Eager to learn Linux

axeo · 09-26-2011, 12:37 PM

Hi All,

It is gald to be joining this Forum. I am just about to start learning about linux. Hopeing to have an Great Adventurous Journey with Linux and the members of this Fourm.

sycamorex · 09-26-2011, 01:07 PM

Hi and welcome to LQ.

Enjoy

corp769 · 09-26-2011, 01:08 PM

Welcome to the dark side!

chekovsulu · 09-26-2011, 06:30 PM

Learning is fun.

Cultist · 09-26-2011, 07:07 PM

Congrats on your choice! And it so happens that you've come to the best Linux help site around

Have you picked a distribution yet?

axeo · 09-27-2011, 02:57 AM

Thanks to All fo such an great welcome...!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cultist

Congrats on your choice! And it so happens that you've come to the best Linux help site around

Have you picked a distribution yet?

I havent picked up any distro yet... i needed an help on first selecting an Notebook...

I have an i5 Desktop with Win 7 but i dont wanna fiddle with desktop right now... i am planning to buy an 2nd hand note book which can run linux very well... Can any one help me with some suggestions.

2ndly it would be helpfull if any one can suggest an Distro for start.

Cultist · 09-27-2011, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by axeo

Thanks to All fo such an great welcome...!!!

I havent picked up any distro yet... i needed an help on first selecting an Notebook...

I have an i5 Desktop with Win 7 but i dont wanna fiddle with desktop right now... i am planning to buy an 2nd hand note book which can run linux very well... Can any one help me with some suggestions.

2ndly it would be helpfull if any one can suggest an Distro for start.

I use an Asus gaming laptop whose hardware is fully supported in linux. AFAIK the same should be true of most Asus laptops. Hardware support has come a LONG way in Linux even in just the last few years.

Also, you should post this as a separate question in the Linux - Hardware section, so it will get more exposure.

cascade9 · 09-27-2011, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cultist

I use an Asus gaming laptop whose hardware is fully supported in linux. AFAIK the same should be true of most Asus laptops. Hardware support has come a LONG way in Linux even in just the last few years.

True, hardware support is better now than ever before....but I would be doing a lot of checks before I spent any money on an asus 'gaming' laptop. Most of the newer models use nVidia 'optimus' which has no offical support with linux.

I'd be looking for an older model laptop, possibly even a Intel Core2 model. The older model laptops tend to have hardware that is much better supported with all current linux distros.

A cheap Intel Atom notebook would be another decent choice.

Cultist · 09-27-2011, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cascade9

True, hardware support is better now than ever before....but I would be doing a lot of checks before I spent any money on an asus 'gaming' laptop. Most of the newer models use nVidia 'optimus' which has no offical support with linux.

I'd be looking for an older model laptop, possibly even a Intel Core2 model. The older model laptops tend to have hardware that is much better supported with all current linux distros.

A cheap Intel Atom notebook would be another decent choice.

there's bumblebee, which offers almost the same functionality as optimus. And even without it, the card itself will still work, it just won't be quite as battery efficient. All nvidia cards are supported by the proprietary Linux drivers.

But as long as the hardware isn't fresh off the design table, its probably supported in a recent Linux kernel. However, it is of course always a good idea to make sure before purchase.

cascade9 · 09-27-2011, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cultist

there's bumblebee, which offers almost the same functionality as optimus. And even without it, the card itself will still work, it just won't be quite as battery efficient. All nvidia cards are supported by the proprietary Linux drivers.

I havent had the chance to play with bumblebee, so I'm not sure how good it is now.

If you dont use bumblebee, or have a BIOS switch to force the nVidia GPU or (and this is pretty rare) there isnt a custom EDID file that lets you use the nVidia GPU, you're SOL.

Installing the nVidia drivers on systems that dont have bumblebee installed, or the other less obvious ways to get the nVidia GPU to work will result in no 'X' at all, the card will not work.

corp769 · 09-27-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cascade9

I havent had the chance to play with bumblebee, so I'm not sure how good it is now.

If you dont use bumblebee, or have a BIOS switch to force the nVidia GPU or (and this is pretty rare) there isnt a custom EDID file that lets you use the nVidia GPU, you're SOL.

Installing the nVidia drivers on systems that dont have bumblebee installed, or the other less obvious ways to get the nVidia GPU to work will result in no 'X' at all, the card will not work.

You also have the option to head over to bios-mods.com and see if there is an unlocked BIOS for your system, even asking nicely for them to do it. Of course if you have to ask, I am telling you to donate.... Those guys spend a lot of time working on sh*t like that. I don't have the time to......

Cultist · 09-27-2011, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cascade9

Installing the nVidia drivers on systems that dont have bumblebee installed, or the other less obvious ways to get the nVidia GPU to work will result in no 'X' at all, the card will not work.

can't say I've ever run into this problem before. The nvidia driver has worked out of the box for me on three different systems including this one without any additional configuration on my part.

Maybe something to do with a particular distro, rather than the drivers itself?

corp769 · 09-27-2011, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cultist

can't say I've ever run into this problem before. The nvidia driver has worked out of the box for me on three different systems including this one without any additional configuration on my part.

Maybe something to do with a particular distro, rather than the drivers itself?

We're talking about laptops that have both an integrated graphics chipset and a separate, dedicated chipset.

cascade9 · 09-28-2011, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cultist

can't say I've ever run into this problem before. The nvidia driver has worked out of the box for me on three different systems including this one without any additional configuration on my part.

Maybe something to do with a particular distro, rather than the drivers itself?

Nope, its mostly to do with the electronics/wiring (and BIOS) setup-

Quote:

Re: No Optimus support means NO Nvidia at all or no dynamic switching?

Apparently, this depends on the laptop. Some laptops have a hardware mux that allows you to switch the display to the NVIDIA GPU, similarly to how the old Hybrid Graphics worked. On those laptops, there should be a BIOS setting.

On laptops that don't have that hardware mux (i.e. where the display is hard-wired to the Intel display engine), then you currently cannot use the NVIDIA GPU for display, though you should still be able to use it for CUDA and offscreen rendering.

We currently do not have plans to support display on Optimus systems where the display is connected to the Intel hardware, but as you said, it's something we'll probably end up having to look into in the future, to at least provide some basic display sharing. I can't promise anything, though.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/show...24&postcount=3

You probably werent using 'optimus' setups.

Quote:

Originally Posted by corp769

We're talking about laptops that have both an integrated graphics chipset and a separate, dedicated chipset.

That description also works for switchable graphics/'hybrid' graphics setups, which are simpler than optimus.

corp769 · 09-28-2011, 07:23 AM

So pretty much the same thing.... I am trying to flash my BIOS so I can find out if I can manually switch between them or not.