Potential Good News For NVIDIA Optimus On Linux

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Potential Good News For NVIDIA Optimus On Linux

There's some hope for NVIDIA laptop customers that rely upon their binary Linux graphics drivers that one day hope to utilize Optimus Technology...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTEyOTQ

[RussianNeuroMancer]

How many AMD Catalyst developers have publicly commented on the patches to date? Zero.

They just silently implement xrandr 1.2 (3.5 years earlier than nVidia) and PowerXpress (Optimus analog; available since Catalyst 11.4) support in fglrx.

What end users preferred more: comments or implemented features?

[jmcharron]

I can't believe that it took a clip of a woman that was upset with Nvidia's handling of Optimus hardware on Linux asking Linus what he thought about it and his knee jerk reaction to change Nvidia's tune about Optimus support in relatively quick order.

[md1032]

I can't believe that it took a clip of a woman that was upset with Nvidia's handling of Optimus hardware on Linux asking Linus what he thought about it and his knee jerk reaction to change Nvidia's tune about Optimus support in relatively quick order.

The first Nvidia review of this stuff was back in May, before all of that: http://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-dev...ay/031112.html

[ryao]

The first Nvidia review of this stuff was back in May, before all of that: http://lists.x.org/archives/xorg-dev...ay/031112.html

Apparently, we needed the clip before anyone noticed that.

[bug!]

They just silently implement xrandr 1.2 (3.5 years earlier than nVidia) and PowerXpress (Optimus analog; available since Catalyst 11.4) support in fglrx.

What end users preferred more: comments or implemented features?

Except PowerXpress doesnt actually work, not on my Acer 3810TG at least.

[AlbertP]

Support for muxed PowerXpress seems to have been dropped already longer ago (even though the actual 4000 series hardware is still supported in 11.4) and you may need hacks like vga_switcheroo to use it. But muxless graphics should be mostly working with the driver. I haven't looked up which one your Acer has.\

Edit: the Acer 3810TG has Intel GM45 + Radeon HD 4330 graphics. Should be muxed. vga_switcheroo may help here.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Hy...vga_switcheroo

[Gusar]

They just silently implement xrandr 1.2 (3.5 years earlier than nVidia) and PowerXpress (Optimus analog; available since Catalyst 11.4) support in fglrx.

They don't have PowerXpress. They have a hack which defeats the primary purpose of Optimus/PowerXpress, which is power saving. And there's mentions that it introduces lag.

Nvidia wants to do it properly. And until they can do so (xrandr1.5 is released and they get access to dma-buf or figure out another way to share buffers with intel), there's Bumblebee.

[GreatEmerald]

They just silently implement <...>

Sometimes too silently. *looks at XvBA*

[RussianNeuroMancer]

Except PowerXpress doesnt actually work, not on my Acer 3810TG at least.

Sadly, there is too many issues with switch on MUX-ed hardware (ACPI bugs in my opinion is main reason) so only MUX-less support (that is majority right now). You can rely on BIOS switch (with fglrx) or vga_switcheroo (with radeon).

They don't have PowerXpress. They have a hack which defeats the primary purpose of Optimus/PowerXpress, which is power saving.

Some people looking at this hardware from another side - ability to use more powerful GPU on laptop that they buy for desktop usage.

Nvidia wants to do it properly.

And now you say something like "they delay xrandr support for 3.5 years for same reason". No, you didn't say that, because it's bullshit, just like in this case with Optimus. The truth is - they doesn't care about desktop usage at all, just face it.