Potential Good News For NVIDIA Optimus On Linux

[Gusar]

2. Ability to disable dGPU to save the battery. This is what you call "main purpose of muxless tech". Catalyst can do this, and you know that.

Yeah, but the way it achieves that? To use the dGPU you have to restart X, which means closing all your apps. Then, when you're done using the AMD card, you have to close all apps *again* and restart X to run on the iGPU. So this supposed "better" solution because it's "official" requires you to restart X all the time.

Now on Bumbleblee, once it's installed and you've adjusted select shortcuts to start specific apps with optirun, the experience is from then on seamless. Bumblebee will automatically enable/disable the dGPU, no X restarts required. *That* is the main purpose of muxless tech - saving power by running only select apps on the dGPU. While AMD's hack is nothing more than old-school switching between GPUs.

Compare Catalyst and Bumblebee installation/using switch.

I just did. Your supposed "better" official solution is a lot more hassle than Bumblebee is.

[RussianNeuroMancer]

To use the dGPU you have to restart X, which means closing all your apps.

In case of nVidia driver X server even doesn't launch, so there is nothing to close or restart. From typical user point of view system is just broken right after driver installation.

Now on Bumbleblee, once it's installed and you've adjusted select shortcuts

This is the key difference. Do you feel it? Now you going to say something like "bro, this is very easy, any user know about this!" Yes, this is easy when you at first install driver that doesn't work, get not running X server, boot from LiveCD or flash drive, going to Google, find info about Optimus on Linux, uninstall not working driver using chroot or recovery mode, install Bumbleblee, and once it's installed and you've adjusted select shortcuts to start specific apps with optirun, the experience is from then on seamless! Finally!
Very, very easy! nVidia sooooo care about Linux desktop!

*That* is the main purpose of muxless tech - saving power by running only select apps on the dGPU.

You compare Catalyst and Bumbleblee. I compare this driver and this driver, and nothing more (not without reason, as I hope you understand now).

[Gusar]

In case of nVidia driver X server even doesn't launch, so there is nothing to close or restart.

Err, the point of muxless tech is that the environment (X in the case of Linux) runs on the iGPU! Which works just fine on Optimus machines.

You compare Catalyst and Bumbleblee. I compare this driver and this driver, and nothing more (not without reason, as I hope you understand now).

Yes, I fully understand the reason - you constrain the rules to those that allow you to make an argument, because otherwise you would have no argument. Which is (you shouldn't be surprised what will follow now) yet another of your BS tactics.

[RussianNeuroMancer]

And you completely ignored second paragraph of my previous message.

[Gusar]

And you completely ignored second paragraph of my previous message.

You got me!! Which means you've finally scored a victory!! Go you!!

Well, if it weren't for the thing where installation is a *one time thing* while AMD's hack is a constant inconvenience with it's requirement to restart X all the time. This fact should've been obvious, that's why I didn't explicitly address it, but you of course have to count your victories. Too bad for you I've just now taken away this one victory you had.

[AlbertP]

Err, the point of muxless tech is that the environment (X in the case of Linux) runs on the iGPU! Which works just fine on Optimus machines.

Yes it does, but it breaks when installing the proprietary driver. Then X does not launch at all (usually, you may also end up without 3D acceleration or in an OpenGL 1.4 fallback with "Direct Rendering: No") unless you use Bumblebee.

[Gusar]

Yes it does, but it breaks when installing the proprietary driver.

You do something you shouldn't and stuff breaks, that's kind of a "duh" moment. Dealing with Optimus on Linux requires you to inform yourself about some things prior to diving in. This is not ideal, but I never disputed that Bumblebee is anything more than a hack.

[RussianNeuroMancer]

Dealing with Optimus on Linux requires you to inform yourself about some things prior to diving in.

Wow, you said that.

[Gusar]

Wow, you said that.

It surprises you that, unlike you, I don't pretend solutions exist where in reality there are only hacks?

[RussianNeuroMancer]

Slow down! Gusar, do you get difference between official vendor support and not-official? (If you forgot, I remind you: not-official support "requires you to inform yourself about some things prior to diving in".)