Switchable Graphics - Revision history

ThinkGNU: Fixed broken link.

2025-04-12T02:04:27Z

Fixed broken link.

ThinkGNU: Linux is only a kernel. Updated information and added DRI_PRIME graphics switching information.

2025-04-12T02:02:05Z

Linux is only a kernel. Updated information and added DRI_PRIME graphics switching information.

Ilakast: added info for latest ubuntu

2014-03-13T22:17:10Z

added info for latest ubuntu

Johnny: /* ThinkPad models which may have this feature */ Added T430s

2013-03-26T18:16:19Z

‎ThinkPad models which may have this feature: Added T430s

Daudo: /* ThinkPad models which may have this feature */

2012-10-22T15:45:22Z

‎ThinkPad models which may have this feature

Walden: /* Development status */ Added link to a possibly useful utility (Deja vu? I swear I've added this before.)

2012-10-09T01:59:31Z

‎Development status: Added link to a possibly useful utility (Deja vu? I swear I've added this before.)

Carewolf: /* Improving Battery-life with Optimus */

2012-08-27T18:00:07Z

‎Improving Battery-life with Optimus

Carewolf: /* Improving Battery-life with Optimus */

2012-08-23T13:56:01Z

‎Improving Battery-life with Optimus

Carewolf: /* Improving Battery-life with Optimus */ Scale down estimate of battery life improvement to one including medium CPU and network use.

2012-08-23T13:55:03Z

‎Improving Battery-life with Optimus: Scale down estimate of battery life improvement to one including medium CPU and network use.

Carewolf: /* Improving Battery-life with Optimus */ usr -> sys typo

2012-08-23T13:38:02Z

‎Improving Battery-life with Optimus: usr -> sys typo

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 * On Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid) BIOS setting has to be either on Internal or External, not Switchable.
 * On Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) the Integrated Intel card works with both Integrated or Switchable set
-* On Ubuntu 13.10 and above, see [http://www.junauza.com/2014/03/how-to-get-nvidia-optimus-working-on-ubuntu-linux.html | How to Get NVIDIA Optimus Working on Ubuntu Linux]
+* On Ubuntu 13.10 and above, see [http://www.junauza.com/2014/03/how-to-get-nvidia-optimus-working-on-ubuntu-linux.html How to Get NVIDIA Optimus Working on Ubuntu]
 == Switchable Graphics and Docks ==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 In Windows XP this switching requires a logout/login, while in Vista and Windows 7 there is support for runtime switching.
-Under Linux, the switching so far had to be done by entering BIOS setup and changing between "Internal" (low power, integrated), "External" (high performance, discrete) or "Switchable" (OS selectable) options.
+Under GNU/Linux, switching can be configured by entering BIOS setup and choosing between the "Internal" (low power, integrated), "External" (high performance, discrete) or "Switchable" (OS selectable) options.
-Depending on which Linux version you use, you could have the following effects
+Depending on which GNU/Linux version you use, you could have the following effects
 * On Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid) BIOS setting has to be either on Internal or External, not Switchable.
 * On Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) the Integrated Intel card works with both Integrated or Switchable set
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 == Improving Battery-life with Optimus ==
-ThinkPads with NVidia Optimus graphics, have been well known to have significantly better battery-life in Windows than in Linux, even when Linux only uses the internal graphics. The reason is that the NVidia GPU is not automatically powered off when it is not used. So to get optimal battery-life in Linux on ThinkPad with Optimus, you need to switch it off manually (or by a script).
+ThinkPads with NVidia Optimus graphics, have been well known to have significantly better battery-life in Windows than in GNU/Linux, even when GNU/Linux only uses the internal graphics. The reason is that the NVidia GPU is not automatically powered off when it is not used. So to get optimal battery-life in GNU/Linux on ThinkPad with Optimus, you need to switch it off manually (or by a script).
 First you need to enable access to vga-switcheroo settings, for that you need to mount the debugfs. You can do that by adding the following line to {{path|/etc/fstab}}:
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
    {{cmdroot|echo 'OFF' > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
-This will greatly improve to your average battery-life on ThinkPads T420 if you only use intel Xorg drivers.
+Your average battery-life will greatly improved on the ThinkPad T420 if you only use intel integrated.
 == Development status ==
-David Arlie has been working on switching between GPUs without having to reboot, and changing BIOS settings. An initial version of a new driver (vga_switcheroo) has been merged in the 2.6.34 kernel. This driver allows switching between graphics cards, but requires that the Xserver is restarted. Full seamless runtime switching support will require significant Xserver work.
+David Arlie worked on switching between GPUs without having to reboot or change BIOS settings. An initial version of a new driver (vga_switcheroo) was merged in the 2.6.34 kernel. This driver allowed switching between graphics cards, but required restarting the X server.
 http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODAyMg
 A script to switch between ATI discrete graphics with the fglrx driver and Intel integrated graphics with xorg driver through rebooting and selection in the bios is posted here.  The user must reboot, but no further configuration is needed as the script detects the card used and copies the correct libraries and configuration file.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 * On Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid) BIOS setting has to be either on Internal or External, not Switchable.
 * On Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) the Integrated Intel card works with both Integrated or Switchable set
 == Switchable Graphics and Docks ==

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 == ThinkPad models which may have this feature ==
 * {{R400}}
-* {{T400}}, {{T500}}, {{T510i}}, {{T420}}, {{T420s}}, {{T520}}
+* {{T400}}, {{T500}}, {{T510i}}, {{T420}}, {{T420s}}, {{T520}}, {{T430s}}
 * {{W500}}, {{W520}}, {{W530}}

@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 * {{R400}}
 * {{T400}}, {{T500}}, {{T510i}}, {{T420}}, {{T420s}}, {{T520}}
-* {{W500}}, {{W520}}
+* {{W500}}, {{W520}}, {{W530}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:59, 9 October 2012
Line 49:		Line 49:

	{{cmd\|C:\PROGRA~2\ThinkPad\UTILIT~1\PWMUIAux.exe /EnergySavingGpu \|}}		{{cmd\|C:\PROGRA~2\ThinkPad\UTILIT~1\PWMUIAux.exe /EnergySavingGpu \|}}
		+
		+	A small utility has been developed to switch between the chipsets with the ThinkVantage button, using Windows SetupAPI to detect the current chipset. More information and download of source and binary available here: http://entropicassembly.com/thinkpadgraphics/

	== ThinkPad models which may have this feature ==		== ThinkPad models which may have this feature ==

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
    {{cmdroot|echo 'OFF' > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
-This will greatly improve to your average battery-life on ThinkPads T420 and ThinkPad W420 if you only use intel Xorg drivers. On average I see an improvement from 1½->2 hours, to 2½->3½ hours.
+This will greatly improve to your average battery-life on ThinkPads T420 and ThinkPad W420 if you only use intel Xorg drivers.
 == Development status ==

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 See which GPU is currently active (look for '+'), and which ones are powered (look for 'pwr'):
-   {{cmdroot|cat /usr/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
+   {{cmdroot|cat /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
 To force it to use the internal graphics write:
-   {{cmdroot|echo 'IGD' > /usr/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
+   {{cmdroot|echo 'IGD' > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
 To force it to use the discrete GPU:
-   {{cmdroot|echo 'DES' > /usr/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
+   {{cmdroot|echo 'DES' > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
 Most importantly, to poweroff the currently unused GPU, run:
-   {{cmdroot|echo 'OFF' > /usr/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
+   {{cmdroot|echo 'OFF' > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch}}
 This should double your battery-life on ThinkPads T420 and ThinkPad W420, if you only use intel Xorg drivers.