While Nvidia is considered to have good graphics support for Linux, but its energy saving technology Optimus has been the exception. The technology deactivates the dedicated graphics card in a notebooks when it is not needed, but not with Linux. An Nvidia software engineer reveals that support for Optimus is coming, better late than never?
Optimus automatically switches between the integrated and dedicated graphics card, depending on the application and use, which could potentially save many hours of battery time. The support for this function has been excluded from Linux, but that should change in the near future. Aaron Plattner, software engineer at Nvidia, says the company will transfer this technology to Linux.
”I’ve been experimenting with support for Dave Airlie’s new RandR 1.4 provider object interface, so that Optimus-based laptops can use our driver to drive the discrete GPU and display on the integrated GPU[…]The good news is that I’ve got a proof of concept working,” – Aaron Plattner answered when asked by other developers for help.
That Nvidia has started working on Optimus for Linux is good news, but one can’t help wonder if Linus Torvalds outrage has anything to do with this? Either way this is good news and we hope it will not take too long before Optimus becomes official for Linux.
