Dock with dual external DVI monitors with Intel + Nvidia Optimus?

Question

I have a Dell Latitude E6420 laptop plugged into a docking station, and the dock has 2 monitors (connected with DVI).

Also note that I've installed Ubuntu alongside (dual-boot) Windows 7.

I can't get the dual monitors to work both on Ubuntu (either 11.10 or 12.04) and Windows 7.

When I run lspci | grep VGA, I get:

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation GF108 [Quadro NVS 4200M] (rev a1)

If I then reboot and uncheck Optimus setting in the BIOS during reboot, I'm able to get the dual monitors to work in Ubuntu 12.04 (but I need to configure them every boot in Nvidia Settings).

When I run lspci | grep VGA, I get: 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GF119 [Quadro NVS 4200M] (rev a1)

But then if I reboot into Windows (leaving the Optimus unchecked), Windows can't detect external monitors, and the resolution is unacceptably low.

I've seen on many forum posts that this particular graphics card setup causes lots of headaches. I haven't been able to resolve my problem yet.

How can I use my external display on my laptop with intel and nvidia video cards?

How to use external displays with Intel driver on a NVidia/Intel hybrid system

nVidia Optimus , Unity 3D and Dual Monitors

"Just use VGA instead of DVI" isn't an option because my dock has only 1 VGA port (and 2 DVI).

Switching the BIOS setting on every reboot and then reconfiguring the display settings every time is tedious, time-consuming, and impractical.

Do you know how to make this work smoothly?

Thanks for your help!

P.S. see also: https://superuser.com/questions/434358/dell-latitude-e6420-dual-boot-ubuntu-windows-7-optimus-graphics-problems

Solution

Try disabling Optimus in the BIOS and use/install the latest nVidia drivers. If those from the repository don't work, download them from nVidia.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux-display-amd64-295.53-driver.html

Please let me know how it goes; I'm about to purchase a E6520 with dock as well.

Comments

[Admin]

Good news. The new X-server 1.13 has a better support for hybrid graphics if you use it in combination with Linux kernel 3.5. Nvidia is working on drivers that use those features. So there is hope for us. X-server 1.13 and kernel 3.5 will be included .in Ubuntu 12.10. Hope Nvidia finishes the new driver till then

[Ryan]

I think changing that BIOS setting caused problems in both Windows 7 (I'm dual booting) and Ubuntu.

[Jan]

Well :-) you can always re-enable Optimus before booting Windows while you're testing.

[Ryan]

Thanks, but that is not a practical option as it takes far too long to change all the settings.

[Lekensteyn]

@Ryan if you do not mind power consumption, you can stick to discrete mode. Is that what you want?

[Ryan]

@Lekensteyn Consuming more power is an option if it fixes my problem. How can I use "discrete mode"? Do you just mean uncheck the "Optimus" box? That led to problems mentioned above. Thanks.

[Lekensteyn]

@Ryan Yes, uncheck the Optimus box in BIOS and (re)install the nvidia driver in Windows. In Ubuntu, configuring it once should be OK.

[Jan]

Ryan. You will have to do so trial & error with this. If that is "taking too long", then all I can do is wish you good luck. Alternatively come and visit me in NZ and we can have a look together :-) but that will probably take much longer.

[Ryan]

@Jan thanks but I wasn't saying "this is taking too long to figure out" but rather that switching the BIOS setting on EVERY reboot and then reconfiguring the display settings every time is tedious, time-consuming, and impractical. I'm looking to find settings that "stick".

[Ryan]

thanks! I no longer dual-boot the Dell Latitude E6420 laptop so can't try what you suggested, but I bet your answer will help other people!