Hi,
Thanks a lot for all your replies.
As far as I know, the first generation (Clarksfield) i7 processors do
not have integrated graphics and so laptops with old i7 processors and
nvidia graphics do not use optimus but instead use the nvidia card in
the traditional, non-hybrid, non-switchable sense. This is the reason
I was asking about the i7-740QM vs i7-2630QM.
It seems that I'd be better off staying away from Sandy Bridge and
Optimus. and instead getting the i7-740QM.
I do a fair amount of photography work, CAD and virtualization for fun
and for my work, so I think I'd be happy with a 1920 x 1080 screen. My
current, recently dead laptop has a 14 inch non widescreen 1400 x 1050
thinkpad. I looked at thinkpads, but they are prohibitively expensive
in India, where I currently am. I am still looking at Dell and HP, but
I think I have found a Sony Vaio model VPCF136FG which, apart from its
poor battery life and somewhat high price, seems quite decent:
http://www.sony.co.in/product/vpcf136fg
One of my concerns is that Sony is not a particularly Linux-friendly
company; I have a feeling they also use more proprietary non-standard
junk. Do any of you folks know of any known incompatibilities between
this Sony Vaio model and various flavors of Linux? Also, if you guys
have any, I'd also like to hear recommendations for laptop models (by
any manufacturer) which are known to work fairly well with linux.
Regards,
Sarang
On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 8:06 PM, Sarang Kulkarni<sarang2005@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi,
I am in the market for a new laptop and I am trying to learn more
about the current graphics situation so as to not make a mistake with
my purchase.
1. I looked at the Ubuntu Community Documentation for hybrid graphics
at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HybridGraphics. It has given me
the impression that even if I buy an Optimus Sandy Bridge laptop, I
can use vga_switcheroo to use my nvidia card, and perhaps the problem
is with real-time switching of cards without restarting X. Is this
correct? Can I just configure things so that the nvidia card is always
in use? I don't care if the Intel IGP also stays on and eats power. Or
is it possible that I won't be able to use the nvidia card at all and
will have to settle for the Intel IGP at all times?
2. Is there a list or a wiki page with a compatibility list and or
machine specific gotchas with bumblebee / ironhide?
3. How is the graphics performance when using ironhide / bumblebee?
How big is the hit because of VirtualGL etc.?
4. Is there a list of laptops with hardware muxes / switches or BIOS
options to only use the discrete graphics card?
5. I am having a dilemma about value for money between similarly
priced i7-2630QM and i7-740QM notebooks. Any opinions on whether it is
a waste of money to buy Clarksfield i7-740QM at the same price as a
Sandy Bridge i7-2630QM notebook, only because the former will have
hassle-free graphics?
Thanks a lot for all your responses, and for all the work you guys are
doing to bring hybrid graphics to linux. it is a shame the
manufacturers won't put out proper drivers.
Regards,
Sarang
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