First things first: Here are my stats:
N5110 laptop
Intel core i5 2450M cpu
6GB RAM
Windows 7 64 Bit
Switchable graphics: Intel HD 4000 or AMD Radeon 7450M
Now, here's my issue. I have several games that should work fine using the 7450M. However, when I try using them with the 7450M enabled, the games run slow to unplayable. When I use the Intel Integrated graphics processor, the games work fine.
Examples (alphabetical):
Alien Spidy
Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition
Hydrophobia
Joe Danger
Joe Danger 2
Ms. 'Splosion Man
Orcs Must Die
Rock of Ages
Spore
Toki Tori
Toki Tori 2
Meanwhile, anything using the Source engine (Vampire: The Masquerade, Portal, Left 4 Dead) works just fine with the laptop set to use the 7450M.
This suggests that the 7450M isn't working right.
Most of the troubleshooting forums for this sort of issue involving switchable graphics involves changing the BIOS settings to disable the intel HD integrated graphics processor. Dell doesn't let me do that with the usual "hit F2 or maybe F8 or F10 at exactly the right moment" boot minigame, and I'm not about to go poking around in the raw files.
How do I fix this problem? I paid extra for the 7450M so I could play games on the laptop, and the 7450 is proving less capable than the default Intel graphics processor.