What I did
1: First I ran lspci | grep VGA to check which Nvidia graphics card/chipset my computer is using.
2: Then I went to the nvidia driver website to check which graphics driver version I should install for Linux x86_64.
3: I added the graphics drivers ppa to my system sudo apt-add-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
4: Then sudo apt-get update
5: Then sudo apt-get install nvidia-367 but you your system it will be a different driver version depending on your result from Step 2!
... will now reboot to check if it worked...
Did it work?
Probably. I can login, but I needed to change my dual screen configuration again. Now that's done it seems to work alright. If anyone has any suggestion as to how I can check the performance of my system please leave a comment.
Edit: glxgears reports 13000 FPS. Not sure what it would be without the Nvidia driver.
Update - No it doesn't work!
I have a rather irritating problem which has rendered my system unusable. When browsing files, sometimes when changing directory there is a ~1 second delay before the window updates - this makes it difficult to browse files on the system quickly.
In addition, when typing in the terminal, there is an occasional delay/lag which prevents one from running commands efficiently and quickly.
Hence my system is "unusable".
What I am trying now.
0: Fresh install of xubuntu 16.04. apt-get update / upgrade
1: sudo apt-get install intel-microcode
2: Reboot
3: sudo apt-add-repository ppa:/graphics-drivers/ppa
4: sudo apt-get install nvidia-364 (not 367)
Just checked and laptop BIOS appears to have secure boot disabled.
5: Reboot
6: glxgears -info | grep "GL_" reports that glxgears is now running using Nvidia card
7: glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version" Also suggests nvidia card is functioning.
8: ... will update if graphics problems resurface...
Updates: Noticed graphics problems when switching into/out of screensaver. This was quite annoying so ran sudo apt-get remove nvidia-*, rebooted, then sudo apt-get install nvidia-361... hopefully this driver will be better...
nvidia-361 appears to have the same problem of screen tearing when scrolling with the file manager, as did driver version nvidia-367.
Will try nvidia-361-updates... Not hopeful however.
361 still has problems with file manager scrolling and tearing... Going to try 352
I have noticed that attempting to install version 352 causes apt-get to try and install nvidia-361 as an additional package... Not sure what has caused this or if I just didn't notice before...
Tried nvidia 340... Crashed when I tried to login, so removed all nvidia packages. This appears to be the correct method, however none of these drivers seem to play nicely with my system.
I came back to this some weeks later
... and followed this guide: http://lenovolinux.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/bumblebee-on-lenovo-t440p-nvidia-gt.html?m=1
I was getting an error with optirun but with the additional command sudo apt-get remove xserver-xorg-legacy it seemed to work, however performance doesn't seem to be as good as it used to be with 14.04!
Best Answer
You need to install an Nvidia driver first, let's say the
nvidia-313-updates, that one works well for me.sudo apt-get install nvidia-313-updatesAdd the Bumblebee repository to your system and install Bumblebee:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bumblebee/stablesudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install virtualgl bumblebee-nvidiaReboot your system
Check whether it's working
Run
glxspheresandoptirun glxspheresand compare the FPS values (Intel and Nvidia GPU respectively). Bumblebee also has a power management function, it switches the discrete Nvidia card off when it's not in use (you don't run any application on it). This power state can be seen by running:cat /proc/acpi/bbswitch.If it's all up and running, you can try the alternative
primusbridge for Bumblebee (the default isvirtualgl). It performs better on some GPUs. Install it by:sudo apt-get install primusExecute
primusrun glxspheresto see it's performance.Run any application on the Nvidia GPU using
optirun app_nameorprimusrun app_name.