NVIDIA takes one step closer to Linux support
(Phys.org)—Good news: NVIDIA has a technology called Optimus which since its 2010 launch is regarded as a great extender for notebook, netbook, and ultrabooks. Some NVIDIA fans think favorably of Optimus as "awesome" in the way it can tap into the discrete GPU when needed to conserve power. They like the way battery life is preserved as GPU power is switched off when not needed and switched on when needed again. As the company explains, NVIDIA Optimus technology automatically and instantaneously uses the high performance NVIDIA GPU for GPU-Compute applications, video, and 3-D games; and low power integrated graphics for applications such as web surfing or email. The Optimus approach in "dynamic" switching based on application needs is notable and according to reports a growing number of laptops from the commercial majors are equipped with Optimus.