Steamos Dual GPU on a laptop

[willbeonekenobi]

Good day everyone I just want to know if I get a new laptop that has hybrid gfx (with an NVIDIA dedicated GPU and a Intel integrated one), is there a way to set it so that I can only use the dedicated gpu and not the possibly crappy intel one. In case if anyone is wondering I am looking at getting an HP ENVY 15-j100ni.

[gibblets]

This is really a bad use case for SteamOS. If you want a Linux laptop that can run Steam you should really look at Ubuntu, Mint or something similar.

As far as brands go I've heard good things about the Thinkpads and I know Dell has had some good Linux support lately, they even sell some models with Ubunut preinstalled now.

[ProfessorKaos64]

You may be able to turn off the weaker APU/GPU in the BIOS/UEFI

[gibblets]

On a laptop? That seems unlikely, I believe the actual display output is powered by the onboard GPU which the Nvidia feeds through its Optimus stuff.

[ProfessorKaos64]

In that case, a popular Linux distro and bumblebee seems to be better suited for your use-case.

[willbeonekenobi]

Thanks for your replies. I had actually decided against going the SteamOS route and go with Ubuntu on that lappy I mentioned after doing a BFR [Backup data, Format drives, Reload system] as I am yet to see a laptop from a retailer in South Africa that comes with linux that is actually good (on hardware front).

[ProfessorKaos64]

Good luck!