Arch Linux

nwallace

Member

Registered: 2014-02-05

Posts: 2

Disable discrete graphics card

I want to disable my discrete graphics to save battery on my laptop.  I'm running a Macbook Pro 8.2, which has embedded Intel graphics and an AMD dedicated GPU:

» lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Whistler [Radeon HD 6630M/6650M/6750M/7670M/7690M]

I've read the wiki entry on how to do this.  It recommends installing acpi_call-git from the AUR, and using a script from that package to automatically find and turn off the GPU.  However, the script doesn't find my GPU:

» sudo turn_off_gpu.sh | grep works
  # no output

That script is just trying some hard-coded buses hoping to find one that works, so I suspect that whatever bus my GPU is connected to isn't in that list.  How can I figure out the right bus I need to disable?

Also, just out of curiosity, the wiki says you have to reinstall the acpi_call-git package everytime you update the kernel.  Why is that?  Is there anything I can do to avoid that?

Thanks!

Rexilion

Member

Registered: 2013-12-23

Posts: 784

Re: Disable discrete graphics card

Well, it's more of a problem enabling the discrete card rather than disabling it. Could you post the output of dmesg?

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fs/super.c : "Self-destruct in 5 seconds.  Have a nice day...\n",