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Be wary of Discrete Graphics Mode on Some Laptops
Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 5/31/2020(UTC) Posts: 49  Location: California
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I've been seriously looking at a MSI GE76H Raider laptop for vMix. Lots of power and connectivity including Thunderbolt 4. And as pointed out by Tim & Heath as pretty much a 'must-have' for laptop computers, it has a Discrete Graphics Mode. BUT... If you go into 'discrete graphics mode', the Thunderbolt 4 connection becomes deactivated. So for me, no Decklink Duo 2 card. Not mentioned in the reviews by gamer enthusiasts, but according to 'Notebook Check', a seemingly more thorough reviewer, this may be common in other 'gamer' laptops as well. Am I to be alarmed or VERY careful in my laptop choice or am I misreading something? Any experience or thoughts on this subject?
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 1/22/2021(UTC) Posts: 2  Location: Gold COast
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We have not tested the GE76 to know for sure, but our GS76 (11UE-216AU) does not experience this issue when connecting to our AJA Io X3 over Thunderbolt, and we haven't come across any other laptops with this quirk.
Taking off my vMix hat for a moment, I have a theory that the people experiencing this issue are actually not using the Thunderbolt capability of the port and are just using the DP Alt Mode capability to go out to a monitor, and for some laptops this is not working when bypassing the iGPU. Connecting a Thunderbolt enclosure with a capture card does not utilise DP Alt Mode so this might be why we are not hearing any reports of the issue. This is just a theory, mind.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 5/31/2020(UTC) Posts: 49 Location: California
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Heath, thanks a lot for the response. I believe/hope your theory is right and have tried to explore it in other forums. Unfortunately, the kind of laptops we like for vMix are most often 'gamer' laptops and while vMix mostly benefits from their strengths, according to you and Tim, some things like the CPU base speed, seem to be more important for vMix. I'm guessing that's why you went with a 10th gen CPU for your desktop with a really high base clock speed!? Yes, no, maybe so?
Anyway, thanks again for your time and attention. I know you must be crazy-busy. Especially with your Lego building...
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 3/28/2016(UTC) Posts: 159  Location: SACRAMENTO Thanks: 5 times
Was thanked: 19 time(s) in 18 post(s)
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VideoE
Activating the MUX disables the monitor out on the thunderbolt port since it only outputs from the iGPU. This does not disable the thunderbolt port but just the video out as vMixHeath has intelligently guessed would be the case. Think Optimus. Basically it just disconnects the IGP from the port. So it does not become deactivated. Most gaming reviews will only touch on the loss of the additional monitor via the thunderbolt port and not actually talk about the TB port as a PCIe extension like how we use it. example the Dicklink Duo 2 capture cards. No that wasn't a typo :) And yes this is very common with gaming laptops. In regards to the loss of video output over the TB port that is with MUX enabled.
-king
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Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/31/2020(UTC) Posts: 49 Location: California
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Thanks for the reassurance King, alias NiBTour. My guess/hope also but wanted to double check. Also, nice to hear from somebody so close by, I'm in Vallejo. And yeah, if I had the money I would definitely pass over Blackmagic gear. As a video engineer for IATSE, the Panasonic and Ross switchers along with Barco E2s is typically the equipment I work on, but at home... Anyway, thanks again.
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