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.
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.
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
When using the NVIDIA driver as a “Reverse PRIME” RandR 1.4 output sink provider combined with an application being run via Chapter 34, PRIME Render Offload, an optimization known as “Reverse PRIME Bypass” may be used, bypassing the bandwidth overhead of both PRIME Render Offload and PRIME Display Offload. In order for Reverse PRIME Bypass to be used, a PRIME Render Offload application must be unredirected, fullscreen, and visible only on a single NVIDIA-driven PRIME Display Offload output. Usage of Reverse PRIME Bypass is printed to the X log when verbose logging is enabled in the X server.
See “What is the format of a PCI Bus ID?” for information on determining the appropriate BusID string for your graphics card.
The nvidia-xconfig(1) utility can be used to update the X configuration file for using the NVIDIA driver as an output source provider.
$ nvidia-xconfig --prime
See the nvidia-xconfig(1) man page for details.
The X server does not automatically enable displays attached
using the output sink in this configuration. To do that, use the
xrandr command line tool.
For NVIDIA as an output source:
$ xrandr --setprovideroutputsource modesetting NVIDIA-0 $ xrandr --auto
For NVIDIA as an output sink:
$ xrandr --setprovideroutputsource NVIDIA-G0 modesetting $ xrandr --auto
This pair of commands can be added to your X session startup
scripts, for example by putting them in $HOME/.xinitrc before running startx.
Use the
$ xrandr --listproviders
command to query the capabilities of the graphics devices. If
the system requirements are met and the X server is configured
correctly, there should be a provider named NVIDIA-0 or NVIDIA-G0 with the Source Output or Sink Output capability, respectively, and
one named modesetting with the
Sink Output and/or Source Output capabilities. If either
provider is missing or doesn't have the expected capability, check
your system configuration.
When running against X.Org X server with video driver ABI 23 or higher, synchronization is supported with compatible drivers. At the time of writing, synchronization is compatible with the “modesetting” driver with Intel devices on Linux version 4.5 or newer. If all requirements are met, synchronization will be used automatically.
X.Org X server version 1.19 or newer is required to support synchronization. Without synchronization, displays are prone to “tearing”. See Caveats for details.
If synchronization is being used but is not desired, it can be disabled with:
$ xrandr --output <output> --set "PRIME Synchronization" 0
and re-enabled with:
$ xrandr --output <output> --set "PRIME Synchronization" 1
See Vblank syncing for information on how OpenGL applications can synchronize with sink-provided outputs.
Support for PRIME Synchronization relies on DRM KMS support. See Chapter 35, Direct Rendering Manager Kernel Modesetting (DRM KMS) for more information.
Some Intel i915 DRM driver versions, such as that included with
Linux 4.5, have a bug where drmModeMoveCursor() and
drmModePageFlip() interfere with each other, resulting in only one
occurring per frame. If choppy performance is observed in
configurations using PRIME Synchronization and i915, it is
suggested to add Option
"SWCursor" to Intel's device section in xorg.conf. The bug
appears to be fixed as of Linux 4.6.
When running against X.Org X server version 1.18.x or lower, there is no synchronization between the images rendered by the NVIDIA GPU and the output device. This means that the output device can start reading the next frame of video while it is still being updated, producing a graphical artifact known as “tearing”. Tearing is expected due to limitations in the design of the X.Org X server prior to video driver ABI 23.
NVIDIA's implementation of PRIME requires support for DRM render
nodes, a feature first merged in Linux 3.12. However, the feature
was not enabled by default until Linux 3.17. To enable it on
earlier supported kernels, specify the drm.rnodes=1 kernel boot parameter.
PRIME Synchronization is compatible with xf86-video-amdgpu as an output sink. xf86-video-amdgpu implements a separate interface for PRIME Synchronization that the RandR layer of the X server does not recognize. As a result, X will print "randr: falling back to unsynchronized pixmap sharing", despite the fact that PRIME is synchronized. Additionally, the "PRIME Synchronization" output property will not function to disable PRIME Synchronization when set to 0.
The NVIDIA driver only exposes the Output Sink capability by default on X
server version 1.20.7 or later, but can be used without issue on X
server version 1.20.6 with Option
"AllowPRIMEDisplayOffloadSink". See Option "AllowPRIMEDisplayOffloadSink"
"boolean" for more information.
The NVIDIA driver requires DRM KMS support to operate as an output sink when the output source driver is either NVIDIA or AMDGPU. See Chapter 35, Direct Rendering Manager Kernel Modesetting (DRM KMS) for more information.