[Wolves] What's Your Linux Machine?

Sun Mar 8 14:47:05 UTC 2020

On 07/03/2020 15:21, Richard Sheppard via Wolves wrote:
>
> The Laptop I'm typing this on I got from PC Specialist nearly two
> years ago - it's a Clevo Optimus base. screenfetch says:
> 
> rsheppard at monsieur-poupik
> OS: Manjaro 19.0.2 Kyria
> Kernel: x86_64 Linux 5.5.7-1-MANJARO
> Uptime: 5h 3m
> Packages: 1855
> Shell: zsh 5.8
> Resolution: 1920x1080
> DE: GNOME 3.34.4
> WM: Mutter
> WM Theme: Pop
> GTK Theme: Adwaita-dark [GTK2/3]
> Icon Theme: Adwaita
> Font: Noto Sans 11
> Disk: 320G / 735G (45%)
> CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H @ 12x 4.1GHz [74.0°C]
> GPU: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 630 (Mobile)
> NVIDIA Corporation GP106M [GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile] (rev a1)
> RAM: 6489MiB / 31966MiB

Nice :)

> I'd like to have a way to use Manjaro with my external display but I
> ran out of steam two years ago (not long after I got it) while trying
> a number of convoluted recipes to use the nVidia video (Intel mode
> will not provide a signal through the HDMI port). I've got an AOC 27"
> 4K display that gets zero use with this laptop.

I found with my hybrid Intel/Nvidia Optimus graphics, it wouldn't drive
an external display unless I used the Nvidia GPU for the desktop
session. Would not work from the Intel GPU. I think I may have gotten it
to work from the Intel card once by setting up the external monitor
while running on the Nvidia card, then switching to run from the Intel
card after a logout/in again and the settings persisted but it wouldn't
work on subsequent attempts, only ever with the Nvidia card. I haven't
had cause to try in nearly 18 months. Did you try driving it from Nvidia
card?

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> On Fri, 6 Mar 2020 at 12:07, Adam Sweet via Wolves
> <wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> John Alexander suggested this as a conversation starter on list a few
>> weeks back, then asked at the meeting on Weds. I think I answered then
>> the conversation moved on rather than going around the group, so here it
>> is on list.
>>
>> So, what is your Linux machine? I'll start (wall of text alert, I got
>> carried away). All the machines I use were bought by my company rather
>> than me, while they're not that new now they'd probably be a bit more
>> humble if I were paying:
>>
>> My desktop is a 2015 Dell Optiplex 9020:
>>
>> Intel i7 4790 3.60GHz (4 cores +HT)
>> Bought with 8GB RAM, now using 16GB
>> Intel graphics
>> 2 x 24" Iiyama Black Hawk monitors
>>
>> Came with a terrible 500GB hybrid SSHD - a traditional spinning disk
>> (5400 RPM!) with 8GB SSD storage at the beginning to cache frequently
>> used files. I replaced that with two Crucial MX200 SSDs, one for Linux
>> and one for Windows which I do occasionally need for customer support.
>>
>> I'm running Ubuntu 19.10. The machine came with Windows 7 which I
>> recently updated to Windows 10 just before support was ended for 7.
>>
>> Despite turning 5 years old this summer, this machine doesn't feel slow
>> or sluggish at all, probably thanks to the two SSDs and 16GB RAM. Most
>> of my workload is web browser, mail client and terminal (SSH to customer
>> systems).
>>
>> My laptop is a 2017 Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming 7567 with slightly
>> embarrassing, decidedly non-business appropriate red trim. I wanted
>> something I could use for occasional games (adding a discrete graphics
>> card to my desktop would mean trying to replace the non-standard form
>> factor PSU). I'd waited for the Dell XPS with the same spec as this one
>> (sans the cringey red trim) to be released for about 9 months, saw a dip
>> in the price of this one, conceded I could wait forever as my existing
>> laptop was starting to show its age and took the plunge. The XPS model
>> with the same hardware I'd waited for came out about 3 month later and
>> Iain bought it :(
>>
>> Intel i7 7700HQ CPU 2.80GHz (4 cores +HT)
>> 16 GB RAM
>> 512GB NVMe drive (Windows 10)
>> I added a 512GB Samsung Evo 850 SSD for Ubuntu
>> Hybrid Intel HD 630 and Nvidia Geforce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile graphics
>> 15" 4K IPS display
>>
>> It came with Windows 10 on the NVMe drive and had an empty SATA bay so I
>> added the Samsung Evo with the intention of swapping Windows to the SSD
>> and putting Ubuntu on the faster NVMe drive but I never got around to it.
>>
>> I had to go through various hoops to get Ubuntu running on it. For some
>> reason it ships with a single drive but with the disk controller set in
>> RAID mode (presumably Windows fakeraid) which means Ubuntu can't see it.
>> Setting it in AHCI mode means it uses a generic Windows driver which
>> performs poorly. It turns out you can use a driver from an almost
>> identical OCZ drive from the same OEM which solves the performance
>> issue. All that done means Linux can see and access the NVMe drive,
>> though I later decided to leave Ubuntu on the separate SSD.
>>
>> The other issue was the hybrid graphics, Intel for power efficiency,
>> Nvidia for gaming. Windows runs using the Intel graphics by default and
>> runs individual games and graphically demanding apps from a whitelist on
>> the Nvidia GPU.
>>
>> At the time of purchase Linux was only able to use one or the other at a
>> time for the whole desktop session though it was possible to run a
>> command to switch between them then log out/in again to use the other.
>> This bit me on the ass when I did an Ubuntu release upgrade a couple of
>> weeks before running a training course which messed up the X server but
>> I managed to get it running again, then running some OS updates the
>> night which broke it entirely. I wasn't able to fix in time and I had to
>> give the course using Windows (which I find like bathing in bleach,
>> itchy and irritating). I had to do a complete reinstall to get it
>> working again.
>>
>> Only recently has support been added to the Nvidia binary Linux driver
>> to allow the same kind of hybrid behaviour as on Windows. I don't appear
>> to have it in 19.10 yet but I believe we have Martin Wimpress of Ubuntu
>> MATE and recently announced Ubuntu Desktop Team lead to thank for a 'GPU
>> switcheroo' GUI applet which allows you to choose between an Intel or
>> Nvidia desktop session, or hybrid mode where you can choose to start
>> individual applications on a particular GPU. I thanked him personally
>> for that at OggCamp in October last year.
>>
>> I also have an old first gen Dell Ubuntu developer laptop (essentially a
>> Dell XPS 13) which feels a bit laggy these days. It had a second gen
>> Core i7 with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and a 13" display. I typically use it as
>> a 'throw in a bag and go' laptop. My Inspiron Gaming laptop is too heavy
>> to carry around comfortably.
>>
>> I realise I've gone into way more detail than necessary here, there's no
>> need to do the same unless you want to. What's your Linux machine?
>>
>> Ad
>>
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> 
> 
> 
> --
> Richard Sheppard
> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/RichardSheppard
> 