Arch Linux

RandomRanger

Member

Registered: 2023-06-26

Posts: 42

[SOLVED] nvidia-prime-applet support/alternative for Optimus

I installed Arch for the first time over the weekend while riding backseat and my phone as the only source of internet. So I learned Arch on the streets xD

Mint (and Ubuntu in general I believe) has a critical feature that is a go/no-go condition for me that allows easy switching between GPU's for nvidia optimus laptops. Particularly I need to be able to completely turn off the dGPU for the battery savings, an option that the Razer BIOS does not support (Auto/Optimus or dGPU only are the 2 options) and re-enable the dGPU if needed. Reboots are acceptable. This Mint/Ubuntu feature appears to come from an extension of nvidia-prime via the nvidia-prime-applet that integrates with a few common desktop environments, including my current choice KDE Plasma.

Here's an article describing the feature
https://9to5linux.com/linux-mint-20-pro … ia-optimus
(not my screenshot)

Source code for the applet
https://github.com/linuxmint/nvidia-prime-applet

Unfortunately, I'm struggling to find a way to get this implementation on my Arch install. The Arch Wiki has a doc on Hybrid Graphics, however none of the suggested options available there appear to capitalize on the work done with nvidia-prime-applet, and it would be sorely missed.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Hybrid_graphics

I couldn't find anything in the wiki or forums discussing this implementation of optimus management on Arch. Am I wasting my time trying to use nvidia-prime-applet/should I settle for a custom solution wrapping around acpi calls as described in the Hybrid Graphics wiki? Has anyone gotten this applet to work on Arch?

* Bumblebee/bbswitch appears to be outdated and not relevant to my hardware according to what I've read.
* udev rules | I'm on the official nvidia drivers and don't desire to switch to noveau, so I'm assuming that means the udev rules option does not apply to me.
* Optimus Manager I tested it but it doesn't appear to actually turn off the dGPU as it still draws power even in iGPU only mode. It may be possible to get this working with more troubleshooting, but it's not nearly as elegant as the applet. As of a couple weeks ago, the developer also announced that he is no longer able to properly support the project.
https://github.com/Askannz/optimus-manager

My hardware:
* Razer Blade 15 (2021 Base)
* intel i7-10750H
* Nvidia RTX 3070
* Official nvidia drivers

The Razer BIOS does not support iGPU

[UPDATE] I eventually got this to work by tweaking the configs for optimus-manager. It looks like for my laptop I had to enable the PCI power off features, I did so using the GUI.

[UPDATE 2] Well, optimus-manager ended up having some other no-go issues (the nvidia gpu was unusable). I was booting back into Debian (Mint) to troubleshoot after breaking something on my Arch install, and was surprised to find that this debian prime-applet I had been chasing doesn't work as well as I thought after all. During that boot session (configured to iGPU only) nvtop was unable to identify any GPU's connected. This would be expected behavior, however on my arch install I noticed that nvtop is capable of displaying the iGPU. I'd assume this was potentially due to a version difference between debian and arch, however I could also feel with my hand that the gpu was on and the power being pulled through the battery was consistent with GPU draw, it's very noticeable when it's on. This applet may not be the gold-standard I was thinking it was after all.

I've so far had the most luck using the acpi_call method, however this method seems to have an issue where the xserver is unable to resume from sleep/lock. This is so far the most promising option, however it requires much more configuration.

Last edited by RandomRanger (2023-07-05 13:45:35)

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Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from science.

yochananmarqos

Member

Registered: 2020-02-05

Posts: 214

Re: [SOLVED] nvidia-prime-applet support/alternative for Optimus

That's a Cinnamon Applet and depends on Ubuntu's nvidia-prime package for the prime-select script.

RandomRanger

Member

Registered: 2023-06-26

Posts: 42

Re: [SOLVED] nvidia-prime-applet support/alternative for Optimus

Your comment got me curious to learn more about the nvidia-prime package, and as it turns out there's an Arch page for it here:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PRIME

It doesn't discuss anything about the applet I'm interested in, but if the applet is just a wrapper around this package and the package works on Arch, then perhaps the functionality (minus the UX) can be found here.

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Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from science.

yochananmarqos

Member

Registered: 2020-02-05

Posts: 214

Re: [SOLVED] nvidia-prime-applet support/alternative for Optimus

I said Ubuntu's nvidia-prime package, not Arch's wee script.

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 24,479

Re: [SOLVED] nvidia-prime-applet support/alternative for Optimus

It's not a wrapper around that. The prime-applet will tear down your entire session. nvidia-prime as provided on Arch gives you a commandline where you can run demanding programs on the dedicated card on demand without having to restart your session for it.