There seems to be very little info about this available through web searches.
Do I just use prime the same as I would with Intel/Nvidia?
Do I have to use nvidia-xrun or configure X to use the dGPU in order for it to work?
Are there any problems i should be aware of before I buy such a laptop?
Wow geez no replies…
Well good thing I didn’t wait and just bought the laptop i was thinking of, it’s awesome.
The answer of ‘exactly’ how it works might be complicated, but in a nutshell for the end user it should work just like it does on intel-nvidia combo machines.
E.g. everything runs on your igpu normally and on your nvidia-gpu when you call on it with prime-run. The multiplexed part means there’s some less funny stuff going on in the background, but as an end-user you can’t tell the difference really unless you’re doing things that specifically benefit from it. (Although what you won’t notice is fewer errors and other such ‘little’ things)
As for the reason why I said ‘should’ instead of ‘does’ is because of this (e.g. vulkan applications will always try to use nvidia first, whether or not the issue is present for intel-nvidia as well, i know for a fact that it is at the very least less severely affected by it; e.g. it behaves better if an nvidia gpu is not available) :
Ultimately that all is a matter of configuration and in large part I feel it is the distro’s responsibility to ensure such things are in order.
keep in mind that arch and arch-related distros are rolling-release and it’s your responsibility to get it running. a lot of new users don’t recognize the fact that you are an early adaptor of the newest stuff if you’re using such a release. it’s not mentioned to get a bullet-proof install. there are a lot of other distros that are far better maintenanced and proofen to be a daily driver. manjaro is not a distro for users getting started in linux. this can’t be fulfilled from a rolling release.
You are wrong you’re confusing common opinions and biases towards rolling release distros with the actual reality and purpose of manjaro as a distro.
It is described as an easily installed user friendly distro where making hardware work well out of the box is one of the highest priorities. This is not working well out of the box e.g. runs counter to manjaro’s mission statement of:
We are on a mission to get the popular Manjaro Linux to the masses and get it working on your hardware straight out of the box.
Or from the wiki:
Manjaro is a user-friendly Linux distribution based on the independently developed Arch operating system. Within the Linux community, Arch itself is renowned for being an exceptionally fast, powerful, and lightweight distribution that provides access to the very latest cutting edge - and bleeding edge - software. However, Arch is also aimed at more experienced or technically-minded users. As such, it is generally considered to be beyond the reach of those who lack the technical expertise (or persistence) required to use it.
Developed in Austria, France, and Germany, Manjaro provides all the benefits of the Arch operating system combined with a focus on user-friendliness and accessibility. Manjaro follow Archlinux and officially only offers a 64 bit version. Manjaro is suitable for newcomers as well as experienced Linux users. For newcomers, a user-friendly installer is provided, and the system itself is designed to work fully ‘straight out of the box’ with features including:
Pre-installed desktop environments
Pre-installed Graphical Software Managers to easily install software and update your system, and
Pre-installed codecs to play multimedia files
Of course things sometimes slip through the cracks that’s inevitable, it happens on the other distros too (to be honest I had a harder time using ubuntu, mint and fedora than I ever had with manjaro, with issues no less serious than this).
As a former gentoo and arch user as you can see I don’t really have a problem fumbling my way towards solutions when problems like this crop up, but it runs counter to manjaro’s purpose for things to be this way, it’s supposed to work well out of the box and if manjaro really is this bad out of the box on AMD/Nvidia combo PCs then that is an enormous oversight by the devs that should be addressed with high priority.
We’re not talking about a niche hardware configuration here, this is a common setup, it should work better than this out of the box.
i know manjaro while using manjaro for several years now and i know what rolling release is. i do admit that promoting manjaro as an easy to use out of the box system is confusing and this had been discussed in various threads till today. it’s not mentioned for beginners that even don’t understand prime/optimus for example. you’re not the first one who claims that manjaro isn’t that easy they were expecting and yes part of this misleading is the imho misleading promotion of manjaro as an easy system for beginners. it is not, period. it won’t help you if you try to discuss that. check for systems that are a way better for an beginner as Mint, Ubuntu etc… . that has been the way almost all of us started with. no one would take driving-lessons as beginner on an formula-1 race-car and that’s the same with arch etc…
Need I remind you that Windows is rolling release? Rolling release is not inherently the cause of issues like these.
I don’t feel that any other distro is particularly easier than manjaro as I said I had more difficulties with Ubuntu, Mint and Fedora than I’ve had with manjaro (and I’ve used Manjaro a lot more). You see, there is no ‘easy distro for beginners’. Just a whole heap of distros that claim to be but aren’t.
Manjaro feels closest to me to that ideal and it’s actually because of the rolling release format, it’s what windows users are most familiar with already.
But yeah, there’s no such thing as the perfect distro, there’s no such thing as a perfect distro, picking your OS is just a matter of finding the least ■■■■■■ one, there’s no ‘best’ one. For me Manjaro has eventually after the years turned out to be just that one.
Issues like this don’t really stop that for me. Sure they are annoying but I know i’ll have worse issues on other distros anyways (because I’ve been there and I’ve done that already)
Don’t try to beef. Linux is not Windows, period. No one will do the work to google for you and if you’re not interested in digging in for problems then manjaro is the wrong choice for you. this thread is wasted time !
Don’t waste your time on it then 