Adobe Flash Player Hardware Acceleration on Intel Graphics Cards

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://github.com/i-rinat/libvdpau-va-gl">libvdpau-va-gl</a> is a VDPAU driver that uses OpenGL under the hood to accelerate drawing and scaling, and VA-API (if available) to accelerate video decoding.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Using it, you can get hardware acceleration on some Intel graphics cards for Mplayer </b>(well, we already have <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2010/10/use-mplayer-with-vaapi-support-hardware.html">mplayer-vaapi</a> but it hasn't been merged)<b> and even Adobe Flash Player. That means a lot less CPU usage as you'll see below. </b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/flash-vdpau-intel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="intel flash vdpau ubuntu" border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8i1Yfqveiuryfc_QWHidU6mhKZoQeT_RNhsRnr46QqH1Iivl0KRAltoEEWi5GgODi_x-Lev0TVSWV4mOx81N7V1pYruVUhSyFK-IKz47gb0K_74jL37DIgXy60xRcDgVRF05ZN4dfpfg/s320/flash-vdpau-intel.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">AMD users: in theory, this should also work with AMD cards (Catalyst) however, from what users are <a href="https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=166593&p=2">reporting</a>, it doesn't seem to work properly and the libvdpau-va-gl developer <a href="https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1303921#p1303921">said</a> that he can only test this on Intel, so it's unlikely that the AMD bugs will be fixed soon. However, the open source AMD drivers should have built-in VDPAU support (you need Linux 3.10 and Mesa 9.2).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my test (Ubuntu 13.10, Intel graphics), a full-screen 1080p flash YouTube video used around 160-170% CPU without libvdpau-va-gl and about 14-17% CPU when using libvdpau-va-gl. There were some occasional spikes when using libvdpau-va-gl, but usually it stayed around those values which is a really great improvement.<br /><br />Note:<b> I've tested this with Firefox and Chromium browsers with Adobe Flash Player 11.2 r202. It doesn't seem to work with Pepper Flash (available by default in Google Chrome)</b>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">libvdpau-va-gl is <b>work-in-progress</b> and while it has worked properly with Adobe Flash Player / Firefox on my system, it may not work properly for you or it may cause problems with other VDPAU-enabled applications and for this reason, it's advisable not to use this system-wide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Below you can watch a quick video demoing the CPU usage for a YouTube flash video, with and without libvdpau-va-gl:</b></div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZUmwtx_HA8U" width="480"><br />(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUmwtx_HA8U">direct video link</a>; for more videos, subscribe to our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nilarimogard">YouTube channel</a>)</iframe></center><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install and set up libvdpau-va-gl in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.</b> Firstly, install the VAAPI drivers (for Intel HD Graphics as well as G45 and later)::</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install i965-va-driver</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.</b> Install libvdpau-va-gl by using the main WebUpd8 PPA (I've used Vincent Bernat's Debian <a href="http://packages.debian.org/sid/libs/libvdpau-va-gl1">packaging</a> - thanks!):</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install libvdpau-va-gl1</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3.</b> Adobe Flash doesn't use hardware acceleration by default on Linux so we'll have to force it:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo mkdir -p /etc/adobe<br />echo "EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=1" | sudo tee /etc/adobe/mms.cfg<br />echo "OverrideGPUValidation=1" | sudo tee -a /etc/adobe/mms.cfg</code></pre><br /><b>4. </b>Like I was telling you above, it's not a good idea to enable libvdpau-va-gl system-wide yet. Instead, you can simply launch an application with "VDPAU_DRIVER=va_gl".<br /><br />Example: to launch Firefox with libvdpau-va-gl enabled, use:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>VDPAU_DRIVER=va_gl firefox</code></pre><br />To enable libvdpau-va-gl system-wide (not recommended for now because this may cause problems with some VDPAU-enabled applications), you need to open <i>/etc/X11/Xsession.d/20vdpau-va-gl</i> as root with a text editor and uncomment (remove the "#" in front of the lines) the last two lines. Or simply copy/paste the commands below:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo sed -i "s/^# \[/\[/g" /etc/X11/Xsession.d/20vdpau-va-gl<br />sudo sed -i "s/^# export/ export/g" /etc/X11/Xsession.d/20vdpau-va-gl</code></pre><br /><b>5.</b> Optional: check if libvdpau-va-gl/VDPAU is working.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You can check if libvdpau-va-gl is working and Adobe Flash Player uses hardware acceleration by right clicking a Flash video on YouTube and selecting "Stats for nerds". The stats box that shows up should display the following: "accelerated video rendering, accelerated video decoding", like in this <a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/flash-vdpau-intel.png">screenshot</a>.</div><br />Another way to check if libvdpau-va-gl/VDPAU is working propely, install vdpauinfo:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install vdpauinfo</code></pre><br />Then, run:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>VDPAU_DRIVER=va_gl vdpauinfo</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And you should get something like <a href="http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=cwYQzGyk">THIS</a>. If you get an error (for example "Failed to open VDPAU backend"), either your graphics card doesn't support VA-API (since this VDPAU driver requires VA-API) or you've missed a step from the instructions above.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Arch Linux</b> users can install libvdpau-va-gl from <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/libvdpau-va-gl/">AUR</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For more information, source code or bug reports, see the libvdpau-va-gl <a href="https://github.com/i-rinat/libvdpau-va-gl">GitHub page</a>.</b></div>

Adobe Flash Player Hardware Acceleration on Intel Graphics Cards

libvdpau-va-gl is a VDPAU driver that uses OpenGL under the hood to accelerate drawing and scaling, and VA-API (if available) to accelerate...

+ Read more »

Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Updated With 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Intel Linux Graphics Installer and the Intel repository have been updated with the latest 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack, for Ubuntu 13.04 and Fedora 19.</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXWwABkjZ0cTZxNT3wdb3fXGANrZPZZ9rnAvbFP2_0sVY5I-FbQF7NX4HkHpCGJ-I6FhV3MxlTXel0ioD9sC4kZ0VspDTTtoijeyYhfu2o6-OalHSFooQzvQI0YhrCC4b9T7a-SMR36c/s1600/intel-driver-manager.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Driver Manager" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXWwABkjZ0cTZxNT3wdb3fXGANrZPZZ9rnAvbFP2_0sVY5I-FbQF7NX4HkHpCGJ-I6FhV3MxlTXel0ioD9sC4kZ0VspDTTtoijeyYhfu2o6-OalHSFooQzvQI0YhrCC4b9T7a-SMR36c/s320/intel-driver-manager.png" title="Intel Driver Manager" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.2">Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a> is a tool developed by Intel that allows users to easily upgrade to the latest graphics drivers for Intel hardware. The installer automatically adds a repository used for upgrading the packages provided by Intel - that means that besides the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, you can also use the Ubuntu Software Updater, apt-get, etc. to upgrade the packages.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest Intel Linux Graphics Installer 1.0.2 provides the <b>Intel 2013Q2 Graphics Stack</b> which includes numerous enhancements and bug fixes - for a complete list, see <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/2013q2-intel-graphics-stack-release">THIS</a> page.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ubuntu repository included with the Intel Linux Graphics Installer provides the following <b>packages</b>: i965-va-driver 1.2.0 (<a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/install-mplayer-with-va-api-hardware.html">VA-API driver</a> for Intel HD and G45 chipsets), libdrm2 2.4.45, libva 1.2.1 and xserver-xorg-video-intel (xf86-video-intel) 2.21.9. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The repository <b>does not include the latest Xorg 1.14 for Ubuntu 13.04</b> because "<i>upgrading Xorg on Ubuntu 13.04 would have far-reaching implications that go well beyond the graphics stack, including, but not limited to, Xorg input device drivers (e.g. touchpads)</i>", mentions the Installer download page.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 12.10 and 12.04 as well as Fedora 18 and 17 have been deprecated </b>and they won't receive the 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack update.</div><br /><br /><h2>Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before using the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, make sure you read all the notes on its download page</b>! In the past there have been some serious issues with the installer so <b>I suggest you only use it if you know how to downgrade the packages in case something goes wrong</b>. If you have questions about the installer or Intel Linux graphics, visit the <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/forums/general-discussion">Intel Linux Graphics forums</a>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a class="external" href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.2">Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a></b> - available for Ubuntu 13.04 and Fedora 19.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that I didn't test the latest 2013Q2 Graphics Stack included with this Intel Graphics Installer release because I'm using Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, which isn't supported by the installer yet (and besides, Ubuntu 13.10 already has the latest drivers).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The installer itself doesn't work in Ubuntu derivatives like Linux Mint however, you can manually add the repository if you're using a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 13.04 - see <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-use-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.html">THIS</a> article for how to add it.</i></div>

Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Updated With 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack

The Intel Linux Graphics Installer and the Intel repository have been updated with the latest 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack, for Ubuntu 13.04 ...

+ Read more »

Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Available For Ubuntu 13.04

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Intel has <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">released</a> a new version of its Linux Graphics Drivers Installer and with it, the installer is now available for Ubuntu 13.04.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those who are not familiar with the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, this a relatively new tool created by Intel that lets you easily install the latest video drivers for Intel hardware. The installer consists of a GUI tool and a repository that's automatically added and then used to install / upgrade new driver versions.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JVtgfGyHNrp_MphafKWdHKPKA81_dsllQDreen9za9faGZolJzq70OtucJDZJbQBBRWZ7307cg-pw0xPwqjshCv-VWl-D1BBUkzCHd7I_L1caV1t13JPiS7-PEgc4enJjKyRROm7P1a7/s1600/intel-linux-graphics-installer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JVtgfGyHNrp_MphafKWdHKPKA81_dsllQDreen9za9faGZolJzq70OtucJDZJbQBBRWZ7307cg-pw0xPwqjshCv-VWl-D1BBUkzCHd7I_L1caV1t13JPiS7-PEgc4enJjKyRROm7P1a7/s320/intel-linux-graphics-installer.png" title="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The installer includes the <i><b>2013Q1 Intel Linux Graphics Stack Release</b></i>, which brings full Haswell support, OpenGL ES 3.0 support and many new OpenGL extensions and <b>is available for Ubuntu 13.04 and 12.10 as well as Fedora 18 and 17</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>For what's new in the latest 2013Q1 Intel Linux Graphics Stack Release, see <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/2013q1-intel-graphics-stack-release">THIS</a> page. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oddly, <b>Ubuntu 12.04</b>, a long term support release, <b>is no longer supported by the Intel Linux Graphics Installer</b>. It seems the installer only supports the last two Ubuntu and Fedora releases and doesn't take LTS releases into account.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In case you're wondering <b>why you may need this installer</b>, Joe Konno from Intel has an answer for this in the Intel Open Source Linux Graphics <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/node/105">forums</a>, which I'll quote below:</div><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>"[...] The Installer is intended to empower end-users with our latest quarterly releases of the Linux* graphics stack. As the latest Ubuntu and Fedora releases age, they may not keep up with our quarterly graphics stack releases. Quarterly releases may include power, performance, and functionality improvements, things that consumers want. The Installer works with supported distributions' package managers to keep up with our quarterly releases. Our quarterly releases are tested and validated internally here at Intel's Open Source Technology Center.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>The Installer only updates packages that are older than those in the latest quarterly graphics stack release, or installs packages not provided by the supported distribution, e.g. libva-intel-driver that enables hardware video acceleration.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>The Installer does not track the "bleeding edge" or "the very latest", and it will not. It tracks our quarterly releases, which have been tested and validated internally."</i></blockquote><br /><br /><br /><h2>Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qtrobOPaFhRHs1DkiZuxKcVdqyxfJ09kMR5eHBKHKZjekR1PgYsw-aQdLz2_Di5v2TbTsZglt5qOQfIlpki-L6LIHvWV7fj0B8H17uexu-GDL0Yj4b0TFsgjf4UjgT6-lBtfdrn09JDY/s1600/intel-linux-graphics-installer_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qtrobOPaFhRHs1DkiZuxKcVdqyxfJ09kMR5eHBKHKZjekR1PgYsw-aQdLz2_Di5v2TbTsZglt5qOQfIlpki-L6LIHvWV7fj0B8H17uexu-GDL0Yj4b0TFsgjf4UjgT6-lBtfdrn09JDY/s320/intel-linux-graphics-installer_2.png" title="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before using the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, make sure you read all the notes on its download page</b>! If you have questions about the installer or Intel Linux graphics, visit the <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/forums/general-discussion">Intel Linux Graphics forums</a>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a></b> - available for Ubuntu (13.04 and 12.10) and Fedora (18 and 17).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The installer only works in Ubuntu or Fedora and doesn't work in derivatives, so if you're using Linux Mint 15, the installer won't work, but there is a way to use it - see <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-use-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.html">THIS</a> article.</i></div>

Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Available For Ubuntu 13.04

Intel has released a new version of its Linux Graphics Drivers Installer and with it, the installer is now available for Ubuntu 13.04. For ...

+ Read more »

Bumblebee 3.2.1 Released With Ubuntu 13.04 Fixes, New Options

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bumblebee 3.2 has been released a few days ago but there was an issue and it didn't work on a lot of setups o version 3.2.1 has been released to fix this. The new version also fixes the Primus backend for Ubuntu 13.04 and adds some new options.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="http://bumblebee-project.org/">Bumblebee</a> is an unofficial tool that brings Nvidia Optimus GPU switching to Linux. It's useful to increase battery life by only switching the dedicated GPU (Nvidia) on when needed. Nvidia has added <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/nvidia-releases-linux-graphics-drivers.html">initial Optimus support</a> in their latest 319.12 beta drivers, but it doesn't have GPU switching yet.</i></div><br /><a name='more'></a><b>Bumblebee 3.2 comes with the following changes:</b><br /><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">new option: "-b" to disable injection of any render offloading bridge (primus or VirtualGL). Use this to invoke nvidia-settings (optirun -b none nvidia-settings -c :8)<i>;</i></li><li style="text-align: justify;">new option: "--no-xorg" for optirun to disable starting secondary X server. Use this to run CUDA or OpenCL applications that do not need the graphics rendering capabilities. Implies "-b none";</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Bumblebee no longer depends on the primusrun script anymore for the Primus backend. However, "primusrun" and "optirun -b primus" have different behaviors: the first one powers on the discrete GPU when needed while the second one will immediately do this; the difference in behavior is most noticeable with WebGL content in Firefox;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Added support for passing <i>-configdir</i> to X, defaulting to <i>/etc/bumblebee/xorg.conf.d</i>,<i> --xconfdir</i> option added to bumblebeed and XorgConfDir added to <i>bumblebee.conf</i>; this finally fixes a long-standing annoyance with SNA config option for the Intel driver;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">the BusID is added automatically on Ubuntu 13.04 so users no longer need to do this manually. Without this, Bumblebee failed to work on Ubuntu 13.04;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">fix: added <i>/usr/$LIB/mesa/libGL.so.1</i> to default primus libGLd for supporting Ubuntu 13.04;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">fix: fixed a "buffer overflow" issue in bumblebeed;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">fix: removed accesses to PCI config space from the daemon process.</li></ul><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, <b><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/set-up-bumblebee-with-bumblebee.html">Bumblebee Configurator GUI</a></b>, a tool that allows you to easily setup Bumblebee, has been <b>updated recently with support for the latest Bumblebee 3.2</b>. <b>The latest version also adds an option to install Bumblebee in Ubuntu</b>.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Bumblebee Configurator GUI in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFH2WxRju9zKCfbGmfS_LUX2vUKBq57qoqO_aFakjIfyjwLK3e_NnzaiN7gYAgdK8viUdFBzXn3hjrH1LepblhUDYjRIUB4KIeO1yhKqkw6URIl4lz3ZIItRpzNVlVZierePzJTsn2LbAI/s1600/bumblebee-config_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bumblebee Configurator GUI" border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFH2WxRju9zKCfbGmfS_LUX2vUKBq57qoqO_aFakjIfyjwLK3e_NnzaiN7gYAgdK8viUdFBzXn3hjrH1LepblhUDYjRIUB4KIeO1yhKqkw6URIl4lz3ZIItRpzNVlVZierePzJTsn2LbAI/s320/bumblebee-config_1.png" title="Bumblebee Configurator GUI" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZPW9pWgovei-2iC0KDqI4fgcwSvKBp8LRS51JHWIgXjsiZrch55BqhlsTrajQgLYBHoEy8yqnsBnHoDcb49mPVrbaA2KuSBySodCSSUxI1TBtiIZf34VNEVSvEVtnUcRtCm5IMz0nRAj/s1600/bumblebee-config_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bumblebee Configurator GUI" border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZPW9pWgovei-2iC0KDqI4fgcwSvKBp8LRS51JHWIgXjsiZrch55BqhlsTrajQgLYBHoEy8yqnsBnHoDcb49mPVrbaA2KuSBySodCSSUxI1TBtiIZf34VNEVSvEVtnUcRtCm5IMz0nRAj/s320/bumblebee-config_2.png" title="Bumblebee Configurator GUI" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To install Bumblebee Configurator GUI in Ubuntu, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alessandrofac93/bumblebee-config-gtk-dev<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install bumblebee-config-gui</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, you launch the application and use it to install and set up Bumblebee. Or, if you want to manually install Bumblebee, see the instructions below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Report any Bumblebee Configurator GUI bugs you may find @ <a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/bumblebee-config-gtk">Launchpad</a>. </div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Bumblebee in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To add the stable Bumblebee PPA and install the latest Bumblebee in Ubuntu, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stable<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install bumblebee</code></pre><br />To use the new Primus backend, you'll also have to install Primus:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install primus</code></pre><br />On 64bit, also install primus-libs-ia32:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install primus-libs-ia32</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To configure Bumblebee you must decide if you want to use Nouveau or the proprietary Nvidia drivers. If you want to use the proprietary Nvidia drivers, take a look at the version you've installed (e.g.: "nvidia-304"), then, open the bumblebee configuration file as root with a text editor:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>gksu gksu gedit /etc/bumblebee/bumblebee.conf</code></pre><br />And in this file, change:<br /><ul><li>"Driver" to "Driver=nvidia"</li><li>"KernelDriver" to "KernelDriver=nvidia-VERSION" (e.g.: "nvidia-304)</li><li>"LibraryPath" to "LibraryPath=/usr/lib/nvidia-VERSION:/usr/lib32/nvidia-VERSION" (e.g.: "LibraryPath=/usr/lib/nvidia-304:/usr/lib32/nvidia-304")</li><li>"XorgModulePath" to "XorgModulePath=/usr/lib/nvidia-VERSION/xorg,/usr/lib/xorg/modules" (e.g.: "XorgModulePath=/usr/lib/nvidia-304/xorg,/usr/lib/xorg/modules")</li></ul>Report any Bumblebee issues you may find @ <a href="https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project/Bumblebee/issues?state=open">GitHub</a>.<br /><br /><b>For Debian, Arch Linux, Gentoo or Mandriva, see the <a href="http://bumblebee-project.org/install.html">Installing Bumblebee</a> page.</b><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>Using Bumblebee</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhqw21rnQ0wrMH0Ukzx6V_SL5VJYOblQxRVojBmU8zPHRHIGfbxnhSyfllNDQnw5RNiJ_UGAgIYceyQE_GVJt4OyG6aPVmnQLM7EcCD2meZymv-Qs7kNLG8GsKHJPlbaadPozPTFmluRh/s1600/bumblebee-3.2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bumblebee" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhqw21rnQ0wrMH0Ukzx6V_SL5VJYOblQxRVojBmU8zPHRHIGfbxnhSyfllNDQnw5RNiJ_UGAgIYceyQE_GVJt4OyG6aPVmnQLM7EcCD2meZymv-Qs7kNLG8GsKHJPlbaadPozPTFmluRh/s320/bumblebee-3.2.png" title="Bumblebee" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To run a game or application using the dedicated GPU (Nvidia), use the following command:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>optirun APP-EXECUTABLE</code></pre>replacing "APP-EXECUTABLE" with the application (or game) executable.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To use the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/primus-better-performance-and-less.html">Primus backend</a> (note: you'll only get about 60 frames / sec in glxspheres but this backend should actually work better than Primus) without changing the Bumblebee configuration, use:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>optirun -b primus APP-EXECUTABLE</code></pre>This will immediately turn on the dedicated GPU.<br /><br />Or:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>primusrun APP-EXECUTABLE</code></pre>This will only power the discrete GPU on when needed.

Bumblebee 3.2.1 Released With Ubuntu 13.04 Fixes, New Options

Bumblebee 3.2 has been released a few days ago but there was an issue and it didn't work on a lot of setups o version 3.2.1 has been rel...

+ Read more »

Bumblebee 3.1 Released With Primus Support [Nvidia Optimus GPU Switching]

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bumblebee 3.1 has been released today with support for <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/primus-better-performance-and-less.html">Primus</a> as an alternative to the VirtualGL optirun backend, along with other enhancements and fixes.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://bumblebee-project.org/">Bumblebee</a> is a (unofficial) tool that brings Nvidia Optimus GPU switching to Linux. Nvidia Optimus is a technology used to increase battery life by switching the dedicated GPU (Nvidia) off when it's not needed; when the dedicated GPU is off, the integrated graphics chip (Intel) is used. Bumblebee also supports legacy Nvidia hybrid graphics. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrBiuFU1s-YQ9ku-JT0H2eHiXSSaT9WgkPJjHVeNnlt8BLUTgcRQ9HigQCwf8HIufRj8EZBoeAcROqoLjqo3aHyEL_lSbnYCSnuF6fmLm9nGB28qbHYYZcPbbGu53or3cDyUaWin7TeKP/s1600/bumblebee-optirun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bumblebee optirun glxspheres" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitrBiuFU1s-YQ9ku-JT0H2eHiXSSaT9WgkPJjHVeNnlt8BLUTgcRQ9HigQCwf8HIufRj8EZBoeAcROqoLjqo3aHyEL_lSbnYCSnuF6fmLm9nGB28qbHYYZcPbbGu53or3cDyUaWin7TeKP/s320/bumblebee-optirun.png" title="Bumblebee optirun glxspheres" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><b>Changes in Bumblebee 3.1:</b><br /><ul><li>support for Primus as an alternative to VirtualGL as optirun backend. This is configurable through a new "Bridge" option in <i>bumblebee.conf</i> that by default is set to "auto" - it selects VirtualGL if installed and if not, it uses Primus. In Bumblebee 4.0, Primus may be used as the default option;</li><li>optirun has gained an option for on-the-fly back-end choice: --bridge;</li><li>use of non-blocking sockets, replacing former 3.0.1 hotfix for socket polling;</li><li>added an udev rule to fix nvidia card randomly turning on;</li><li>fix for Kepler generation cards was added in xorg.conf.nvidia;</li><li>fix for dual nvidia hybrid systems;</li><li>fixed nouveau not working under X.org 1.13+;</li><li>fixed available drivers detection by supporting module aliases;</li><li>other fixes.</li></ul><br />For the complete Bumblebee 3.1 release notes, see <a href="https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project/Bumblebee/blob/master/doc/RELEASE_NOTES_3_1">THIS</a> page.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Bumblebee isn't useful just for those who want to use the Nvidia graphics card for gaming, but also to improve battery life because by default, Bumblebee disables the Nvidia card which is always turned on unless you disable it some other way. To use the Nvidia card for an application or game, you can launch it with "optirun" (e.g.: "optirun firefox").</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install Bumblebee in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>To add the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~bumblebee/+archive/stable">stable Bumblebee PPA</a> and install Bumblebee in Ubuntu Raring, Quantal, Precise, Oneiric or Lucid, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stable<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Update: initially, Bumblebee 3.1 was only available in the testing PPA, but it's now available in the stable Bumblebee PPA.</i></div><br /><b>Once installed, log out and log back in</b>, then try it out by running "<i>optirun glxspheres</i>". You may need to edit the Bumblebee configuration file if you're not using nvidia-current (<i>/etc/bumblebee/bumblebee.conf</i>).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, if you want an application or game to use the Nvidia graphics card, launch it with "optirun", e.g.: "optirun steam".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Primus is now available in the Bumblebee Stable PPA. However, please note that if you were using the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/primus-better-performance-and-less.html">Primus PPA</a> and want to only use the packages in the Bumblebee PPA, you'll have to purge primus ("sudo apt-get purge primus*") before installing Primus from the Bumblebee PPA.<br /><br /><b>To use the new Primus backend</b>, you'll also have to install Primus:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install primus</code></pre><b>64bit:</b> you also need to install "primus-libs-ia32:i386" (note that if you're using the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/primus-better-performance-and-less.html">Primus PPA</a>, the package you need to install is "primus-lib:i386"):<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install primus-libs-ia32:i386</code></pre><br />Then, change the "Bridge" option in <i>/etc/bumblebee/bumblebee.conf</i> to "primus". You can also directly call Primus from optirun via command line, like this:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>optirun -b primus APP</code></pre>Where "APP" is the application you want to launch.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions, see the Bumblebee <a href="http://bumblebee-project.org/install.html">installation page</a> or get the code via <a href="https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project">GitHub</a>.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you encounter issues with Bumblebee, report them @ <a href="https://github.com/Bumblebee-Project/Bumblebee/issues">GitHub</a>.</div>

Bumblebee 3.1 Released With Primus Support [Nvidia Optimus GPU Switching]

Bumblebee 3.1 has been released today with support for Primus as an alternative to the VirtualGL optirun backend, along with other enhancem...

+ Read more »

Primus: Better Performance And Less Power Consumption For Bumblebee [Optimus Hybrid Graphics Chipsets]

<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nvidia Optimus is a technology used to increases battery life by switching between two graphics adapters (a low-performance integrated Intel graphics adapter and a high-performance one by Nvidia) within a computer system. Optimus GPU switching is officially only supported on Windows, but it's also unofficially available on Linux thanks to the Bumblebee project.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://github.com/amonakov/primus">Primus</a> brings better performance and less power consumption when using <a href="http://www.bumblebee-project.org/">Bumblebee</a></b>, by replacing VirtualGL. According to the Bumblebee <a href="http://www.bumblebee-project.org/g+">G+</a> page, this has the following <b>advantages over the optirun (VirtualGL) solution</b> used by default in Bumblebee:</div><a name='more'></a><ul><li>Less overhead (better framerates) and cleaner solution (no networking or compression involved at all)</li><li>Fixes the "bug" that causes Bumblebee to shut down the GPU too early sometimes (no more need for the "optirun bash" workaround)</li><li>Less buggy/glitchy, easier to debug</li><li>Only uses/starts secondary GPU for OpenGL parts of applications - everything else remains on your main GPU (power savings)</li></ul><br />The Bumblebee developers explain what Primus does and the difference between Primus / optirun in simple terms in a comment on their G+ page:<br /><br /><blockquote>Bumblebee uses VirtualGL to copy the image generated by the second (faster) GPU to your display. VirtualGL was intended for use over a network though, so it takes a great many steps to enable this (compression, sending the image over a network link, decompression, etc).<br /><br />Primus doesn't perform all these "extra" steps, instead taking a more direct route (copying the rendered image in memory to the other GPU, then displaying there). In theory this should get you better performance as well as better compatibility. Running applications will "see" the OpenGL implementation of your real hardware, nothing virtual is presented to them.</blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For comparison, here are the framerates I get on my laptop when using the integrated Intel graphics, when using the Nvidia graphics card using optirun and using primusrun (this is just for FPS and not an indicator for the whole performance!): </div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/glxspheres-regular.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Using integrated (Intel) graphics"><img alt="glxspheres intel gpu" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/glxspheres-regular_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Integrated (Intel) graphics</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/glxspheres-optirun.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Using optirun (default in Bumblebee) with Nvidia GPU"><img alt="glxspheres optirun bumblebee" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/glxspheres-optirun_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">optirun (default in Bumblebee) using the Nvidia GPU</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/glxspheres-primus.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Using Primus with Nvidia GPU - best performance of the 3"><img alt="glxspheres primusrun bumblebee" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/glxspheres-primus_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Primus using the Nvidia GPU</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, the FPS using  Primus is a lot better than using the integrated graphics or using optirun with the Nvidia GPU.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note: I've used "vblank_mode=0 primusrun" instead of simply running "primusrun" because that was recommended by the Primus GitHub page for benchmarking. Without it, I get just 60 FPS because of vblank synchronisation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Update: Primus has been integrated into Bumblebee and is now available in the Bumblebee Ubuntu PPA.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>How to install Primus for Bumblebee in Ubuntu</h2><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Update: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/bumblebee-31-released-with-primus.html">Primus is now available in the Bumblebee Stable PPA</a>. To add the Bumblebee PPA and install Primus and Bumblebee, use the following commands:</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stable<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia primus</code></pre><b>64bit: </b>you also need to install the "primus-libs-ia32:i386" package:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install primus-libs-ia32:i386</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For other Linux distributions, see the <a href="http://bumblebee-project.org/install.html">Bumblebee Wiki</a> for installation instructions.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Once installed, use "primusrun APP", to launch an application or game</b> - this works just like the "optirun" command available in Bumblebee ("APP" is the application or game executable which you want to run using the Nvidia GPU). You can also use "<b>bumblebee -b primus APP</b>".</div>

Primus: Better Performance And Less Power Consumption For Bumblebee [Optimus Hybrid Graphics Chipsets]

Nvidia Optimus is a technology used to increases battery life by switching between two graphics adapters (a low-performance integrated Intel...

+ Read more »

How To Enable Intel SNA Acceleration In Ubuntu

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>SNA</b> is a 2D acceleration architecture for the open source Intel Linux graphics driver that provides improved X.Org driver performance, and thus, better desktop user experience. The name stands for "Sandy Bridge New Acceleration" and contrary to its name, it not just for Sandy Bridge but for previous Intel graphics generations as well.<br /><br /><b>Here's how to enable Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10.</b></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the x.org wiki (<a href="http://www.x.org/wiki/IntelGraphicsDriver">link</a>; <a href="http://bit.ly/RgEm7e">cached copy</a> since the page seems down right now), SNA should work with i830-i865G and newer Intel chipsets.</div><br />You can see some old UXA (used by default) vs SNA benchmarks at <a href="http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=intel_glamor_first&num=1">Phoronix</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4OrQC2nv7y9lkSRfNlWXP_bWHQbKJ6SsqqW5oqaFdeyksBfpOlz4DdThDEm_N3pqYSmYeYrtoPdxBZmYIqz79UdABfJh0Eojq0-yVxT_VWw2G8NMxGv_Otmt2bunsoMrvFSH6uIv92xx/s1600/intel-sna.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="intel sna ubuntu" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4OrQC2nv7y9lkSRfNlWXP_bWHQbKJ6SsqqW5oqaFdeyksBfpOlz4DdThDEm_N3pqYSmYeYrtoPdxBZmYIqz79UdABfJh0Eojq0-yVxT_VWw2G8NMxGv_Otmt2bunsoMrvFSH6uIv92xx/s320/intel-sna.png" title="intel sna ubuntu" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Enable Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.10</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Intel SNA is available in Ubuntu 12.10 without installing any extra packages, but it's not enabled by default. </b></div><br />To enable SNA, you need to create a /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>gksu gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code></pre><br />And paste the following:<br /><br /><pre class="source-code"><code>Section "Device"<br /> Identifier "intel"<br /> Driver "intel"<br /> Option "AccelMethod" "sna"<br />EndSection</code></pre><br />Then save the file, log out and log back in.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In my test (using an Intel HD 3000 GPU), there were some artefacts when using Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.10, which don't occur after adding the Xorg Edgers PPA so if that's the case for you too, follow the steps under the alternative method below.</div><br />Or, if you just want to revert the changes, remove the xorg.conf file:<br /><pre class="source-code"><code>sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code></pre><br />Then log out and log back in.<br /><br /><br /><h2>Enable Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.04 (alternative method for Ubuntu 12.10)</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For Ubuntu 12.04</b> (<b>or for Ubuntu 12.10</b>, if the method above doesn't work properly for you), you can use the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa">Xorg Edgers PPA</a> which has packages with <b>SNA enabled by default for Intel.</b></div><b><br /></b> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Warning:</b> <i>this PPA uses Xorg packages from GIT and while I didn't encounter any issues (I've used it for Ubuntu 12.04 and I'm using it now in Ubuntu 12.10), things may break. Use it at your own risk!</i></div><br />Add the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa">Xorg Edgers PPA</a> using the following command:<br /><pre class="source-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then launch the Update Manager (now called Software Updater in Ubuntu 12.10) and update your system. Once the update finishes, log out and log back in (though a restart is probably better since this PPA upgrades many system packages).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to revert the changes and go back to the drivers available in the official Ubuntu repositories, firstly <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/install-ppa-purge-with-multi-arch.html">install ppa-purge with multi-arch support</a>, then run the following command:</div><pre class="source-code"><code>sudo ppa-purge ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa</code></pre><br />

How To Enable Intel SNA Acceleration In Ubuntu

SNA is a 2D acceleration architecture for the open source Intel Linux graphics driver that provides improved X.Org driver performance, and ...

+ Read more »