Laptop with two GPU Intel and NVidia

[edsousa84]

First of all hello. And thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

I am about to buy a new laptop and I have a few questions because I want to install debian7 on it.

The laptop in question has the following hardware:

Screen: 13.3" 1920 x 1080 Full High-Definition
CPU: 4rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 4700MQ ( 2.4GHz/3.4GHz, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 6M Cache)
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual-Channel (2x 8GB, Unbuffered, 1.5V, CL11)
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 765M 2GB GDDR5 (with optimus technology).
Wifi: INTEL N-6235 802.11B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth™ V4.0 + HS
3 Hard drives (2 that can be on raid0)
1 HDMI output Port
1 VGA output Port
3 USB 3.0 Ports
1 USB 2.0 Ports
1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)

The questions that I have are many on drivers and power efficience using the GPU.

The board has optimus technology does debian7 have support to it? Can I turn of the NVidia GPU and use the intel one on the go? I found Bumblebee https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee but does it work with the GTX 765M?
If not is there a way to make linux use the intel GPU instead of the NVidia?

Does debian 7 suport the wifi board? Is it capable of using the bluetoooth 4.0?
Can I use the drives in rad0?
Can I use both VGA and HDMI outputs to connect to 2 displays at the same time?

Hope some one can answer this questions.
Thank you...

[bw123]

Have you contacted the manufacturer about linux support?

[edsousa84]

They sell computer with linux, but they do not guarantee that the optimus tech will work.

[bw123]

They sell computer with linux, but they do not guarantee that the optimus tech will work.

Sounds like a really nice computer. I feel like proprietary hardware running closed-source software (binary blobs) creates a larger risk of your hardware being abandoned in the future, because the open-source developers can't update the binary code if it becomes necessary, and the company providing the binary doesn't really have any responsibility to keep it current..

You're making an investment, so it's going to be up to you to weigh the risks and benefits of buying that kind of machine.

[edsousa84]

But is there a way to make it work with a fressh install of debian

They sell it with ubuntu, but I perfer debian...

If it does not support optimus tech is there a way to chose the intel graphics instead of the nvidia?

[edbarx]

It looks like you didn't get what you were told.

Closed-source software (binary blobs) are needed for this hardware. This means, it is risky to buy such hardware because in the future, which may not be years from now, you may end up without driver support for Linux.

Just keep in mind that hardware manufacturers are private enitities that are not bound at law to provide drivers for Linux. Therefore, the advice is to choose manufactures who have a history of providing drivers for Linux and who intend to continue in doing so.

[edsousa84]

OK let me reformulate the question is here a way to put optimus technology to work with that computer without the company support? Using the nvidia drivers for linux or any other!
Using bumblebee or any other software?
If not is there a way to turn off the nvidia board and only use the intel one?

[edbarx]

As far as I can tell, the Nvidia GPU is usually turned off from within the motherboard's setup utility (BIOS? UEFI?)

I think, you can still use most of your Nvidia GPU by installing the Debianized Nvidia driver. This can be done by enabling non-free and/or contrib in /etc/apt/sources.list.

http://packages.debian.org/search?suite ... rds=Nvidia

Please note, that after installing the debianized Nvidia drivers, you may need to edit your /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. However, don't be discouraged because the required setting is only specifying that the GPU driver is nvidia.

[dibl]

This looks relevant: https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee

[edsousa84]

Thanks for all your help

As far as I can tell, the Nvidia GPU is usually turned off from within the motherboard's setup utility (BIOS? UEFI?)
I think, you can still use most of your Nvidia GPU by installing the Debianized Nvidia driver. This can be done by enabling non-free and/or contrib in /etc/apt/sources.list
http://packages.debian.org/search?suite ... rds=Nvidia

I know that there are NVIDIA Drivers and how to install them. I just needed to know if they support the NVIDIA GTX 765M 2GB GDDR5 and if is possible to use the optimus technology.

This looks relevant: https://wiki.debian.org/Bumblebee

Yes I also found that. But is there some one that used it in debian7? Does it work well?

[koanhead]

OK let me reformulate the question is here a way to put optimus technology to work with that computer without the company support? Using the nvidia drivers for linux or any other!
Using bumblebee or any other software?

Yes. This is specifically one of the things that bumblebee is for. It works with either nvidia or nouveau drivers.

If not is there a way to turn off the nvidia board and only use the intel one?

Yes. Don't install the 'nvidia' (proprietary) driver, and blacklist 'nouveau'. Then the nvidia GPU will remain unclaimed and idle. Not quite the same as turning it off entirely, which might be possible in BIOS (or might not be possible at all.)

[edsousa84]

thanks for your help...

[Vegeta75011]

Hi edsousa84 !
Your configuration looks like a Clevo W230ST laptop...Am I right ?

Anyway, did you buy it ? If yes, how did it go ?

Because I have the same goal as you (buying this clevo laptop) and wanna install Kali (new version of Backtrack) so Debian on it !

Regards !

[edsousa84]

Yes that was rigth but i did not buy it wet because Iam am now cheking with the seller those same problems and questions.
And I am also cheking the series P with a ATI HD 8970M 4GB

[algiz]

I've got a Clevo W230ST. Currently I'm running Linux Mint 15 Cinnamon with nvidia-325 driver and bumblebee. It's working quite nice. The only problem is resuming from suspend. Without persisting the module before suspending the NVidia GPU can't be used until next reboot.

I also tried Debian (which is my all time favorite). But I couldn't get the NVidia GPU working so I did a temporary switch to Linux Mint.
Maybe I'll give it another try these days because the graphics drivers have been updated in Debian's unstable repo.

[Vegeta75011]

For Debian (and so for Kali too), I found this procedure : http://docs.kali.org/general-use/instal ... kali-linux
What do you, guys, think about it ?
Maybe it's more focused on how to install drivers properly and using CUDA than on using Optimus Technology.

In fact, I was thinking of justifying my future Clevo W230ST according to the fact that it seems totally possible to use the NVidia card with Debian / Kali.

[mascir]

Hi All,

i have a problem with Nvidia Optimus system.

I bought an Acer Travelmate P273-MG.

I tried a lot of distro's in live mode...the only one can start with DE is Mint 15 MATE. After a lot of fresh installation i have always black screen! In the BIOS of the pc isn't possibile to deactivate intel or nvida chipset.

Following some info:

Code: Select all

lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
root@stealth:/home/mascir# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port (rev 09)
00:01.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller (rev 04)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev c4)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev c4)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev c4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM77 Express Chipset LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 3D controller: NVIDIA Corporation Device 1140 (rev a1)
08:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS5209 PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01)
0e:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
0f:00.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR8151 v2.0 Gigabit Ethernet (rev c0)

Code: Select all

lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)

My goal is install Jessie and use normally GNOME as a DE

At moment the only thing that i have is SSH access to pc, and fresh installation of Jessie without DE.

-i need to install the xorg server for intel?
-i need to blacklist the Nouveau driver before that i install the intel driver?
-this operation will effect the installation of nvidia debianized driver?

Let me know if need other logs from the pc

Thanx in advance for the help...

mascir

[Hallvor]

Why not just buy a computer with Intel HD graphics and no Nvidia? No hassle and it just works.

[Vegeta75011]

Hi!
You re not wrong Hallvor but dont forget that in Nvidia you can use CUDA for efficient passwords cracking using, for example, oclHashcat : http://hashcat.net/oclhashcat-plus/

[mascir]

I followed a lot of suggestions read on the web...

i bringing back the Acer laptop to the store, for having in change a HP with Intel graphic chip...



thanx

mascir