GPU switching is used on laptops with multiple graphics controllers. The standard situation gathers an integrated graphics device and a discrete video card, the latter consuming more power than the first but also providing higher 3D performances, such as needed for game playing and CAD. This dual graphics solution may then enable longer battery times when no high-performance graphics is needed.

Windows support

Windows 7 fully supports this feature by dynamically switching from one device to the other when needed. The change is then transparent to the user.

Linux support

In the Linux systems, a patch named vga_switcheroo has been added to the Linux kernel

Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....

 since version 2.6.34 in order to deal with multiple GPU

Graphics processing unit

A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...

. Here, the switch requires a restart of the X Window System

X Window System

The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...

 to be taken into account.

Ubuntu Control Center allows the user to access vga_switcheroo functionality through a GUI

Graphical user interface

In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

.