Asus U43JC

[ArchangeGabriel]

Hi everybody.

I'm one of the dev working on Bumblebee, and it works very fine !

And guess what ... no further need to compile kernel with as custom DSDT !

I've worked on ACPI this afternoon, and I found why it wasn't working without any modification. In fact, acpi calls to make were a bit more complicated than for other models, but I've found the right ones, so that now you can forget ALL the disabling nvidia section !

[arbrandes]

Excellent news, ArchangeGabriel!! I'll be sure to try it out as soon as I can!

[ArchangeGabriel]

Ok, just wait for my last commit to be commited in the master repo...

Also, before installing Bumblebee, be sure do undo everything you've make in the "Disable nvidia" section, else you may encounter some problems (you can go back to legacy kernel by the way)...

And for people just wanting to shutdown the nvidia card, here are the calls to make via acpi call :

echo "\_SB.PCI0.RP00.VGA._DSM {0xF8,0xD8,0x86,0xA4,0xDA,0x0B,0x1B,0x47,0xA7,0x2B ,0x60,0x42,0xA6,0xB5,0xBE,0xE0} 0x100 0x1A {0x1,0x0,0x0,0x3}" > /proc/acpi/call

and then :

echo "\_SB.PCI0.RP00.VGA._PS3" > /proc/acpi/call

[ArchangeGabriel]

And the commit is commited !

There is also a ppa for an easier use : The Bumblebee Project : MrMEEE

[Kaho]

Thanks arbrandes for the answer and thanks ArchangeGabriel for putting so much effort in helping the linux communauty with bumblebee

I think I will get this laptop afterall... (go ASUS !)

I still have one question though : are the integrated Intel graphics enough to run Compiz ?
I don't play games or watch HD movies so I don't really care about using the Nvidia card on Ubuntu but I would like to have at least these desktop effects.
The model I want to buy comes with a core i3-380M instead of the usual i5-450M featured on US models but I was hoping it would be enough nevertheless...

[ArchangeGabriel]

The integrated intel is enough to run compiz (I run compiz with a lot of effects myself, and running on the intel).

I don't know if you want you compter right now, but if you can wait a little, Asus is about to release the new version really enhanced of this computer, the U43SD.

Processor upgrade to Sandy Bridge (much better integrated graphic card and less power consumption), probably 8 Gb ram instead of 4 and finally nVidia upgraded from 310 to 520.

And all of this make really the difference.

I think it will be available in September.

[Kaho]

Ok, thank you for the information!

Yeah, U43SD looks indeed better but I'm not sure if I will be able to get it anytime soon. I live in France and here only a few models from the ASUS U serie are made available
Anyway, considering that the U43JC was sold at around 1000€ at the beginning, I guess that U43SD should be around the same price (if not higher !) and this it a bit to expensive for me as a student...
I don't really need a computer with high performance as my current 3 year-old F6V is already running fine to meet my needs : web surfing and some development mainly... so I guess I can just stick to 2010 processors and save 400€... while still getting a nice-looking laptop

[ArchangeGabriel]

Okay, I'm french too, and you're right, in france it would probably not be available before 2012...

[gravufo]

damn, poor you europeans! You pay the same price, but in euros....what a ripoff.

I payed 900$ (+ tax) canadian (I live in Québec and also speak French ) for this laptop back in december 2010.

I really would like to get the new version of this laptop when it comes out though since I would be able to play games more smoothly or with better graphics. Other than that, the laptop is awesome and has incredible battery life!

The only thing that kinda annoys me is that the part where the CD-ROM is located is pretty flimsy and weak. Also, on the palm rest to the right side, there is a clicking noise when u put relatively low pressure (just putting ur hand when typing does the job) and then take it off... is it only me or does it do it to everyone? If it's only me, I'll probably send it back to repair before the warranty is out.

BTW @arbrandes: IF you do try bumblebee and it works better than the workaround you did with this tutorial, could you please do a small tutorial on how to get to bumblebee too? I'm kinda still newbie to linux so I will probably need some help And I'm sure I'm not the only one ^^

Thanks a lot at everyone who contributes, it's really cool ^^

[ArchangeGabriel]

damn, poor you europeans! You pay the same price, but in euros....what a ripoff.

I payed 900$ (+ tax) canadian (I live in Québec and also speak French ) for this laptop back in december 2010.

I really would like to get the new version of this laptop when it comes out though since I would be able to play games more smoothly or with better graphics. Other than that, the laptop is awesome and has incredible battery life!

The only thing that kinda annoys me is that the part where the CD-ROM is located is pretty flimsy and weak. Also, on the palm rest to the right side, there is a clicking noise when u put relatively low pressure (just putting ur hand when typing does the job) and then take it off... is it only me or does it do it to everyone? If it's only me, I'll probably send it back to repair before the warranty is out.

BTW @arbrandes: IF you do try bumblebee and it works better than the workaround you did with this tutorial, could you please do a small tutorial on how to get to bumblebee too? I'm kinda still newbie to linux so I will probably need some help And I'm sure I'm not the only one ^^

Thanks a lot at everyone who contributes, it's really cool ^^

So...

It's not european... It's france ! We're paying a lot of taxes :
1) TVA, 19,6% of the price
2) Tax for private copy, ~20€
3) Ten more various taxes
And the governement uses all this money to give it to rich people...

For U43SD, I agree it would have much much better graphic performances (including Dx11 on Windows), better battery life, and I hope Asus will fix some of the design problems (like the one you mentionned, that everyone is facing !), and even more, it could have a matt screen !

Finally, as you speaking of bumblebee to arbrandes, I think that you probably haven't read my post just above, and I giving you just under a guided tour to Bumblebee !

First of all, undo everything you've done within the Disabling nvidia section. I don't exaclty how to remove properly nvidia_g210m_acpi, but for the rest, all you have to do is to boot under the legacy kernel and uninstall the custom one.

After that, just do the followings :
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntu-x-swat/x-updates
sudo ppa-purge ppaorg-edgers/ppa
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:mj-casalogic/bumblebee
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bumblebee