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Take a closer look at today’s “breakthrough” technologies and you’ll come realize that some of the things that initially made you go “ZOMG!” will actually turn into “why didn’t they think of that earlier?” upon closer scrutiny. NVIDIA’s introduction of Optimus comes off as one such technology, and it is taking the world of mobile computing by storm thanks to its ability to automatically switch between discreet graphics and integrated graphics solutions on the fly. 

We were recently sent an ASUS UL50Vf by NVIDIA’s regional office in Singapore, which is one of the few notebooks on the market that uses the Optimus technology, and we were impressed by what it could do. 

Story continues after the jump.

Battery conservation is one of the key reasons that a notebook would come with a dual GPU setup and before the introduction of Optimus, users had to go through a very finicky process in order to swap between the discreet and on-board graphics solution. However thanks to Optimus, regular Joe computer users and seasoned veterans alike can now sit back and focus on the more important things in mobile computing – like getting your gaming or HD video viewing on.

Unlike desktops, dual GPU setups on notebook computers don’t utilize both video cards simultaneously. Instead, dual GPU setups are intended to be used for battery saving purposes since simple tasks like word processing and internet browsing don’t require the latest and greatest in GPU technology. By running the less power hungry applications off the integrated graphics solutions, a significant amount of battery life can be conserved. On the flip side, games and other GPU hungry processes like video conversion need the power of a discreet GPU to run smoothly on a notebook and this obviously requires a whole lot more juice to run.

On previous generation notebooks such as the Sony VAIO, the Apple MacBook Pro and Alienware’s M17x, switching between GPUs was hard work. On the Alienware, you had to be plugged into AC power to even have a chance at using the discreet GPU, while on the previous-gen MBP you had to log off your entire session before it could switch between modes.

The same problem plagued various other dual GPU notebook setups, requiring you to either close all currently open apps or to log on and off – not forgetting, there was a fair bit of clicking through context menus to activate the switch in the first place. The whole process wasn’t very user friendly, and definitely was not noob friendly.

Fast forward to Optimus, and you’ll notice the changes instantly. Logging off your session, or even closing a program before a switch is now nothing but a distant memory because Optimus is intelligent enough to do everything for you automatically on the fly.

The ASUS UL50Vf isn’t exactly a power packed machine to start with. Running an Intel ULV SU7300 processor (1.3GHz, 800 MHz FSB) on a Mobile Intel GS45 Express Chipset and weighing a paltry 2.1kg, the focus of this machine is undoubtedly mobility. The inclusion of a NVIDIA GeForce G 210M (512MB GDDR3) discreet graphics card certainly beefs up this little devil a fair bit, since the card also supports the use of CUDA.

** We won’t be running any numbers by you today, since benchmarking isn’t exactly our forte (and they’re readily available via Google anyway) but we will be talking about the experience of using Optimus.

The machine itself comes off as a pretty well designed model and combines plastic with brushed aluminium to good effect. For a notebook of its thickness (approx. 2.64cm), the build seems pretty rigid and sturdy. It comes with the regular array of connectivity ports – 2 x USB 2.0, a HDMI port, a D-sub port, an Ethernet jack, and audio in/out jacks – as well as wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and WiFi. The package is rounded off with a gorgeous 15.4-inch screen and a fully-fledged chicklet keyboard complete with numpad.

Upon booting up, this nifty little dev tool from NVIDIA greeted us with the status of the GPU. When “OFF” is displayed, it means that the machine is running on the on-board GPU, and automatically switches to “ON” if Optimus detects the need for the discreet GPU.

Throughout simple tasks like web browsing and document editing, the toggle remained in an “OFF” state, but as soon as we launched a game – a preloaded demo of World in Conflict in this case – the toggle instantly switched to an “ON” state, indicating that the GeForce 210M was now in action.

The same scenario held true for a bevy of other GPU intensive applications such as video editing tool Cyberlink Power Director 8, a program that also happens to benefit from the GeForce 210M’s CUDA capabilities.

For the duration of our review, Optimus worked so intelligently and seamlessly that we almost forgot that the UL50Vf was actually running on two GPUs. Switching between GPUs not only gave us a boost in graphic prowess as and when we needed it, but also contributed in extending the battery life to over 6 hours – a very solid figure considering we spent most of that time watching videos, surfing the web over WiFi, and occasionally mucking around in World in Conflict.

That said, the idea of Optimus coming soon to a notebook near you is pretty damn appealing. As of now, only a select few notebooks come with Optimus, and the ASUS is a prime example of how it can give ULV based models a little more processing prowess.

You can find out more on the technical details of NVIDIA’s Optimus at their website (http://www.nvidia.com/object/optimus_technology.html), and if you’re keen to purchase an Optimus enabled machine, you can do so directly via the webpage too.