Bricscad Linux working on Nvidia hybrid/optimus with 3D rendering
Summary:
1. Bricscad 13.1.19-2 WILL now work with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (12.04.3)
2. This system is a fresh installation from the main Ubuntu server
3. Running nvidia-prime, nvidia-319-updates
Detail:
There have been a number of discussions on this forum and around the internet regarding Bricscad on Linux laptops with hybrid graphics.
The issue has been complicated by a number of factors (Bricsys' 64-bit packages do not install, to bumblebee or not to bumblebee, unavailability of suitable nvidia driver and x-server design issues, Bricsys' relentless release schedule, Ubuntu's LTS repos changing somewhat more frequently than Bricsys' developers might have liked), but for now it seems to boil down to two things:
1. Bricsys' 13.2.11-1 release does not work on any Linux hybrid setup I have tested. The Linux version appears to have a couple of bugs related to 3D rendering (missing components library, x-solids and number of related functions not working) at least on the Linux version and with the new nvidia-319 driver, but quite possibly these bugs have nothing to do with the hybrid graphics issue at all.
2. Bricscad 13.1.19-2 does work on a fresh install of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, including 3D solids manipulation and rendering and associated 3D functions.
Why is it now working whereas before everyone seemed to have problems with this setup?
1. Raring backports added to the 12.04 LTS repo (as of 12.04.3)
2. Ubuntu has closely tracked nvidia driver releases partly in order to address the hybrid graphics issues, adding nvidia-319 et. al., and subsequently nvidia-319-updates and nvidia-prime. Any fresh install that adds updates during installation or an existing installation that runs apt-get update > apt-get upgrade will have this driver set up correctly without any intervention by the user. Be aware though, that this initial effort from Nvidia does not yet have power switching functionality and there is more work to be done in several areas to get the driver and x-server up to scratch. But it does work.
For reference, my setup is as follows:
Dell XPS 15
Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM CPU @ 2.20GHz × 8
8GB RAM
Nvidia 640M hybrid graphics (Nvidia Optimus)
1. Bricscad 13.1.19-2 WILL now work with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (12.04.3)
2. This system is a fresh installation from the main Ubuntu server
3. Running nvidia-prime, nvidia-319-updates
Detail:
There have been a number of discussions on this forum and around the internet regarding Bricscad on Linux laptops with hybrid graphics.
The issue has been complicated by a number of factors (Bricsys' 64-bit packages do not install, to bumblebee or not to bumblebee, unavailability of suitable nvidia driver and x-server design issues, Bricsys' relentless release schedule, Ubuntu's LTS repos changing somewhat more frequently than Bricsys' developers might have liked), but for now it seems to boil down to two things:
1. Bricsys' 13.2.11-1 release does not work on any Linux hybrid setup I have tested. The Linux version appears to have a couple of bugs related to 3D rendering (missing components library, x-solids and number of related functions not working) at least on the Linux version and with the new nvidia-319 driver, but quite possibly these bugs have nothing to do with the hybrid graphics issue at all.
2. Bricscad 13.1.19-2 does work on a fresh install of Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, including 3D solids manipulation and rendering and associated 3D functions.
Why is it now working whereas before everyone seemed to have problems with this setup?
1. Raring backports added to the 12.04 LTS repo (as of 12.04.3)
2. Ubuntu has closely tracked nvidia driver releases partly in order to address the hybrid graphics issues, adding nvidia-319 et. al., and subsequently nvidia-319-updates and nvidia-prime. Any fresh install that adds updates during installation or an existing installation that runs apt-get update > apt-get upgrade will have this driver set up correctly without any intervention by the user. Be aware though, that this initial effort from Nvidia does not yet have power switching functionality and there is more work to be done in several areas to get the driver and x-server up to scratch. But it does work.
For reference, my setup is as follows:
Dell XPS 15
Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM CPU @ 2.20GHz × 8
8GB RAM
Nvidia 640M hybrid graphics (Nvidia Optimus)
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