Hey everyone! I was a hardcore Linux user last year, mainly on Arch with Hyprland, and I really enjoyed customizing everything (you can check out my rices in my profile). However, I recently got a new laptop and switched to Windows 11 because the experience was way better than my custom setup that only used 800MB of RAM. Now, I'm eager to return to Linux! So, I have a couple of questions:
1. I've got an Nvidia 3050 in my new laptop. How easy or difficult will it be to set up?
2. I focus a lot on battery efficiency; in my last setup, I managed to get my power usage down to 5W when idle and 8W during normal browsing. This laptop doesn't have a MUX switch—will I be stuck with the Nvidia GPU always on, or is there a way to save that much battery?
3 Answers
Check out the migration page in our wiki for tips on switching back! Just be careful with root access and installing packages from third-party repos. Always verify the checksums of your ISOs to avoid any issues after downloading.
Coming from someone new to Linux, I've had no issues with Nvidia drivers on my 4070 desktop. It seems more straightforward than I expected!
From what I've seen, laptops with Nvidia GPUs often don't let you switch modes in the BIOS, even with a MUX switch. My 4060 laptop idles around 7.5-8W. So it might be tough to hit your previous battery savings without some extra features like a MUX switch.
Is there a way to disable power to the GPU? My manufacturer has a program, but it’s Windows-only, so I might need to reverse engineer it or just stick with Windows.