Mac keeps switching to second graphics card

I have a MacBook Pro and whenever I enter certain apps (video camera app or Photoshop for example, the graphics card switched. I didn't know this was going on at first; just that the screen kept changing colors as I opened or closed different software. Later someone told me that the software was causing the OSX to switch graphics cards. It's annoying. How do I keep one graphics card (the better one) enabled all the time? I don't care about power consumption because it is plugged in all the time (though I'm curious how much difference it makes). I just want one graphics card enabled.

I took a photo of the monitor so you can see the difference between the two:

Normal graphics card High performance graphics card

1.21 gigawatts

Posted 2012-08-28T18:59:01.933

Reputation: 1 742

Answers

Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver > Power Adapter then select "Higher Performance". That should force OS X to use the faster GPU all the time.

Green

Posted 2012-08-28T18:59:01.933

Reputation: 556

on 10.10.4 this is a toggle box at the top called "Automatic graphics switching" – eqzx – 2016-04-25T15:12:25.043

You can use gfxCardStatus to force the discrete graphics card (the better one in terms of performance, but not in terms of battery life).

What you see (the screen changing colors when switching between graphics cards) may be as a result of a problem with the machine. I've never seen such color changing, granted that I don't use graphics heavy software. Another possibility is that the RAM is insufficient (the integrated card uses RAM).

lupincho

Posted 2012-08-28T18:59:01.933

Reputation: 1 630

I added photos so you can see the difference. The first is the normal graphics and the second when it switches. – 1.21 gigawatts – 2012-08-28T21:48:30.967

I see... It appears that the color scheme somehow changes between the 2 cards. – lupincho – 2012-08-29T15:15:01.530