“Enduro” is AMD’s graphics switching system. Just like Nvidias’ “Optimus“, its duty is to switch between the integrated and dedicated GPUs. However, unlike Optimus, the Enduro is currently a sub optimal solution.
The first major problem is that it’s just doesn’t work well – it doesn’t recognize 3D applications as it should and it even switches between GPUs while gaming – notebookcheck GTX 680M vs Radeon 7970M review reported significant performance hit when Enduro is enabled while disabling it making the 7970M even faster than the 680M in many cases. The second major problem is the drivers. Currently, drivers are supplied by the laptop manufacturer and not by AMD drivers updates directly – meaning: you’ll probably use outdated drivers and the switching system will suffer from it too.
The second half of 2012 would bring with it – hopefully – a much desired change addressing both problems and more, like the renovation of the primitive control panel UI.
