why do i have two graficcards and what ist my primery one?

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15-inch MacBooks Pro have got two graphic cards. It has got one that it's used by default, an integrated card (Intel HD Graphics 4000) that provides a basic graphic performance for normal tasks, and then, a dedicated graphic card (in the case of the new MacBook Pro, a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M) for heavy tasks, like Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, games...

Your Mac changes the graphic card automatically when your Mac needs more performance, so you don't have to worry about it. If you want to change the used graphic card manually, you can download gfxCardStatus > http://gfx.io

You have 512 MB of dedicated memory because you have the 15-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro. The memory isn't the most important feature of a graphic, but it may provide more performance

If you've anything but a 13" model, yes, you will have two GPU's - one 'built in' to the processor, another 'discrete' GPU that kicks in when you use certain applications or hardware that require the 'beefier' GPU.

There have been MacBook Pros out for years now that use a 1GB discrete GPU - it's nothing new. You're just going to get better performance out of a GPU with more VRAM - so a 1GB GPU would be 'better' than a 512MB GPU.

Hope this answers your question - if you want to see which GPU you are using at any given time, download and install Cody Krieger's gfxCardStatus.

Clinton

Having two GPUs enable the MBP to save battery life by using a less resource intensive but inferior graphics performance card when the given activity does not require high performance. The former is integrated in the CPU, the latter is a separate chip. When the application does require it, it will select the high performance card but at a cost to battery life. You may choose to set them in System Preferences>Energy saver.

Dedicated graphics with more memory will perform better than with lesser memory. It is analogous to your MBP RAM, but just dedicated to graphics.

Ciao.

Yes, Photoshop will take full advantage of a 1GB GPU - it will render 3D graphics much quicker - in fact, you can only use the 3D mode in Photoshop if you have a 512MB or greater GPU. If you're within your return period and you're an archiecture major, I would suggest swapping your machine out for a card with 1GB.

Clinton