Chapter 34. Offloading Graphics Display with RandR 1.4

Chapter 34. Offloading Graphics Display with RandR 1.4
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Version 1.4 of the X Resize, Rotate, and Reflect Extension (RandR 1.4 for short) adds a way for drivers to work together so that one graphics device can display images rendered by another.

System Requirements

For displaying NVIDIA GPU desktop contents on a screen connected to another graphics device, X.Org X server version 1.13 or higher.
For displaying another graphics device's desktop contents on a screen connected to an NVIDIA GPU, X.Org X server version 1.20.7 or higher. X server version 1.20.6 is also supported using Option "AllowPRIMEDisplayOffloadSink" "boolean".
A Linux kernel, version 3.13 or higher, with CONFIG_DRM enabled.
Version 1.4.0 of the xrandr command-line utility.

Using the NVIDIA Driver as an RandR 1.4 Output Source or Output Sink Provider

To use the NVIDIA driver as an RandR 1.4 output source provider, also known as “PRIME”, the X server needs to be configured to use the NVIDIA driver for its primary screen and to use the “modesetting” driver for the other graphics device. This can be achieved by placing the following in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier "layout"
    Screen 0 "nvidia"
    Inactive "intel"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier "nvidia"
    Driver "nvidia"
    BusID "<BusID for NVIDIA device here>"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "nvidia"
    Device "nvidia"
    Option "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier "intel"
    Driver "modesetting"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "intel"
    Device "intel"
EndSection

To use the NVIDIA driver as an RandR 1.4 output sink provider, also known as “Reverse PRIME”, the X server needs to be configured to use the “modesetting” driver for its primary screen and to use the NVIDIA driver for the other graphics device. This can be achieved by placing the following in /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier "layout"
    Screen 0 "intel"
    Inactive "nvidia"
    Option "AllowNVIDIAGPUScreens"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier "intel"
    Driver "modesetting"
    BusID "<BusID for Intel device here>"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "intel"
    Device "intel"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier "nvidia"
    Driver "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "nvidia"
    Device "nvidia"
EndSection

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