Need new laptop 11-13" i-series with Nvidia, suspend, wireless and lan support

Hi,

I am looking for a new laptop with Nvidia graphics and an 11-13" screen. My primary concern is to have suspend, wireless and LAN support on FreeBSD. Do you have any suggestion?

Thanks!
 
Be vary wary of any new laptop with nvidia as they almost all support Optimus, which renders the nvidia GPU non-functional on both Linux and FreeBSD.

Adam
 
adamk said:
Be vary wary of any new laptop with nvidia as they almost all support Optimus, which renders the nvidia GPU non-functional on both Linux and FreeBSD.

Adam

I don't mind too much if I need to reboot the laptop to switch between the Intel chipset and the Nvidia chipset... Is that still an issue in this case? For example, the Lenovo T410s has a switch in the BIOS to select one GPU or the other I think?
 
The idea behind Optimus is that you don't need to manually switch anything, it's handled automatically depending on the usage of the GPU. As a result, the vast majority of Optimus laptops do not have that option in the BIOS. Honestly, if it supports switchable graphics, I'd avoid buying it unless you actually see the option in the BIOS yourself.

http://nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=144750
 
ok, so let say that I don't really need an Nvidia GPU on that laptop. What I really need though is to have support for 3D acceleration (for Compiz), an external monitor and be able to switch off the screen and the backlight.

Thanks
 
OK, well in that case bear in mind that the latest Intel HD GPUs and the latest Radeon HD GPUs (HD5xxx and higher) have no acceleration under FreeBSD.
 
kreyszig said:
ok, so let say that I don't really need an Nvidia GPU on that laptop. What I really need though is to have support for 3D acceleration (for Compiz), an external monitor and be able to switch off the screen and the backlight.

Acers often have switchable backlights (Fn-F6), don't know if the newest models do. xset(1) or other xorg utilities may do the job programmatically.

This is an example, but it's difficult to recommend without knowing exactly what it has for wireless and Ethernet.

The FreeBSD Laptop Compatibility List isn't responding, and hasn't for a couple of days...
 
According to the intel man page, the most recent chipset supported is the GM45, which is used in the GMA4500MHD. I'm fairly certain the 5700MHD is too new.

Adam
 
Hmm,

if laptops with Nvidia cards and the ones with GMA500* GPUs are not supported, that pretty much means that no new intel-based laptop is supported by FreeBSD... Should it take long to add support for GMA500* chipsets to FreeBSD?
 
kreyszig said:
Hmm,

if laptops with Nvidia cards and the ones with GMA500* GPUs are not supported, that pretty much means that no new intel-based laptop is supported by FreeBSD...

And, since AMD HD5xxx and higher cards cards do not support acceleration, that eliminates all new AMD based laptops.

Should it take long to add support for GMA500* chipsets to FreeBSD?

It probably has the same basic requirements as drivers for the intel Ironlake and AMD HD5xxx+ cards, namely someone with enough time and knowledge to make it work. Support for GMA500 (aka Poulsbo) may even require KMS, like Ironlake and AMD GPUs that are currently non-functional. I can't be 100% sure, but that's the direction video drivers are going on linux.

Mind you, the HD5xxx cards from AMD will at least do 2D modesetting, and HD6xxx cards can also use the vesa driver. But no newer intel or AMD GPU supports acceleration, and the nVidia mobile GPUs are all hit-or-miss, with miss becoming much more common.

I love FreeBSD, but if I were buying a new laptop, there's no way I'd currently consider FreeBSD on it, frankly. I really hope the FreeBSD Foundation finds someone to get KMS usable on FreeBSD or the situation will only get worse quick.
 
Saying that 'no nvidia cards are supported' is taking this a bit far. For example my HP Compaq with NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M works absolutely fine. You just have to make sure you know the exact type, and whether or not there are FreeBSD drivers for that type.
 
Unfortunately, knowing the exact type also includes knowing if it's switchable and, if so, if there's a BIOS option to disable the Intel GPU. Many times there's just no way of knowing that without actually looking in the BIOS.

Adam
 
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M

You laptop sleep/resume well?
I have some Nvidia Card Quadro NVS 140M. And when I resume I see blank screen.
When nvidia.ko unloaded sleep/resume work fine...

DutchDaemon said:
Saying that 'no nvidia cards are supported' is taking this a bit far. For example my HP Compaq with NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M works absolutely fine. You just have to make sure you know the exact type, and whether or not there are FreeBSD drivers for that type.
 
I just purchased a Clevo B5130 and it has the NVidia GT425M which supports optimus. There is no BIOS option to switch off the iGPU, but that is fine as I don't need great graphics for my work side of the computer. However, I am having serious issues getting Xorg to work. Is FreeBSD and Xorg even operable under Optimus? I would be very fine with relying on the Intel graphics. It is the new Intel GMA HD graphics built onto the i7 640M CPU, which according to the post above is not supported. Or can it run using the Vesa driver?
 
I think the only way you will know if it works with the vesa driver (which is your only possible option) is to try it. I'm going to guess "no" however. I'd like to be proven wrong :)

Adam
 
adamk said:
I think the only way you will know if it works with the vesa driver (which is your only possible option) is to try it. I'm going to guess "no" however. I'd like to be proven wrong :)

Adam

I will do my best! The Intel GMA HD works out of the box with Ubunutu, and the hybrid graphics do not pose a problem as long as you don't load the nVIdia driver. Hopefully removing it or preventing the module from loading will work... assuming vesa works on this chip. I will post back if I find success... or failure.
 
Good news! The vesa driver works... kind of. Right now I am stuck with 1280x1024 resolution on a FHD screen which look s really bad. I tried to manipulate the settings but it does not work...yet. But getting the /etc/X11/xorg.conf set was a pain, but it is done now. Any ideas on a way to get 1920x1080 res out of vesa?
Here is the configuration I used. I tried adding the 1920x1080 res in the display subsection and it did not work.

http://pastebin.com/n06K68A2
 
The vesa specification is very basic, and so is the driver. It's designed to get people working with minimal graphics support. Usually just long enough to install a driver native to the GPU. It's certainly not intended for every day use.

Adam
 
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