Can Optimus be turned off in BIOS in M6600, M4600, E6520, E6420?

I'd like to purchase Dell Precision or Latitude but hesitant given that Optimus doesn't work with Linux (and Bumblebee project seems buggy). Can it be turned off in BIOS in the case of Precision M6600, M4600 and Latitude E6520, E6420?

 

Yes it can be turned off in the Bios with my FHD screen

 

Good to hear.

That what is all the fuss about Bumblebee? Since it doesn't really make Optimus to function it suppose to and only achieves nVidia to "tuff off" with the same outrageous power consumption?

 

You can't turn it off with the M4600 RGB IPS panel because it's never on; it's the NVIDIA card all the time (no Optimus support due to 30-bit colour).

 

So, would the same be true for M6600 IPS when it comes out?

 

You want members to speculate on a hypothetical question?

From the answers already given I am sure you can draw your own conclusion.

 

If you want Optimus to work you have to compromise to Intel and Nvidia and just accept the cards you are dealt. Dell chose not to compromise the 10 bit color in the m4600 and hopefully the m6600. Will continue this rant later.

 

Dell didn't choose this. Intel did. It's their gpu that fails to handle beyond 8 bit panels.

 

If your implying can the NVidia dGPU be the primary video card then the answer is no. The Intel iGPU is the primary video card and disabling the dGPU, if the bios provides an option to do that, will not change that.

 

Errr, ironically enough, disabling Optimus only gives me the nVidia GPU on my system and makes the Intel one go away. It's worded very awkwardly in the BIOS, saying that Optimus should be enabled for Windows but doesn't actually describe what the setting actually does.

What I do know is that the GUI for the linux live CDs I've tried to use won't work if Optimus is enabled but work perfectly if it's disabled.