How to disable GPU

How to disable GPU

Opera 12 always activates GPU, causing high power use and short battery life...
How to disable it??

tried about:config , set "Enable Hardware Acceleration" to 0, won't help

now I have to use gfxCardStatus to force using integrated intel graphic.

opera 12.01
os x 10.8 retina MacBook Pro

screen shot http://twitpic.com/ajkzdm

I've got the same problem on my Retina macbook pro. I filed a bug report, DSK-374369.
BTW it's just me or the retina version of Opera (latest snapshot) feels kinda slow? I mean the whole UI (opening a new tab, scrolling, pressing the addressbar badge,ecc...) feels sluggish.

Even with all plugins disabled, Opera starts the better GPU. Safari can live with the slower GPU, so why can't Opera?

Originally posted by prisi:

Even with all plugins disabled, Opera starts the better GPU. Safari can live with the slower GPU, so why can't Opera?

Confirmed. Seems like the issue is not related to plugins

Originally posted by darklink88:

I've got the same problem on my Retina macbook pro. I filed a bug report, DSK-374369.
BTW it's just me or the retina version of Opera (latest snapshot) feels kinda slow? I mean the whole UI (opening a new tab, scrolling, pressing the addressbar badge,ecc...) feels sluggish.

Thanks! how can we track the status of this ticket?

Originally posted by kensenjiha:

Originally posted by darklink88:

I've got the same problem on my Retina macbook pro. I filed a bug report, DSK-374369.
BTW it's just me or the retina version of Opera (latest snapshot) feels kinda slow? I mean the whole UI (opening a new tab, scrolling, pressing the addressbar badge,ecc...) feels sluggish.

Thanks! how can we track the status of this ticket?

Unfortunately I don't think it will be possible since the bug tracking system is not open to other users

In order to find a solution for this issue, I gathered some information about OSX functionalities and I don't know if Opera developers can modify the use of the GPU....
From what I've recently learned Apple's system automatically switches to the higher-powered GPU when apps use certain graphics-related frameworks, like CoreAnimation, OpenGL, OpenCL, Quartz Composer, and CoreGraphics. What framework(s) does Opera use?
Since these frameworks rely on GPU acceleration, the OS automatically enables the discrete GPU in order to improve performance.
Long story short: OSX is the culprit ! .
However, Safari can live with the integrated GPU so probably there's a workaround for this.

Since I was interested in the issue I did some research some time back and it told me that there isn't much difference between discrete or integrated.
Unless you are running stuff that depends heavily on the graphics it will give you only about 10% improvement in battery life so OSX pick the card that will give you the optimal experience.

The best solution I heard to extend the battery life is to use the integrated browser.

Originally posted by mlodyulek:

Unless you are running stuff that depends heavily on the graphics it will give you only about 10% improvement in battery life so OSX pick the card that will give you the optimal experience.

Actually on my Retina MacBook Pro I when I use gfxcardStatus to force the integrated gpu, I got 8 hours of battery life, versus the 4-5 hours I usually got. We're talking about a 50% improvement on my computer!

I use my macbook mainly for browsing, rss and email, so I have Opera opened at all times. With a fully charged battery, I have THREE hours of battery life when Opera is running. So far, Safari only uses the GPU when I load something with Silverlight in it. Were I to use Safari instead of Opera, I'd have up to SEVEN hours of battery life.

Needles to say, this is a huge annoyance. I haven't been able to live without Opera for 8 years now, but I am seriously considering exploring alternatives on my macbook, because this battery drainage is ridiculous.

Wow!
I have a Samsung laptop with up to 7h of battery but never tried to use another browser!

I'll try with to check if happens the same thing.

Originally posted by darklink88:

Originally posted by mlodyulek:

Unless you are running stuff that depends heavily on the graphics it will give you only about 10% improvement in battery life so OSX pick the card that will give you the optimal experience.

Actually on my Retina MacBook Pro I when I use gfxcardStatus to force the integrated gpu, I got 8 hours of battery life, versus the 4-5 hours I usually got. We're talking about a 50% improvement on my computer!

Well I did my research when there was no MBP Retina, and I think that my experiences that was more or less true.
When I still was running exclusively Opera I got about 3-4h with the graphics card and 4-5h while using similarly loaded safari, and my battery went to shit when using Chrome.

I guess all of those pixels in the retina takes its toll on the graphics card

Here's an easy fix for people running Early-2011 MacBooks:

1. Quit Opera
2. Find Opera.app (or Opera Next.app) in the Finder
3. Right click the icon, select "Show Package Contents"
4. Navigate to Contents/Info.plist
5. Right click, choose "Open With -> Other...", select TextEdit.app
6. Find the place where it says
   

   <key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>
   <true/>

7. Add the following two lines below that
   

   <key>NSSupportsAutomaticGraphicsSwitching</key>
   <true/>

8. Start Opera again. It will no longer require the discrete GPU

If Opera doesn't start after the edit, you've made a mistake. In this case, either reverse your edits or download a fresh copy of Opera.app from opera.com.

Unfortunately, mine is an early 2010 model :-(

The chromium developers also were confronted with this issue. The thread on it may be of interest to opera devs, if they are ever notified of issues like these reported on the forum.