(There is still no direct support for discrete switching at the time this was written.) We can now choose between the integrated or discrete GPU, because Ubuntu 14.04 was the first kernel to support using the Nvidia-prime and the Nvidia-331 drivers. Nvidia took some time to release any support for Optimus. 'optirun vlc') if you had configured Bumblebee correctly. However, getting things like HDMI to work is tricky. You could assign applications via the CLI (Command Line Interface) (i.e. The Bumblebee project was until recently, as good as it got in terms of support for Optimus hybrid graphics on Ubuntu. (This could be difficult if you did not have the use Nvidia only option in your BIOS.) Use one of them for everything, or try and configure Bumblebee on your system. Your options were usually to turn either the integrated or discrete GPU off. While it did give Linux drivers for its discrete GPUs, it never had direct support for this particular hardware setup. Nvidia did not support the Optimus technology on Ubuntu. We will go into a bit of detail below as to why and then explain what options you have. It is only since Ubuntu 14.04 that there is support that is built into the kernel for this technology. However, it does not support those notebooks with Optimus that do not use a hardware multiplexer. An application that is called VGA_switcheroo was used to resolve these multiple GPUs. In Ubuntu, the term for multiple GPUs is Hybrid Graphics. While saving those applications which require high-end graphics to use the discrete GPU. It switches applications that do not need high-end graphics to the onboard GPU. The purpose behind the technology is to extend battery life and lower power consumption. This is something that is seen on Notebook and AIO (All in One) systems.

It is commonly referred to as Discrete Switching. Nvidia Optimus is something that Nvidia invented to swap graphics support between the onboard Intel GPU and the discrete Nvidia GPU. This article is about the Nvidia Optimus Technology and its compatibility with the Ubuntu operating system.

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