Arch Linux

remeh

Member

Registered: 2011-08-11

Posts: 9

Questions about Nvidia Optimus

Hello guys,

I've planned to buy a new laptop and I'm hesitating between the Toshiba R830-118 ( i5-2410M, Intel HD 3000 ) and the Asus U36SD ( i5-2410M, GeForce GT520M 1GB GDDR3 with Optimus ).

My question about Optimus would be : is it possible to fully disable the discrete card to be sure that only the intel hd is used, in order to save the battery, which is a big thing for me ? Because I assume that on the Asus, the integrated card must be an Intel HD 3000, and so I would prefer to buy the Asus and only use the integrated card.

Also, if there is any user of Bumblebee around there, as far as I've understood, I would need to use the proprietary drivers from nvidia ? Is your battery time still ok with this solution ?

Please excuse my poor English!
Thanks,
r'm

Last edited by remeh (2011-08-18 09:02:08)

rzepaczyk

Member

Registered: 2010-12-23

Posts: 74

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

about disabling discrete graphics: yes, it is possible using acpi_call( you can find it in AUR)

mips1

Member

Registered: 2008-01-02

Posts: 99

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee ?

Earnestly

Member

Registered: 2011-08-18

Posts: 805

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

This thread is of interest to me, having a Dell XPS with this new "Optimus" technology, I'd appreciate any feedback from people experienced with Bumblebee. (Esp. regarding general use and battery life.)

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Bumblebee
https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project/Bu … elease-2.3

Last edited by Earnestly (2011-08-20 23:06:04)

remeh

Member

Registered: 2011-08-11

Posts: 9

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

Thank you for your answers.

But I would have another question: what about HDMI ? If I disable the discrete card, will I be able to use the HDMI output ?

I'm using Linux for many years but when it comes to buy a new laptop, I have the same feeling that I had 3 years ago : it's messy and I don't know what will correctly work or not, that's creepy for such a big buy.

Gusar

Member

Registered: 2009-08-25

Posts: 3,605

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

If I disable the discrete card, will I be able to use the HDMI output ?

From what I know HDMI tends to be wired to the nvidia card on these machines. So I guess the answer is "no". No idea if HDMI works at all. Check http://linux-hybrid-graphics.blogspot.com/ maybe you'll find relevant info there.

If I were you, I'd get an Asus machine where you can turn Optimus off and switch between graphic cards. It's not only Asus that makes such machines, but with other manufacturers it's rare that they have this, while Asus has many such machines. Check that link, you'll find somewhere a list of such laptops.
A fun fact - when I was at the media store last week, only the Asus machine didn't have an Optimus sticker on it, despite also having nvidia graphics. It was a cool machine too (i5 Sandy Bridge processor, Geforce 540M I think), and cheap.

ssijak

Member

From: Serbia

Registered: 2011-05-03

Posts: 15

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

I think you cant use HDMI with intel integrated chip. But I guess something can be done with bumblebee. I dont have HDMI cable with me to try it out now

jocheem67

Member

Registered: 2009-11-09

Posts: 243

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

I've got a brand new dell xps15 with an intel integrated gpu and a nvidia discrete one..
Arch has some flaws here: bumblebee works but provides no powermanagement atm. So energy usage is quite high and this results ( me thinks ) in a fan that's quite noisy. Acpi_call is an option but using it now is being discouraged.
Battery life is an issue...
For the rest it's a good laptop , I've got the highdef screen and that's really something nice...Win 7 is my main os for now. Arch with xfce is there to play with..

remeh

Member

Registered: 2011-08-11

Posts: 9

Re: Questions about Nvidia Optimus

Ok thank you for your answers. I'll definetly go for an non-optimus solution!