Question on installing proprietary nvidia cards

[seanrsolutions]

I'm so happy to install Linux back on my machine. Just had a question about the drivers. I was wondering if leaving the drivers as the open-source drivers would save battery. I know that Windows uses the intel chip for graphics processing and then switches to the nvidia when a substantial workload is experienced. Or would installing the Nvidia proprietary driver save more battery or am I looking at this the wrong way.

[seanrsolutions]

I apologize for the post. After looking more into it I realized that by installing the proprietary drivers for both I am able to switch between Intel and Nvidia gfx therefore saving the battery when needing to. All that is required is to log out and back in. Hopefully an admin can erase the post.

[Metal Mick]

I've just spent a fair amount of time looking into the issue of battery consumption on my laptop.

I found that toggling between the Intel and nVidia chip makes only a small difference to battery life on my current machine. However, on my elderly Asus, it made a big difference.

Currently I can double my battery life by using the Nouveau driver instead of switching to the Intel with the nVidia driver.