My laptops are all hand-offs and corporate writeoffs. I haven’t purchased a laptop for my own use since 2000!
Recently I got the laptop I got for my son a couple years ago for college (2020?) when he bought a System76 Darter Pro for himself.
I am wondering what is the CURRENT state of running Hybrid graphics in Linux?
Right now I have the laptop running Windows, and I like how I can designate applications (games) to use the Nvidia graphics while everything else uses the less-power-hungry integrated Intel.
From what I have read, Pop! OS and KDE (like Neon) have some features for selecting or managing the graphics used. I think Pop! OS, though, the extension only works up to Ubuntu 22.04.
Does anybody have insight from current distributions and/or desktop environments for handling graphics. As is usual with Linux, sometimes searches comes up with information for older releases and things may have changed a lot since then.
Any thoughts, experiences, rumors or links will be appreciated.
Thanks!
But these systems are usually older when I get them, and are not gaming systems. Recently, (a couple years ago) my son bought his own System76 Darter Pro and so I recently got his old laptop I got him when he went into college.
This laptop matches the power of my desktop (tha’ts not saying much) with its hybrid graphics.
So my question is about the state of hybrid graphics and Linux. Any Linux.
I do like how right now I can select the applications (games) to run on the Nvidia graphics while 95% of the time I am on the integrated Intel and saving battery life.
A few years ago Linux Mint introduced an option in its menu to run any application specifically with dedicated graphics. I am sure the option still exists. I am unsure how it works in Ubuntu (I never had a computer with dedicated graphics card, so can’t tell).
In the current desktop icons, if you have a .desktop file, you can choose to launch it using the integrated graphics card or the “external” one. Since steam usually allows to create a shortcut of each installed game in the desktop, you should only have to right-click on the icon and choose to use the external graphics.
The Steam .desktop file has PrefersNonDefaultGPU=true in it, so it should launch with the dedicated graphics out of the box. Assuming all other configuration has worked correctly.
There are also some laptops with a special MUX that needs special drivers, there you need to research more for that specific model…
I believe Gnome, and hence, the main Ubuntu release, (don’t have access to it now) allows selection of the “discrete” card via a right click on the app icon. If you don’t do the right click but just click per normal to run the app, it uses the “integrated” graphics. This is equivalent to editing the app’s desktop file to specify use of the discrete card.
Not sure if KDE allows the same “right click the icon” functionality. But, editing a desktop file will work in any environment.
The Linux Mint tool is a panel applet that’s installed when the Nvidia proprietary driver is installed. It offers the options “hybrid”, i.e., the default, or “Intel”, i.e., always use Intel video, or “Nvidia”, i.e., always use the Nvidia card. It applies to all apps system wide. The command line version is “prime-select” and is available on Ubuntu after an Nividia driver is installed.
I tried it in a Live USB and see the option of running with discrete graphics for some of the apps. Surprised that Firefox did not provide that option, but Thunderbird and others did.