Nvidia optimus is a nice (but complex) idea that consist in integrating an Intel graphic card among a Nvidia graphic card.
Meant to be used for laptops in order to have a good battery saving mode, so that when GPU (graphic card 3D accelerated) is not required, the Intel card is used, and when the user wants more power or just to play games, Nvidia is used. The switch is meant to happen "on the fly"
This should be not hard to integrate in Elive, and it already includes the needed packages by default (like bumblebee), but unfortunately I have no machines to test it, so please somebody try to make it working in Elive and tell me which configurations are needed to have it working "out of the box" by default (instructions steps, write a howto in #howtos). The nvidia installer of Elive already includes some information for the user to make it working.
@Rebel450 is one person that has this type of hardware, so can be a candidate to test it
Some information sources with multiple instructions and details:
Very interesting!
I have my work machine with Optimus... And I'm about to change my little Nvidia Quadro for a bigger one (still in Quadro family) that I just receive!
For now on my Mint, Optimus function is "by hand": I set manually when it's on intel or Nvidia...
I you want me to test, I'm during the video change operation, fitting a second (sshd) drive, where I want to install Elive 64bits, next to Mint & CAELinux...
Thank you @Franc yes, betatests are welcome, Elive already includes pre-downloaded packages for bumblebee (maybe other ones) but i don't know yet how they needs to be used, I assume that there's not a smart (automated) way to decide "use intel / use nvidia" by default (maybe can be a good idea for when the AC plug is connected: use nvidia, when battery mode: use intel), or if is entirely something for the user to do
how is meant that a normal user (not-experienced user) will use this feature?
Optimus, for now, I use it like that; When switching, it's needed to log off-on to make it effective...
I didn't explore further at the moment about that... But will!
aaah! I was thinking that the system replaces it "on the fly", this could have been a good feature (and hard to imagine possible)
I think that the best option for now is to let the user simply "select" which driver to use (intel or nvidia) at live time (to install with it) and it will simply work that way (if needs more customizations, can do it itself, since its meant to know how)
so the only remaining thing to know now is "if the graphic system" correctly works they way is used, maybe we need an option to say "I want to use nvidia / i want to use intel" instead for these cases
I just restart with my new big nvidia quardo: just tested with a bit of sculpt with Blender 2.80 and it rocks! I will began to learn it seriously!
I need CAELinux because there's plenty of integrated things, Mint has good perfs but if Elive runs well on it!!!
Apart Blender & technical drawing, I made huge use of web browsers: mainly Vivaldi, Yandex (very good), Opera, Midori, Firefox... Sometime with BIG sessions (one time I crashed my Precision M4400/4Go on Mint, Vivaldi, and about more than 250 web pages!!!)
A place is already set on the M4400 for Elive with QX9300, nvidia quadro fx770, sshd...
The M6700 for work has 32Go ram, with nvidia quadro M5000M (that cause I have to eat mainly spirulina and bread for a month ) in place of the K2000M, cpu i7 3940xm (4 cores, 8 threads)...
The M5000M coming from a HP works as it but I will verify if the driver is the same as the Dell updated one;
Got a problem with the second hand "new" sshd, but will try to deal that!
Meanwhile, I will test Elive 3.7.1 via USB, tomorrow...
An interesting plus with the nvidia quadro CUDA: The possibility to second the cpu with parallel computing!
I'm installing the 3.7.9 (Reiser4 for test) on the 1015pn right now: Comes good!
Getting the strait forward nvidia x server settings in the preferences, booting live with "privative drivers"...
There's no precedent window asking for opengl support... I presume that it's in this case automatic?
I plan to first run CUDA (perhaps finaly find last night the right files (seems that each selection in synaptic that are not named with the right version (legacy), automatically goes to the current version even when the right legacy exists (but didn't appear in the listing) ), to be tested), and when this part ok, will find about Optimus (but I perhaps finds some things too)...
Support included by default on the next isos (or the one of the link), it is also included the choice to select between using only nvidia or using nvidia on demand, everything automated from the installer of the drivers since the live mode:
yes, betatests are welcome, Elive already includes pre-downloaded packages for bumblebee (maybe other ones) but i don't know yet how they needs to be used, I assume that there's not a smart (automated) way to decide "use intel / use nvidia" by default (maybe can be a good idea for when the AC plug is connected: use nvidia, when battery mode: use intel), or if is entirely something for the user to do
) in place of the K2000M, cpu i7 3940xm (4 cores, 8 threads)...
