Nvidia Optimus: The End for nvidia on linux laptops?

[devius]

This kind of behaviour is, essentially, what RMS is referring to in his arguments about closed source software meaning accepting someone as your master.

And he featured the very famous "Don't buy from ATI enemies of our freedom" campain. Nowadays he would probably have to replace ATI with NVIDIA. Who would have thought, three years ago, that by now the best option for linux graphics would be ATI/AMD. Even Intel graphics are becoming more difficult to recommend, due to the low performance linux driver and the poulsbo mess. Maybe in a few years we will all be recommending S3 graphics, or Trident, or Number9 Who knows...

[pingufunkybeat]

This is a very sad situation for people owning such laptops.

It was only a few days ago that people vehemently argued that Nvidia would never drop Linux support. Well, probably not completely, but there is always danger of ending in this sort of situation and having absolutely no way of using your hardware.

[RobbieAB]

Not wishing to be cynical or fanatic here, but,,, I would say avoid any graphics company that doesn't provide ANY form of open-source support. This wouldn't be such a big problem for ATI graphics for the simple reason someone would get it working in the Foss drivers even if AMD/ATI don't.

This kind of behaviour is, essentially, what RMS is referring to in his arguments about closed source software meaning accepting someone as your master.

[[Knuckles]]

So, it seems Aaron Plattner has confirmed some of our fears:

Apparently, this depends on the laptop. Some laptops have a hardware mux that allows you to switch the display to the NVIDIA GPU, similarly to how the old Hybrid Graphics worked. On those laptops, there should be a BIOS setting.

On laptops that don't have that hardware mux (i.e. where the display is hard-wired to the Intel display engine), then you currently cannot use the NVIDIA GPU for display, though you should still be able to use it for CUDA and offscreen rendering.

We currently do not have plans to support display on Optimus systems where the display is connected to the Intel hardware, but as you said, it's something we'll probably end up having to look into in the future, to at least provide some basic display sharing. I can't promise anything, though.

I hope it really starts working again in the future. In the meantime, I would say avoid optimus unless you can try out the laptop and see that there is a bios option for choosing the nvidia gpu...

[gamesfan]

You're right. I hope nvidia can clarify this. If not, at least we could ask Michael to raise the visibility of this subject, so users at least know what to expect.

Very good idea indeed.
Until now, people expect good Linux support from Nvidia, I've been really surprised when I realized I could not use at all the GPU on my new "Optimus-disabled" Asus U30JC...
If I knew beforehand about this I might have gone for another NVidia-only model (at least, while they do still exist as you very well said... :/ ), so it would be nice for more people to know and not feel cheated after the fact.

[[Knuckles]]

I've sent email to Asus support, the best answer I could get that no BIOS option is available to do switching...
I've also posted weeks ago on the 'official' NVidia Linux Support forum here :

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=152049

Still no answer from anyone at Nvidia...

I'm opening a new thread to ask them to clarify their position about Optimus on Linux :

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=2291702#post2291702

Please voice yourself up there since there's much more probability it will be seen by NVidia people there than over here at Phoronix

You're right. I hope nvidia can clarify this. If not, at least we could ask Michael to raise the visibility of this subject, so users at least know what to expect.

[gamesfan]

Clarification needed

I've sent email to Asus support, the best answer I could get that no BIOS option is available to do switching...
I've also posted weeks ago on the 'official' NVidia Linux Support forum here :

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=152049

Still no answer from anyone at Nvidia...

I'm opening a new thread to ask them to clarify their position about Optimus on Linux :

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=2291702#post2291702

Please voice yourself up there since there's much more probability it will be seen by NVidia people there than over here at Phoronix

[gamesfan]

I've sent email to Asus support, the best answer I could get that no BIOS option is available to do switching...
I've also posted weeks ago on the 'official' NVidia Linux Support forum here :

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=152049

Still no answer from anyone at Nvidia...

I'm opening a new thread to ask them to clarify their position about Optimus on Linux :

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=2291702#post2291702

Please voice yourself up there since there's much more probability it will be seen by NVidia people there than over here at Phoronix

[[Knuckles]]

Sadly it seems it is the end indeed.
I always bought NVidia-powered laptops for their great Linux support but I really feel cheated with my new Asus U30JC where I cannot use AT ALL the Nvidia GPU I paid for... they must be a lot of people in this case, it's hard to know in advance that Optimus is not the latest marketing term for basic GPU switching (hybrid power, etc... which work on Linux) but a complete new kind of wiring

Really hope NVidia will pull something out of his hat in a next driver release.
I don't care about proper Optimus support, as in dynamic adaptive switching of the GPU used to render things, I just want to be able to switch to the NVidia for everything.

Damn. Nvidia, what are you doing!?

I hope Nvidia isn't pulling a "Creative Labs" on us... Once the indisputable #1 for all things pc sound, they're just a bunch of nobodies these days, for making stupid after stupid decisions like this.

[gamesfan]

Sadly it seems it is the end indeed.
I always bought NVidia-powered laptops for their great Linux support but I really feel cheated with my new Asus U30JC where I cannot use AT ALL the Nvidia GPU I paid for... they must be a lot of people in this case, it's hard to know in advance that Optimus is not the latest marketing term for basic GPU switching (hybrid power, etc... which work on Linux) but a complete new kind of wiring

Really hope NVidia will pull something out of his hat in a next driver release.
I don't care about proper Optimus support, as in dynamic adaptive switching of the GPU used to render things, I just want to be able to switch to the NVidia for everything.