How to fully use Intel hardware (guide)

[Soong]

I recommend continue only if you have Intel Gen 7 and higher (Ivy Bridge, Valley View.)

Note: See Gentoo:Intel#Feature support for an overview of Intel processor generations.
Reading Arch Wiki is recommended also: Intel graphics - ArchWiki

Do you know about something called GuC / HuC firmware and Framebuffer compression?

GuC / HuC firmware:
GuC is an engine for workload scheduling of the parallel graphics engines. … HuC appears to be a firmware blob responsible High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC / H. 265) support.

Framebuffer compression
Making use of Framebuffer compression (FBC) can reduce power consumption while reducing memory bandwidth needed for screen refreshes.

How to enable both?

Install packages

sudo pacman -S mesa lib32-mesa libva libva-intel-driver libva-mesa-driver libva-vdpau-driver libva-utils lib32-libva lib32-libva-intel-driver lib32-libva-mesa-driver lib32-libva-vdpau-driver intel-ucode iucode-tool vulkan-intel lib32-vulkan-intel intel-gmmlib intel-graphics-compiler intel-media-driver intel-media-sdk intel-opencl-clang libmfx

1. You need i915 and intel_agp modules.
   sudo nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf

MODULES=(intel_agp i915)

2. sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf

options i915 enable_guc=2
options i915 enable_fbc=1

If you have 11 gen (tigerlake) and newer CPU (Alder Lake), you can use:

options i915 enable_guc=3
options i915 enable_fbc=1

https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/firmware

3. sudo mkinitcpio -P
4. sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Reboot your system, after boot you should get much better experiences with laptop - videos, battery life, performance, gaming.

[dr460nf1r3]

Thanks for that guide! I did not know about GuC yet - now that I'm running a Skylake CPU it seems I can even profit from it

(and that Gentoo wiki article made me miss playing around with compile flags, the good old Gentoo days )

[Soong]

You're welcome, I always try to find new things in the Linux world and help to people - community. Arch Wiki + Gentoo Wiki is absolute perfect for absorb knowledge.

[Khsh01]

Can this help reduce stutter in GVT-g setups? I have vfio setup with GVT-g but I'm told by the folks over at looking-glass discord that I am seeing these stutters due to a bandwidth issue.

[Soong]

I'll try read that on Arch Wiki, but I have never done KVM with virtual GPU.
Did you try Arch Wiki? Intel GVT-g - ArchWiki

[Khsh01]

Yes I have. I am waiting for my hdmi dummy plug to arrive atm. While it arrives doesn't hurt to try alternatives.