Intel HD4600 on 15.6" Cosmos II

Screen and Intel graphics card on 15.6" Cosmos II

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy one of the IPS-screen laptops offered here. I'm going to be running Ubuntu Linux only and use the laptop for web surfing, office work, light programming, and watching YouTube videos; no gaming outside very occasional Flash games.

Since I'll be running Linux, I would like to have at least one graphics card that is well-supported under that operating system. I know Intel HD 4600 is a common choice on Linux machines, including the Clevo chassis upon which the Cosmos II is based. PC Specialist, however, only lists various NVIDIA GeForce cards as graphics options for the Cosmos II.

My question is thus:
Does the PC Specialist 15.6" Cosmos II come with an Intel HD graphics media accelerator 4600 card (like the one on the 15.6" UltraNote II), in addition to whatever GeForce card that is selected?

They offer the 17.3" Cosmos II with Intel graphics but obviously this is bigger laptop. If not the you'll just have to get it with the 850m (740m & 850m are the same price, you just have to buy a 1080p screen with the 850m)

Intel HD 4600 is "integrated" graphics i.e it comes as a part of the processor. So yes, it will always be there as well as the dedicated card. On Windows, NVIDIA Optimus switches between the two to conserve battery life depending on the workload. I don't know whether the Linux drivers support this functionality (I would imagine not).

A quick Google search brought up the "Bumblebee Project" which looks to be some sort of mod to get it working on Linux machines. I would imagine sole integrated graphics would be more straightforward on Linux though, if you don't really have need of the dedicated card. Any reason for wanting the Cosmos over the Ultranote?

It would probably be worth asking more about this in the Linux section as there are some Linux users on the forum who will probably know more.

Thanks Tom and George; my fundamental question about the integrated graphics card has now been answered in the affirmative.

I am aware of the Bumblebee project, and I agree to ask any further questions I may have about Linux on the laptop in the Linux section of the forums.

Deciding between the Cosmos II and the UltraNote II, which Tom asked about, is not an easy task. The main reason I am currently looking at a Cosmos II laptop and not a 15.6" UltraNote II is the screen. Tom's review here had nothing but praise for the Cosmos II IPS screen. This AnandTech review of the Clevo W550 (i.e., the 15.6" UltraNote II) was more on the fence about the the IPS screen quality, showing a somewhat mediocre 48.3% colour gamut.

Screen aside, I believe the Cosmos has a better keyboard and trackpad than the UltraNote. It also offers a faster processor, an additional USB 3.0 port (SuperSpeed+, I hope!), and has the option of using that GeForce card. The UltraNote, on the other hand, is 200 g lighter, a bit smaller, has greater battery capacity, is 100 GBP cheaper, and can be delivered with my Scandinavian keyboard of choice. But while the integrated keyboard and portability concerns mostly matter when travelling, the screen is always of interest as I am not considering an external display at this time.

staghorne said:

Thanks Tom and George; my fundamental question about the integrated graphics card has now been answered in the affirmative.

Deciding between the Cosmos II and the UltraNote II, which Tom asked about, is not an easy task. The main reason I am currently looking at a Cosmos II laptop and not a 15.6" UltraNote II is the screen. Tom's review here had nothing but praise for the Cosmos II IPS screen. This AnandTech review of the Clevo W550 (i.e., the 15.6" UltraNote II) was more on the fence about the the IPS screen quality, showing a somewhat mediocre 48.3% colour gamut.

Click to expand...

I remember reading the same review when I was looking at the Ultranote as well. Do bear in mind those guys were able to take exact measurements of the screens performance whereas mine was based on just my own observations and comparison with my desktop screen.

Whether the screen on the Cosmos is better than the Ultranote I wouldn't know (I would imagine they're pretty similar) but in real world use I find it to be a world apart from the TN panels on most laptops. Laptop screens can never directly compete with a desktop monitor, but an average IPS screen will still trounce a TN panel for image quality.

Thanks again, Tom, for your informative response – not to mention that great review I looked at.

Maybe I could post a separate thread on comparing the screens of the two laptops, to see if I can attract someone with first-hand knowledge of both...