I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

RichKat · 2020-08-22 10:31:29

So my laptop is dual-gpu, Intel and NVIDIA. I installed the necessary drivers, xf86-video-intel and nvidia, and using xrandr --listproviders they both seem to have installed correctly.

And I'm not quite sure what to do from here. Like, I don't think that that's all I need to do, but I'm a bit confused by the rest of the documentation of PRIME. There are commands to switch gpus, but do I have to manually switch gpus every time I want to launch something gpu-intensive? I feel like there must be a way for the gpus to switch automatically, but I'm not sure what part of the documentation explains how this works.

Last edited by RichKat (2020-08-22 13:56:59)

fistrosan · 2020-08-22 11:47:29

HI there,

Assuming that you installed nvidia-optimus from git or the AUR the first thing is to check if your service is running and active:

systemctl status optimus-manager.service

1) If it is not then activate it: systemctl enable optimus-manager.service & systemctl start optimus-manager.service

2) Once it is running the run the manager to detect your gpu and create a config file with: optimus-manager-setup --setup-gpu

Once you do the above there should be a config file inside /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/. This config file must have an entry to each graphics card you have (e.g. one for nvidia, one for intel)

And now you can switch between intel and nvidia with: optimus-manager --switch nvidia or optimus-manager --switch intel

Every time you switch the system will kick you out and you will have to log in again.

You can also select with card you want to use by default after each reboot with: optimus-manager --set-startup intel or optimus-manager --set-startup nvidia.

And that is pretty much it.

The above instructions work when you want to use one or another card, not both simultaneously. I myself are usually plugged in so I am under nvidia most of the time. I only go to intel if I know I will need to be using battery on my laptop.

Last edited by fistrosan (2020-08-22 11:48:40)

seth · 2020-08-22 12:20:28

Start reading here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus
Follow the instructions for your intended use case.

Trilby · 2020-08-22 12:36:46

Please consider revising your thread title - you can do this by clicking "edit" on your first post. The current title has a lot that could be intended as polite or courtesy in a request, but in most technical communities - certainly this one - that may not have the intended result. The best way to show respect for would-be technical helpers is to use titles to efficiently express the problem.

Note the only real content of the current thread is "NVIDIA Optimus" - this is good as it will attract attention of people with experience with NVIDIA, but other than that it doesn't give any indication of the actual problem or question. Perhaps a better working title could be "NVIDIA Optimus - need method for automatic switching." (Though there probably could be even better revisions, as I'm not sure if this really captures the intended goal or not).

Last edited by Trilby (2020-08-22 12:37:58)

RichKat · 2020-08-22 13:56:12

Please consider revising your thread title

The title is quite vague, I admit, mostly because I'm not quite sure what isn't working, or if anything needs fixing at all; Nothing is actively broken, so I'm not in too much of a hurry either. I think that I need to do something to enable automatic switching, but from my perspective it could just as easily be enabled automatically as part of some essential package or other. I think that can't be right, but I'm really not sure. I can still try to make the title better though.

Assuming that you installed nvidia-optimus

I haven't, I've been trying to follow the documentation for PRIME. I'll look into.

Start reading here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus

I tried, I'm not currently used to a lot of the technical and semi-technical language y'all understand instantly, so it takes a while to understand what the wiki means. I got lost with the NVIDIA Optimus docs, so I came here.

seth · 2020-08-22 14:30:45

RichKat wrote:

There are commands to switch gpus, but do I have to manually switch gpus every time I want to launch something gpu-intensive? I feel like there must be a way for the gpus to switch automatically, but I'm not sure what part of the documentation explains how this works.

Assumign you've setup PRIME correctly, you can follow the wiki and eg. simply "prime-run Super_Turbo_Turkey_Puncher_3"

twelveeighty · 2020-08-22 14:36:41

If you actually read the docs but got stuck, then you'll find a lot of sympathy and help here - just outline where you are in the docs and what *specifically* you don't understand and folks will help you. However, these forums suffer at times from people that don't *want* to read the docs and come here to have their hands held, which is not how Arch works.

Arch Linux

#1 2020-08-22 10:31:29

I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

#2 2020-08-22 11:47:29

Re: I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

#3 2020-08-22 12:20:28

Re: I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

#4 2020-08-22 12:36:46

Re: I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

#5 2020-08-22 13:56:12

Re: I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

#6 2020-08-22 14:30:45

Re: I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

#7 2020-08-22 14:36:41

Re: I need help understanding how to use NVIDIA Optimus

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