Graphics

Handling graphics on Linux—especially on Wayland—can be a headache of conflicting drivers and environment variables. Prism simplifies this into a single option that prepares the system for high-performance rendering.

The GPU toggle

In your flake.nix or hardware module, set the following option based on your physical hardware:

prism.hardware.gpu = "nvidia";   # For NVIDIA GPUs (Standard & RTX)
# prism.hardware.gpu = "amd";    # For AMD Radeon GPUs
# prism.hardware.gpu = "intel";  # For Intel Integrated or Arc Graphics
# prism.hardware.gpu = "vm";     # For Virtual Machines (Standard VirtIO)

NVIDIA

Choosing "nvidia" does more than just install drivers. It automatically configures:

• Proprietary Drivers: Installs the latest stable production drivers.
• Wayland Compatibility: Sets nvidia-drm.modeset=1 and necessary environment variables for Hyprland.
• NVENC: Enables hardware-accelerated video encoding (essential for prism-screenrecord).
• Power Management: Configures basic power saving for laptop users.

AMD

Choosing "amd" utilizes the open-source amdgpu drivers.

• Mesa: Enables high-performance Vulkan and OpenGL support.
• Variable Refresh Rate: Pre-configures support for FreeSync monitors.

Intel & VM

• Intel: Optimized for QuickSync video and low-power consumption.
• VM: Uses the virtio and bochs drivers, ensuring that the Prism UI remains fluid even without a physical GPU passed through.

Performance verification

After applying your graphics configuration and rebooting, you can verify your setup using these built-in Prism tools:

A Note on Hybrid Graphics (Laptops)

If you are on a laptop with both Intel/AMD integrated graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA chip, Prism currently defaults to the dedicated chip for the entire session to ensure maximum performance and animation smoothness.