
New in gfxCardStatus, v2.1
• OS X Lion support
• Huge preferences window overhaul – now looks like a standard OS X preferences panel.
• Graphical icons in the menu bar are no longer the default – they are now text. See the gfxCardStatus FAQ for info on how to change back to graphical icons.
• Added a preference for “smart” menu bar icons – e.g. use the first letter of the current GPU (‘n’ for NVIDIA, ‘i’ for Intel, ‘a’ for AMD). Doesn’t apply to legacy dual-NVIDIA GPU machines.
• Added Czech, Russian, Ukranian, and Slovak localizations.
• Removed power source info from menu, as it was unnecessary.
• Moved to standard OS X app about box.
• Fixed some memory leaks.
• Enormous refactoring of the codebase.
Known Issues
• Power source-based switching doesn’t work if the machine is sleeping when the power source is changed.
• Occasionally, when on Integrated Only, after all discrete-triggering apps have been quit, the machine will switch to Discrete Only.
System requirements:
• You must have a dual-GPU MacBook Pro in order to take advantage of gfxCardStatus. If you have any of these models:
2011 i5/i7 MacBook Pro with Intel HD 3000/AMD Radeon HD 6xxxM GPUs
2010 i5/i7 MacBook Pro with Intel HD/NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M GPUs
2009 MacBook Pro with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M/9600M GT GPUs
Late 2008 MacBook Pro with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M/9600M GT GPUs
gfxCardStatus is free, Open Source software.
For more information, visit:
http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus