gSwitch For Mac

The development of highly efficient CPU integrated graphics has lead to great reductions in laptop power consumption, as dedicated graphics cards are no longer necessary for most day-to-day tasks.

Of course, more processing power is needed sometimes, which is why many laptops, including MacBooks, also have dual-GPU variants. Unfortunately, though, drivers aren't always great at determining when your dedicated graphics card should be used, which can lead to unnecessary battery consumption.

gSwitch is an open-source app that gives you manual control over GPU selection, allowing you to force your MacBook to use either the CPU's integrated graphics processor or the dedicated card. The selection is made from the menu bar, and you can tell when your graphics card is active by looking for a dot in the middle of the gear icon.

When you select your IGPU, the dedicated graphics adapter isn't disabled altogether. The OS will still attempt to access it when it is determined to be required, but the app will quickly switch back to the integrated GPU. As far as power usage is concerned, this brief activation should have a minimal effect.

Naturally, if you force your MacBook to use integrated graphics when running an intensive app or game, performance will suffer. But if all you want is to reduce power usage and maximize battery life, gSwitch should do the job nicely.