More PCs in 2009 to sport Switchable Graphics, says Intel exec

In 2009, a lot more notebook PCs from Lenovo and other big manufacturers will implement Intel's game- and video-friendly Switchable Graphics, predicted Michael Trainor, chief technology evangelist at Intel.

In a demo, the technology evangelist showed how the Centrino 2-based technology lets users switch between Intel's own built-in graphics and a graphics card from ATI, a division of Intel competitor AMD.

"You get the best of both worlds," Trainor said, speaking with Betanews at CES. Users can run the ATI card for applications such as 3-D games and video, which demand high-speed polygon rendering. Alternatively, you can use Intel's graphics to conserve energy for "still" graphics and other applications.

Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba are among the vendors that implemented Switchable Graphics in 2008. Lenovo's T400 Thinkpad, for example, uses the new technology.

"But typically, manufacturers started out by [implementing] Switchable Graphics on only one or two models. Now, you'll start to see [Switchable Graphics] across broader segments of their line-ups," Betanews was told.

Trainor acknowledged that there's one hitch, at this point. You can't switch back to Intel graphics while a 3-D game is running, for instance. "But you probably wouldn't want to do that, anyway," he noted. "And we'll be perfecting the technology in future generations."

Intel's own built-in graphics consume only about one-half the energy of ATI's, according to the Intel exec.

Meanwhile, Intel's been focusing on anti-aliasing and other technologies for enhanced visual quality in still graphics.

Intel conducted the demo at CES on a notebook PC running Intel Core 2 Quad (Q9000) mobile processor technology for Centrino 2. Aside from ATI, Nvidia is another graphics hardware manufacturer that's rolled out an implementation of Switchable Graphics.