Getting an external monitor to work [Optimus]

[KillaW0lf04]

Hey guys,

I installed Kubuntu yesterday with the knowledge that my external monitor would probably not work due to having an Nvidia Optimus setup (I've attempted to install Ubuntu 12.04 on it in the past with no luck). However, after installation i tried plugging in the monitor for the sake of it - and the monitor was detected and i could actually turn it on!

The only problem however was that it was extremely buggy (fully of artifacts whenever i moved the mouse or anything on the screen changed).

Was there some support for optimus chips introduced with Kubuntu 13.04? If so, how can i get my external monitor to work without any issues?

My laptop is a Dell XPS L702x

Should be worth mentioning that i did NOT install any proprietary drivers from nvidia, so i assume all this happened under Nouveau

Thanks in advance for any help
Mike

[luckyone]

http://linux.slashdot.org/story/13/0...h-new-features

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/it...r-1838415.html

[KillaW0lf04]

As much as i appreciate the link it doesnt really help me with my problem. For one, the beta drivers only work on a very recent version of the linux kernel and my question was whether Kubuntu has added some kind of support for optimus recently that i was not aware of. When i had installed ubuntu 12.04 last time, it wouldnt even detect my external monitor! This time the monitor is detected and can actually be turned on .... with alot of issues however :/

[oshunluvr]

Can you disable the on-board Intel graphics?

Nvidia say this about their latest blob (emphasis added):

Note that the list of supported GPU products is provided to indicate which GPUs are supported by a particular driver version. Some designs incorporating supported GPUs may not be compatible with the NVIDIA Linux driver: in particular, notebook and all-in-one desktop designs with switchable (hybrid) or Optimus graphics will not work if means to disable the integrated graphics in hardware are not available. Hardware designs will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so please consult with a system's manufacturer to determine whether that particular system is compatible.

[oshunluvr]

http://launchpad.net/~hybrid-graphics-linux

[SteveRiley]

I have a Thinkpad W520 with dual Intel and nVidia chipset and the hardware will not allow an external monitor to run on Intel.
One of the moderators here, Steve Riley, has (had?) a T520 and it can run two monitors on the Intel card.

Teunis, my T520 is like your W520. The Intel graphics can run only one external monitor or one external monitor plus the internal display panel. To use two external monitors, I had to switch to the nVidia chip.

Because I rarely run this laptop for prolonged periods on it's battery I have set the Bios to always boot into the nVideo mode which does allow me to use Twinview etc.

Same here. Optimus is just too flaky for me. So I run with only nVidia enabled.

[KillaW0lf04]

I actually solved this problem through a work around.

My laptop comes with both an HDMI and minidisplay adapter for external monitors. It seems that the hdmi is wired to the nvidia chip which is why i cannot use it.

However the minidisplay adapter is wired to the intel chip so that can be used without any problems. All i had to get was a minidisplay to hdmi adapter and everything works as expected

[dmeyer]

Hey guys,

I installed Kubuntu yesterday with the knowledge that my external monitor would probably not work due to having an Nvidia Optimus setup (I've attempted to install Ubuntu 12.04 on it in the past with no luck). However, after installation i tried plugging in the monitor for the sake of it - and the monitor was detected and i could actually turn it on!

The only problem however was that it was extremely buggy (fully of artifacts whenever i moved the mouse or anything on the screen changed).

Was there some support for optimus chips introduced with Kubuntu 13.04? If so, how can i get my external monitor to work without any issues?

My laptop is a Dell XPS L702x

Should be worth mentioning that i did NOT install any proprietary drivers from nvidia, so i assume all this happened under Nouveau

Thanks in advance for any help
Mike

I have the exact same laptop and my external monitor works fine. Do you use the HDMI port or the mini DisplayPort? HDMI is attached to Nvidia and needs a few hacks to get working, mini DisplayPort is just plug and play.

P.S. If you haven't installed any proprietary drivers be prepared for terrible battery life and a loud laptop. I highly recommend you go the bumblebee route and just ignore Prime (not primus) for now.