Hyprland Multi-GPU Renderer Selection Issue (AMD iGPU/NVIDIA dGPU)

[boxboy523]

Hello, I'm a Hyprland user setting up a hybrid graphics system. I'm facing difficulties forcing the Compositor (Hyprland itself) to use the power-efficient AMD iGPU as the primary screen manager.

Current Issue Status

My goal is for the AMD iGPU to handle basic rendering to save power, with the NVIDIA dGPU only being used for high-performance tasks.

However, based on nvtop output, the Hyprland process itself runs exclusively on the NVIDIA dGPU, while regular client applications correctly use the AMD iGPU.

1. Configuration (Hardware):

   • CPU/iGPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9700X / AMD Radeon Graphics (Mesa)
   • dGPU: NVIDIA (RTX 5070 Ti)
   • Linux Distro: Arch Linux
   • WM: Hyprland 0.52.1 (Wayland)
   • Monitor Connection: NVIDIA dGPU port (Output is handled by dGPU)

2. nvtop Observation:

Configuration Attempts (Referencing Wiki)

I followed the instructions in the [Hyprland Multi-GPU Wiki](https://wiki.hypr.land/Configuring/Multi-GPU/) to set up device priority and achieved a stable, but incorrect, configuration.

• DRM Device Priority (Stable Setting): I created udev symlinks for both GPUs and set the priority with the AMD iGPU first. This is the only combination that allows Hyprland to boot without freezing.

  env = AQ_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/amd_igpu:/dev/dri/nvidia_gpu

• Critical Problem (Freezing): When I attempt to set only the AMD iGPU as the primary renderer, the system freezes.

  # When trying this, Hyprland freezes immediately:
  # env = AQ_DRM_DEVICES,/dev/dri/amd_igpu

• iGPU Compositor Workarounds: I added workarounds for Wayland/Mesa compatibility:

  env = WLR_DRM_NO_MODIFIERS,1
  env = MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE,radeonsi

Core Question

The current evidence suggests that the AMD iGPU is perfectly capable of rendering client apps, but it fails to initialize as the Compositor's primary rendering backend (as seen by the freezing when set alone). It requires the NVIDIA dGPU path to be in AQ_DRM_DEVICES to successfully start the Hyprland session, which then causes Hyprland to default to NVIDIA.

1. Is Hyprland automatically switching to the NVIDIA dGPU because the AMD iGPU's Compositor capabilities are deemed insufficient or unstable during the initialization phase?
2. Given that I must include the NVIDIA path in AQ_DRM_DEVICES to boot, what is the best way to force Hyprland itself to render on the iGPU while still including the NVIDIA dGPU path for output synchronization?

Any insights into why the AMD iGPU alone causes freezing but works perfectly when the NVIDIA path is present would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

P.S. I utilized an AI (Gemini) tool to ensure the clarity and grammatical correctness of this post.

[ash-dvlpr]

Check #8679. I added this to my env vars and it seems to be working rn:

env = __EGL_VENDOR_LIBRARY_FILENAMES,/usr/share/glvnd/egl_vendor.d/50_mesa.json