Lucid Virtu MVP

[Jetster]

Can someone explain this to me. I cant seam to rap my head around what exactly it does. Is it free? Does it just combined IGP with your GPU. Would there be any benefit for me. No IGPU

[DanTheBanjoman]

I tried using it to switch between onboard and addon when needed Use the IGP in Windows, once you start a game it should switch to the addon card and reroute video via IGP. Didn't seem to work well for me though. But that's basically what it should be doing

[Law-II]

Hi

Loads of info - http://www.lucidlogix.com/product-virtu-mvp.shtml

Requirements

In order to install VIRTU, Virtu Universal and Virtu MVP you system should have a minimum requirement capability. Please verify the following: 1.An integrated GPU, typically an Intel HDxxxx, is available.
2.A discrete GPU is installed in your system.
3.The integrated GPU is always enabled in your BIOS. Note: this is important as in many cases the integrated GPU will be disabled if a discrete GPU is added to the system.
(We recommend setting the iGPU as the primary display adapter)

In your Windows OS:4.Verify that you have the latest Intel® HD Graphics driver [through Intel's support page]
5.Verify that you have the latest driver for your dGPU [through NVidia/AMD support page]

nb: looks like Virtu MVP is currently bundled with selected laptop and motherboard products - http://www.lucidlogix.com/mvp-product-list.shtml Edit available here - http://www.lucidlogix.com/driverdownloads-mvp.shtml

atb (all the best)

Law-II

[mediasorcerer]

I just tried this, my mobo supports it, i have the hd4000 and dedicated amd, with lucid enabled winsat was 7.2, with it disabled its 7.9. so??? whats the benefit other than power consumption?

[Jetster]

Play a game does it help with frame rates. I think it will also increase your Futuremark scores

[mediasorcerer]

Ok il try that, do you have to list the game or add it in preferences for it to work properly i wonder?

[Jstn7477]

Lucid Virtu (when the display is attached to the IGP) copies the framebuffer from the dedicated card and displays it using the integrated chip. This allows the dedicated card to stay in a low power state when not needed, but turn on when needed without any user intervention. I believe there is about a 10% performance penalty when using this setup. It can also be done vice-versa where the Intel IGP is there for QuickSync video encoding and you use your dGPU as normal.

This sort of technology is present in many laptops that have dGPUs via NVIDIA and AMD's proprietary methods, and falls under the names NVIDIA Optimus and AMD Enduro (formerly PowerXpress). These technologies work basically the same way, having the display outputs connected to the IGP and copying the framebuffer from the dGPU when in high performance mode.

[mediasorcerer]

So i need to connect to igpu of vid out on mobo, for it to work properly? thanx for the info^

[mediasorcerer]

Ok heres where this virtu may be quite useful- i just installed some old splintercell games that work fine on the igpu, but wont work on my dedicated 7950 because of driver issues and the age of the games[circa 2005 i think, anyways, if i asssign them a igpu profile in virtu, would that then let them run on igpu and possibly work, i know they work with the hd4000 becuase i played bit of em b4 i got the ded gpu? just a thought.

[Hood]

Must be a conspiracy to sell more motherboards and trick you into upgrading! Seriously, though, LucidLogix MVP doesn't seem to work for long if it works at all. Not just me, every mention of MVP in forums says the same thing. Overclocking will make it crash almost every time, and even at stock speeds it crashes at times. I set it up as instructed, in the right order and with all the latest drivers, but it just won't act right. So basically the iGPU is wasted real estate on the die that could be used for more cores or on-chip RAM, as nobody buys a "K" SKU and doesn't get a dedicated GPU - even a $50 video card will blow away the HD 4000. Just because Intel is headed towards SoC doesn't mean power users should be stuck without the no iGPU option such as the Sandy Bridge i5-2550K - one reason not to upgrade to Ivy. I went with Ivy Bridge because I was ignorant of the fact that PCIe 3.0 is irrelevant in this generation, since no available video cards can even saturate a 2.0 bus. But still maybe in a year or two it may pay off, but by then Haswell or Broadwell will be worth upgrading to - like I said, it's a conspiracy to make you keep buying more parts!

[Nikonix]

Hello all you fine peoples,

Seeing as how I just spent a good chunk of time trying to fix a WinSAT.exe appcrash issue I was having I thought this could be of some help to readers.

VirtuMVP repeatedly crashed my WEI (WinSAT.exe) which has a nasty habit of running itself once a week on default. Every Sunday at 1am (I believe that is the default time) WinSAT attempts to run the full assessment after installing VirtuMVP. Windows sees the change in configuration (installing VirtuMVP) and this results in the full test (if hardware environment remains the same assessment does not completely run).

PC SPECS (as this may not happen to all of you):

Core i7 2600K 3833 MHz
ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
8 GB G.SKILL ARES CL9 @2133 MHz
EVGA GeForce GTX 560Ti 448-core 1.31 MB
2 x Corsair Force GT 120 MB RAID 0

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: WinSAT.exe
Application Version: 6.1.7601.17514
Application Timestamp: 4ce798fc
Fault Module Name: KERNELBASE.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7601.17651
Fault Module Timestamp: 4e21213c
Exception Code: 00000879
Exception Offset: 000000000000cacd
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 4ad4
Additional Information 2: 4ad47ccfcaccd9679578c6aee301d17e
Additional Information 3: c4a5
Additional Information 4: c4a56fa53fd4b50ab0cd9aee0792c13c

[Pehla]

Originally Posted by mediasorcerer

I just tried this, my mobo supports it, i have the hd4000 and dedicated amd, with lucid enabled winsat was 7.2, with it disabled its 7.9. so??? whats the benefit other than power consumption?

same hapend to me..i was wondering why!! then i get it..its just that when u rerun assesment it test ur igpu not dedicated gpu!! that is all...
and that virtu work for me..its god thign saving electirc bils,,couse when u watch movies or surf u use igpu..,start ur game start ur dedicated!! that is prety ossom to me!!
and i just read on some forum that there is some new technology zero core
thats for crosfire option,if ur surfing ur card turn off starting ur game start the card..
and on virtu it just put ur card to idle!!

[brandonwh64]

I uninstalled it :/

[Jstn7477]

I turned off my Intel 3000 HD since I never used this feature anyway, and my HD 7950 is used for either crunching or gaming all day.

[erixx]

Hi,
will add my question to this existing thread...

So far it works, but only with the latest december 2012 drivers for Virtu MVP in Windows 8.

That said, I was most interested in the power saving features (use the iGPU when not gaming). Well,...err.... now that it works I have been alternating between the iGPU HDMI output and the dGPU HDMI output (hot swapping the monitor cable) and there is ZERO difference in power consumption as shown on my APC UPS LCD display.

GPU-Z shows the dGPU staying at idle herz's, that is 324 MHz, and 22% of TDP, the same in both scenarios. No dGPU hybernation or deep sleep, as I expected. Will delete Virtu MVP/disable iGP unless someone tells my testing is flawed.

[Jetster]

Isn't it suppose too just connect to just the iGPU and it switches internally?

[Hood]

Originally Posted by erixx

That said, I was most interested in the power saving features (use the iGPU when not gaming). Well,...err.... now that it works I have been alternating between the iGPU HDMI output and the dGPU HDMI output (hot swapping the monitor cable) and there is ZERO difference in power consumption as shown on my APC UPS LCD display.

You're not supposed to swap the cable, MVP does the swap for you. the reason you are getting the same power consumption is because you are using the iGPU in both scenarios.

[erixx]

Thanks Hood, that can be, but in either case, the dGPU values of 324 MHz, and 22% TDP, is not exactly "idle", much less "disconnected", and not "powersaving". Any chance of getting a powersaving benefit from Virtu?

[Hood]

Originally Posted by erixx

Thanks Hood, that can be, but in either case, the dGPU values of 324 MHz, and 22% TDP, is not exactly "idle", much less "disconnected", and not "powersaving". Any chance of getting a powersaving benefit from Virtu?

I can't even get MVP to run without crashing if overclocked over 4.2 GHz, and I too was disappointed with yet another GREAT NEW FEATURE that doesn't work. Really, it was hard to tell what's going on with that very limited software, and AFAIK nobody's had any luck with it. I flushed it and haven't missed it at all.

[erixx]

Hi Hood, Well there are laptops being sold with varied "hybrid" tech, AMD Fusion I believe, Nvidia has it's own Hybrid, and Virtu was THE idea to manage 2 graphic processors of mixed brands. Battery saving was the goal or part of it. If this does not work, there could be lawsuits!

[AsRock]

Last time i tried it the system average power usage was 20+ watts extra. I'll try it again at some point but i cannot see it beating the idle wattage the system runs at already ( 77w) but you never know :P .

Another problem was it did not switch cards when needed and some times the other way around. One i really remember was Minecraft and it just was stuck on the iGPU..

In the end if it cannot manage to lower the systems idle power at least it's a fail for me..

[RejZoR]

I don't quite understand the logic behind this stuff. I want Lucid Virtu MVP as a software solution on my system. But apparently you strictly need their chip on a mobo even though i'm not interested in hybrid GPU usage at all. I just want their V-Sync without framerate cap and that performance improving thing they showcased for Skyrim.

[Ghost]

If Lucidlogix added more support for games and drivers, Virtu MVP could be a really nice feature.

In some games MVP give a nice performance increase, while in others performance might degrade slightly. Some games show artifacts when HyperFormance is enabled or don't work at all.

Here are some benches. http://www.games.lt/g/news.news_full/30207.10?sev=part
Up to 80% in AvP 2010, 32% in Mafia II, 29% in FC2, 24% in STALKER CoP and JC2. Performance increase depends a lot on game, settings, hardware and drivers.