The worst part of using a gaming laptop on Linux is that, despite the great work of open source developers and hobbyists, it’s still way too clunky to use a hybrid graphics setup imo. Once you want to use an interface that’s only connected to one GPU (such as HDMI) you’re left messing with switching utilities like optimus-manager which (while very useful!) are usually rarely updated and may not work on certain systems.
At least with a system like this, which is pretty similar to how much I paid for a 1650Ti-mobile (while being faster!) all the graphics are handled by a single driver, which simplifies most of the pain in using a laptop on Linux for anything graphically intensive.
Looking forward to seeing Framework becoming this affordable one day, because I’d much rather go with them over Lenovo, but at least for now I can use Lenovo which lets you refuse Windows and save £90 :)
You shouldn’t generalize your bad experience with NVIDIA’s proprietary driver to Mesa. Graphics device switching just works on Mesa, hence laptops with an AMD dGPU are great on Linux.
Typing this from a 2021 Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition
And how about hardware outputs ie. HDMI ports? My Nitro 5 (4600H + 1650ti-M) refuses to output to HDMI unless I manually set the dGPU to always-on rather than the usual distro default of PRIME offloading.
I hear you, I have a Legion laptop with a GTX 1060 mobile and I keep the dGPU as primary all the time because I just can’t be bothered by NVIDIA optimus anymore. That’s the reason I decided to upgrade to AMD, even though the performance of the 1060 was still appropriate for me and I wouldn’t have upgraded yet otherwise.
I don’t have any issues with the Strix G15 on Fedora Silverblue. Talking to other owners of the same model and also other Asus AMD laptops on Reddit, I didn’t hear any complaints about that.
The G15 has the HDMI port connected to the iGPU, and the USB-C (DisplayPort Alt Mode) connected directly to the dGPU. I’ve only used HDMI to connect to a TV, I haven’t tested the USB-C output because I don’t have a monitor with DisplayPort. So I can’t really answer your question.
Tell you what, I’ve just ordered a USB-C to HDMI adapter, as soon as it arrives I’ll test the output that’s connected directly to the dGPU and update you on that. I’d bet on it being plug-and-play, but we’ll see. 😉
Here’s the update, I’ve got the USB-C/HDMI adapter today. Connected it to the port that connects directly to the dGPU and even during boot Plymouth was already outputting video to the TV. I also tested hot-plugging and it just works as expected.
Now for the problems, I ran benchmarks and the performance was as expected, but frame delivery didn’t look as good as when using the HDMI port on this device. It doesn’t show on the performance metrics, but looking at the screen, the frametimes looked off, stuttering. I’m still figuring out where the issue might be to report it to upstream. EDIT: For people reading this in the future, I’ve found the issue to be in GNOME’s compositor, Mutter: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/mutter/-/issues/3070#note_1865351
appreciate the update!