How to Set Nvidia as Primary GPU on Optimus-based Laptops
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Introduction
The goal is to have an active NVIDIA GPU on an Optimus-based laptop and use it for all activities on Desktops Environments with Xorg-X11. Avoid using this guide if you prefer to render your desktop with the integrated GPU and selectively choose applications to utilize the NVIDIA GPU.
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The instructions in this document have been verified to work on releases of Fedora 32 Workstation and later versions that use Xorg-X11. Some guides on the internet recommend a different approach to installing Nvidia drivers on Fedora, such as directly using the binaries provided by Nvidia. However, the Fedora Project cannot guarantee that these will always function with every Fedora release. Therefore, we recommend following the steps outlined in this document instead. As of Fedora 34, Wayland has become the default display server on Fedora Workstation for GNOME desktop environments. To follow the steps provided in this guide, you must be logged in to a session that runs on Xorg-X11. |
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This guide requires the secure boot to be turned off to load up the unsigned NVIDIA kernel modules. |
To make all rendering default to the NVIDIA GPU, you need to follow these steps very carefully.
First, consider the following points:
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Why would you want to do this?
Using the NVIDIA GPU all the time allows for smoother transitions and richer animation effects. Premium desktop environments like GNOME benefit greatly from this. Enabling the NVIDIA GPU all the time leads to lower CPU load and memory consumption, which would otherwise be high due to the added in-memory video buffer.
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Why might this not be ideal?
Using the NVIDIA GPU all the time can cause a slight increase in battery consumption. This shouldn't be a concern if your device is plugged in while in use. The increased heat generation from the constantly enabled NVIDIA GPU might be a concern. You wouldn't want to play demanding games (AAA titles) on Proton while using your laptop on your lap.
Step #1: Update from the existing repositories
Execute
sudo dnf upgrade
Once to update all your packages first.
Step #2: Add the RPMFusion repository for NVIDIA drivers
Then you need to add the RPM Fusion repository for NVIDIA drivers. To do that, open up GNOME Software and click on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) on the top-right corner. Then click on Software Repositories from the dropdown menu. There you will see this.
Select RPM Fusion for Fedora 32 - Nonfree - NVIDIA Driver and ENABLE it. It requires elevated privileges so enter your password and it will be done.
Step #3: Update from the newly added repositories
Execute
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
to fetch all available updates from the newly added repository.
Step #4: Install the driver and its dependencies
Execute
sudo dnf install gcc kernel-headers kernel-devel akmod-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-libs.i686
to get the driver and all necessary dependencies.
Step #5: Wait for the kernel modules to load up
You must wait 5-10 minutes for the kernel modules to load. Please do not proceed to the next steps immediately.
Step #6: Read from the updated kernel modules
Execute
sudo akmods --force sudo dracut --force
This would force the configuration to be read from the updated kernel modules which now have the NVIDIA drivers in them.
Step #7: Reboot your system
Wait for 3-5 minutes for the changes to take effect and then reboot your system.
Log in to a session with Xorg-X11.
From the desktop, go to the About page in the Settings application. You are likely to see the following output.
This means that the driver installation was successful leading to the detection of two distinct video accelerators - internal and dedicated.
Step #8: Edit the X11 configuration
Please ensure that the xrandr package is installed before proceeding with this step:
sudo dnf install xrandr
Execute the following command to copy the display render details for the X11.
sudo cp -p /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/nvidia.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/nvidia.conf
Once done, open up the nvidia.conf from the copy destination and edit it to add
Option "PrimaryGPU" "yes"
to the OutputClass section of it.
For example, use nano
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/nvidia.conf
and make changes.
The file should look like this. Your file should look similar to this.
You can see the additions in both sections.
Save it using [Ctrl]+[S] and exit out using [Ctrl]+[X].
If you are using a display manager other than GDM (the default of Fedora Workstation), you will need to configure it appropriately. Please refer to the Arch wiki for instructions. For SDDM (the KDE spin default) on Fedora32, the Arch wiki is wrong, and you need to edit the /etc/sddm/Xsetup file, not /usr/share/sddm/scripts/Xsetup.
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Step #9: Reboot your system
Reboot your system and proceed to the next steps to verify the change in configuration.
Step #10: Verify the configuration
Open a terminal and type in
glxinfo | egrep "OpenGL vendor|OpenGL renderer"
It should show your NVIDIA GPU.
Check on screenfetch.
screenfetch
It should show your NVIDIA GPU under the GPU name.
Check in your Settings application. You would see something like this in the About page.
You can make other configuration changes using NVIDIA X Server Settings application. Also the GPU would show activity in its utilization percentage to signify that it is actually working.
References
Should you face issues while following these steps or if these do not match your use case, feel free to convey your queries on Fedora Forums.
Here are the links you can refer to for obtaining more information.
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