Head_on_a_Stick wrote:Pear wrote:I'm currently using windows. It blows.
And sucks at the same time
Pear wrote:Windows uses the 630 - then switches to the 1060 when needed. Is it possible to do the same in Debian?
https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee
Pear wrote:can I bypass the 630 and only use the 1060?
Check your firmware ("BIOS") options. I think you may be able to do it at the software level as well, we had a thread about that recently so try searching for it.
Pear wrote:8th Gen i7. Will Debian use this processor's full capability? Is there a driver for it?
Processors don't have drivers but I think Debian 10 (buster) should support that generation at least as well as Windows but make sure you install the intel-microcode package (and firmware-misc-nonfree for the HD630).
I wasn't expecting that - made me laugh.. Never heard of Bumblebee, but it sounds like what I'm talking about. I am wondering though about just bypassing the 630. I don't trust that Shotcut (or similar) will trigger the switch. Though the link you sent says it's using the big GPU always to do the work, then the onboard to display it - interesting! So the Intel-Microcode and using the latest Debian 10 should mean I'm getting the most out of my hardware?
Well, I hate to say - but I bricked the last laptop by unlocking BIOS features then changing display properties. Yup, I'm that guy. That caused no display, and after a loooong time of trying restore a backup and feeling my way to fixing it, (and with the help of several patient people in a BIOS forum) - I eventually had the manufactuer replace it. Lame, I know.

..So, I can say from experience that this laptop model does not have those options visible in BIOS. Turning it off via the Display Manager would work though! That should make it use the 1060 for everything on that TTY - the others would use the 630 I'm assuming?
stevepusser wrote:You didn't say, but your machine is a laptop, not a desktop, is that correct? Optimus is strictly for laptops. Regardless, you will probably be able to get more performance (reduced thermal throttling under load) along with cooler temperatures overall by undervolting the CPU with the iuvolt script.
https://github.com/tiziw/iuvolt You're trying to duplicate Throttlestop on the Windows side.
Yep - it's a laptop! I thought Optimus was their cuda-centric branch. This card is the normal variety - it's been a minute since I've looked into it. If I switch back though, the cooler temps from that undervolt script are going to help offset the warmer nVidia.
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BONUS QUESTIONS
This laptop has a backlit mech keyboard and a lit bar across the front. The fans are controlable. Is there a package(s) to control the lights (color) and fan speed?
My wife has started playing "Fallout Shelter" and I'm wanting to play "Resident Evil 2 (remake)" - will Wine play these games? Would it be better to use a VBox with a windows instance to run the games through? Would a VBox recognize the hardware? I'm assuming I could install VirtualBox, run Windows in it, then add Steam and play RE2 full screen - but will the performance suck (or blow)? Like ripping or latency issues?