Dear all
I’m thinking to buy this new laptop:
https://eshop.asus.com/nl-BE/notebook/gaming/zephyrus-rog-strix-g-gl531gt-al195t-be-azerty.html
but for intensive work and not for gaming.
After a small search I found that there might be performance issues when working under linux.
Such problems might occur as by default the laptop will work intensively all the time.
Like this problem related to Ubuntu:https://askubuntu.com/questions/1161266/armoury-crate-asus-laptop
Under windows such problems are not occurring as there is special software to optimize the work flow according to the demands of the work.
Another question is if there will be problems with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GDDR5?
Do you think that there might be problems when running opensuse?
Is there a way to perform a test installation?
Sorry for the naivety of the questions but I am worried as I do not know if such issues might be valid and very limited info is avail on the web.
Thanks in advance!
The Intel i7-9750H in the same laptop as the NVidia GTX 1650 constitute what is called Optimus Technology. This requires special video driver software and configuration. This subject was specifically addressed by an openSUSE bug earlier this year. Optimus trouble is a frequent topic of forum discussion. I suggest to search the Optimus threads here to decide whether Optimus is the right environment for what you plan to do with your laptop. If your work is heavily graphics-related, Optimus might be worth having. The Intel Graphics in those Coffee Lake CPUs are very capable, so the extra bit better from NVidia could turn out to be a poor bargain. IIRC, those of us frequently helping here don’t have Optimus hardware, so can only offer help through the experiences of those that do.
Hi, I have no experience with that specific model, but generally speaking ROG laptops may have specific tuning (HW and/or SW) to enhance performance for gaming on Windows.
As such, you should expect that said tuning might not perform as expected under any Linux distribution and ASUS-specific SW generally will not be replaceable with a Linux counterpart.
That said, I routinely use Leap on an ASUS N551 and I see the “usual” set of problems:
- everything OK as long as I use the Intel graphics, but
- battery life is about half what you might expect under Windows with light loads; maybe that doesn’t hold with high loads when battery life is 1 to 2 hours anyway;
- Optimus might turn into a nightmare with openSUSE if you need graphics performance; workarounds might be available, but be prepared for extensive trial-and-error; distributions less concerned with open source issues might offer a better alternative.
If you just need the power of the Intel CPU I would look for a model without any Nvidia chip (or with a less expensive chip that you would not use anyway).
If you do need some graphics power, I would still avoid a ROG model and look for a “multimedia” or “workstation” model with possibly less “optimization” that would work only under Windows anyway.
And maybe (sorry to say that) I would look for another distro that offers natively a so called “Nvidia Prime” setup that is often troublesome with openSUSE.
Thank you OrsoBruno and mrmazda for your replies!
I ll check if the laptop does also have intel graphics, if so I won’t bother to utilize the nvidia graphics card.
Hopefully it will run smoothly.
Any more help is welcome
I found this version of bumblebee for leap 15.1:
https://software.opensuse.org/package/bumblebee
Could it be straight forward to install and solve everything?
OrsoBruno maybe you can try it on your laptop too
If it is dual graphics Intel+Nvidia then it is what is known as Optimus You must install either bumblebee or suse-prime even if you only plan on using the Intel
Not entirely true.
Leap (including 15.1) as installed out of the box on Optimus HW uses the so called “DRI PRIME” setup which uses the integrated Intel graphics as default and routes application graphics through the Nvidia GPU using the Nouveau driver when invoked with the “DRI_PRIME=1 <your application’s name>” command.
This is what I use (not bothering about the Nvidia chip) and has some limitations re. graphics power that in my view defeats the extra money needed for a ROG Strix (but it’s your system, your money and your choice).
Bumblebee can be used also with the proprietary Nvidia driver, still has some limitations regarding speed and might need tuning in laptops with specialized HW.
suse-prime has the best performance (when it works…) but is best suited when you usually use one of hte two GPUs and only occasionally need to switch to the other.
So you have three choices to have fun with openSUSE 