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I have selected NVIDIA binary driver version 346.96 from the additional drivers - as it is shown below. But the power button that shows that usage of external graphics card is always on. Does it mean it uses my GPU of external graphics card even I do not play video games or do some 3D stuff? Am I doing something wrong? What is the best way of managing external graphics card? By the way I'm using a notebook.

screenshot of additional drivers

talha06
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1 Answers1

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What you're seeing is probably perfectly normal. You should check the GPU usage and GPU temperature with some NVIDIA software (likely available from their website). Ubuntu 14.04 had an issue with some NVIDIA GeForce cards, in that, when running the GUI, the GPU would run at 100% usage all the time, and it would quickly overheat, shortening the lifespan of the card. This may have been fixed in an update somewhere, but it's a possibility that this issue is still out there.

If you have your main monitor connected to that graphics card, then you will definitely use the GPU. The GPU is just another term for the chip on the graphics card that figures out what to send to the monitor, so if you have a desktop running with monitor output, it will be used.

In short, this is probably normal, but it would be a good idea to check it by the numbers.

Daniel
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  • I see @Daniel, I do not think it uses more than needed since the laptop never gets heated. But to be ensure what is going on, how can I track the GPU usage? By the way I'm using a notebook. – talha06 Oct 06 '15 at 05:53
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    Usually there is a software tool available from the GPU manufacturer's website. See this question: http://askubuntu.com/questions/387594/how-to-measure-gpu-usage – Daniel Oct 06 '15 at 13:12
  • thanks @Daniel - it works normal. But actually I feel the instability. For example when I move cursor over the top bar it sometimes disappear. I do not want to install drivers from NVIDIA's official website since last time I did, Unity desktop session is not started - faced with many issues to bring the desktop back. Do you recommend me to do something more according to your experiences? – talha06 Oct 07 '15 at 13:42
  • It wouldn't hurt to upgrade to 15.05, you can run sudo apt-get do-release-upgrade I think. – Daniel Oct 07 '15 at 17:10
  • I only use LTS @Daniel.. – talha06 Oct 07 '15 at 19:32
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    Well 14.04 LTS had some issues with GPUs. If you want to stick to LTS, try 12.04. – Daniel Oct 07 '15 at 22:36
  • why Ubuntu does not automatically use internal/external graphics processor according to the work to be done? For example if I play game or do some 3D staff, the external GPU can be used. But for almost all other staff, the internal GPU is OK. This is how Windows organizes it - and makes sense. – talha06 Oct 13 '15 at 10:39
  • I'm almost sure that it was a specialty driver for windows that allowed it to do that. Ubuntu doesn't have that luxury, so you're stuck with the basic driver for the most part. It's not an issue though, since it's not going to break the card or anything. – Daniel Oct 13 '15 at 13:05
  • you're right @Daniel but it consumes more power when the external GPU is on. So the optimization especially works for this. – talha06 Oct 13 '15 at 16:20
  • Ah. Well, there are tools that allow you to do that. Try googleing power saving tools for Ubuntu – Daniel Oct 13 '15 at 18:06
  • There are also questions here that help with that. – Daniel Oct 13 '15 at 18:07
  • I am well aware of these third-party applications but do not want to use since it is directly related with hardware - not sure to trust them & let them to control this critical process – talha06 Oct 13 '15 at 18:31
  • I would trust them. There are some good ones that can disable unused hardware and reenable when needed. – Daniel Oct 13 '15 at 18:32
  • so can you name one of them - most recommended one through your experiences? – talha06 Oct 13 '15 at 18:36
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    I can't recommend through personal experience, but this is the best one I've found https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PowerManagement/ReducedPower – Daniel Oct 13 '15 at 21:40