# Optimus Support Official Nvidia Drivers

## alrojas

Hi,

I have a Dell Laptop (N5110) with NVIDIA 525M with optimus.

All this time I was using my Intel video card, but now I want to use my Nvidia card with the official driver.

On my Gentoo I have installed gentoo-sources 3.10.7, nvidia-drivers-319.49, X Server 1.14.2, xrandr 1.4.1, xf86-video-modesetting-0.5.0, xf86-video-intel-2.20.13

I read tutorials and posts about how to do it, but sadlly, It doesn't work  :Sad: . So I need some help.

This is my xorg.conf

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> Section "ServerLayout"
> 
>     Identifier "layout"
> ...

 

This is my log

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> [   880.381] 
> 
> X.Org X Server 1.14.2
> ...

 

This is my ~/xinitrc

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> xrandr --setprovideroutputsource Intel NVIDIA-0
> 
> xrandr --auto 
> ...

 

On the other hand, If I change Intel to modesetting on xorg.conf and .xinitrc, and run startx, my laptop freeze with a blank screen :/.

I hope you can helpe

Thanks for all.

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## NeddySeagoon

alrojas,

A little background to aid understanding and a pointer to a way forward.

Your laptop actually only has one and half video systems.  The complete one is the Intel graphics system.

It can both draw new images in the pixel buffer and read them out to refresh the display.

The half a video system is the nvidia video system.  It can only draw new images in the pixel buffer.  It is not connect to the display at all, hence when you try to use the nvidia-drivers you get a blank screen and a log full of errors.

To use the nvidia graphics system, the Intel graphics must be used to redraw the screen - the graphics systems must cooperate.

You need the bumblebee project.  Its in a Gentoo overlay.

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## alrojas

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> alrojas,
> 
> A little background to aid understanding and a pointer to a way forward.
> 
> Your laptop actually only has one and half video systems.  The complete one is the Intel graphics system.
> ...

 

I understand that, and I tested bumblebee before, but the performance was not good. If I understand... a few moths ago, NVIDIA released a Driver(>=319.12) with optimus "native support" on Linux (Not more bumblebee). People that installed and configured it succesfully say that performance is better than NVIDIA + BUMBLEBEE. I don't know if that is true. I like to prove it myself, but i can't do it work.  :Sad: .

Anyway, I have a question... I still need bumblebee with the "new driver"?.

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## NeddySeagoon

alrojas,

I don't have an Optimus system to practice on.

However, if the nvidia-drivers package was all you needed (no bumblebee) it would need to be able to configure the Intel graphics card too.

Its perfectly possible to do that, as xf86-video-intel is open source but it would make the nvidia-drivers very messy.

I don't see any new USE flags. 

```
[ebuild   R    ] x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers-325.15  USE="X acpi tools (-multilib) -pax_kernel" 0 kB
```

but /usr/share/doc/nvidia-drivers-325.15/README.bz2 Chapter 18. Using the NVIDIA Driver with Optimus Laptops, says 

 *Quote:*   

>  ... As an alternative to using only the integrated graphics device, support for
> 
> the display output source functionality provided by the X Resize and Rotate
> 
> extension version 1.4 is available. This functionality allows for graphics to
> ...

 

The interesting reading is in Chapter 33, so the nvidia-driver can work almost the way you would like ... but not quite and not without the Intel driver.

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## ayvango

 *NeddySeagoon wrote:*   

> alrojas,
> 
> The interesting reading is in Chapter 33, so the nvidia-driver can work almost the way you would like ... but not quite and not without the Intel driver.

 

I've followed chapter 33 instructions and get working optimus system without bumblebee.

Some gentoo-specific obvious additions:

 eselect opengl set nvidia

 set VIDEO_CARDS flag to "nvidia modesetting" at least && emerge xorg-drivers

[/list]

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## edgar_uriel84

Hi alrojas,

I have the same issue with nvidia-drivers, Did you solved it? Thanks in advance.

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