MSI Titan GT77HX: Missing laptop-specific driver optimizations (RGB removed)

[andyholst]

Summary

Omarchy handles generic Intel + NVIDIA laptop hardware well, but MSI gaming/workstation laptops like the Titan GT77HX 13VI have vendor-specific components that need dedicated drivers:

• Ethernet driver conflict (r8169 + r8125 both loaded)
• No Embedded Controller (EC) access for fan modes, charge thresholds, shift modes
• No GUI fan control
• No NVIDIA-settings for GPU monitoring/tuning
• thermald running when coolercontrol should manage thermals instead
• No X11 config for NVIDIA DPMS/backlight control
• r8125-dkms not in install script

RGB Removed from Scope

Previous versions included RGB config creation for msi-perkeyrgb. The Titan GT77HX 13VI uses a Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile mechanical keyboard, which msi-perkeyrgb does not support. The tool executes without error but has no effect. RGB support has been removed from the PR. Users who want RGB control may need to use SteelSeries GG on Windows or other tools not yet available on Linux.

Hardware

MSI Titan GT77HX 13VI

Component	Device	Current State
CPU	Intel i9-13980HX	Works (generic Intel drivers)
dGPU	NVIDIA RTX 4090 Laptop (AD103M)	Works (nvidia-open-dkms)
iGPU	Intel UHD (Raptor-Lake-S)	Works
Ethernet	Killer E3000 / RTL8125B 2.5GbE	r8169 loaded, r8125-dkms installed but conflicted
WiFi	Intel Wi-Fi 6E (CNVi)	Works (iwlwifi built-in)
EC	MSI Embedded Controller	msi-ec-dkms-git installed but no Omarchy integration
Fans	MSI Cooler Boost	No control daemon running
Keyboard	Cherry MX SteelSeries per-key RGB	No Linux control available

Proposed Fix

Add MSI-specific hardware detection and driver installation:

1. bin/omarchy-hw-msi — detect MSI laptop vendor and product family

2. install/hardware/msi.sh — install and configure:

   • r8125-dkms (blacklist r8169)
   • msi-ec-dkms-git
   • coolercontrol (+ enable coolercontrold)
   • nvidia-settings
   • Disable thermald when coolercontrol is installed
   • X11 NVIDIA DPMS config
   • Set battery charge thresholds 60/80

3. Wire into install/hardware/all.sh

Why This Matters

The MSI Titan is a flagship 13th Gen Intel + RTX 4090 laptop. Without these drivers:

• Fans run at default curves — loud under load, hot on idle
• No way to switch performance profiles without rebooting into BIOS
• Ethernet may drop under sustained transfer
• No GPU monitoring without terminal tools
• Battery health not preserved by charge thresholds

[andyholst]

Live System Verification — Post-Reboot Driver State

All drivers from the PR patch are loaded and functional after cold boot.

System

Field	Value
Model	MSI Titan GT77HX 13VI
BIOS	E17Q2IMS.108
EC Firmware	17Q2IMS1.107 (2023-02-21)
Kernel	7.2.3-arch1-3
CPU	Intel i9-13980HX
dGPU	NVIDIA RTX 4090 Laptop (AD103M) — nvidia-open-dkms 610.57.04
iGPU	Intel UHD (Raptor Lake-S)
Ethernet	Killer E3000 / RTL8125B 2.5GbE
WiFi	Intel Wi-Fi 6E (CNVi)

Driver State

Driver	Package	Status
r8125	r8125-dkms 9.018.00	loaded
r8169	kernel built-in	NOT loaded (blacklisted)
msi_ec	msi-ec-dkms-git r734.d7fbbd8	loaded
msi_wmi_platform	kernel built-in	loaded
msi_wmi	kernel built-in	loaded
nvidia	nvidia-open-dkms 610.57.04	loaded
iwlwifi	kernel built-in	loaded
coolercontrold	coolercontrol	active (running)
thermald	systemd	inactive (disabled)

Installed Packages

• r8125-dkms
• msi-perkeyrgb
• coolercontrol
• msi-ec-dkms-git
• nvidia-settings

Configuration Files Created

• /etc/modprobe.d/r8169.conf — blacklist r8169
• /etc/modules-load.d/r8125.conf — early-load r8125
• /etc/modules-load.d/msi-ec.conf — early-load msi_ec
• /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.d/msi.conf — msi_ec in initramfs MODULES
• /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-nvidia-dpms.conf — NVIDIA DPMS + backlight control

EC Feature Dump (live)

Feature	Current	Available
shift_mode	comfort	turbo, eco, comfort
fan_mode	silent	auto, silent, advanced
cooler_boost	off	—
super_battery	off	—
fn_key	left	—
win_key	right	—
webcam	on	—
webcam_block	off	—

Runtime Telemetry

Sensor	Value
GPU temp	45 C
GPU power	3.44 W (idle, Optimus)
GPU core clock	210 MHz
GPU mem clock	405 MHz
Fan 1 RPM	1500
Fan 2 RPM	0
Fan 3 RPM	1140
Fan 4 RPM	1140
CPU freq range	800 MHz — 4041 MHz
dGPU power state	D0

Verification Results

• omarchy-hw-msi returns exit 0 (detection passes)
• No r8169 in lsmod (blacklist active)
• All 4 fans visible via msi_wmi_platform hwmon
• EC sysfs populated: shift_mode, fan_mode, cooler_boost, super_battery, fn_key, win_key, webcam, webcam_block all accessible
• coolercontrold detects GPU (NVML), CPU (coretemp), and 4 fans via msi_wmi_platform
• thermald disabled, coolercontrold managing thermals exclusively
• NVIDIA DPMS config in place for backlight control via nvidia-settings

[andyholst]

Gap Analysis — Issue vs PR Implementation

Issue Requirements vs PR Status

#	Issue Requirement	PR Implementation	Tested Live
1	Ethernet conflict (r8169 + r8125)	r8169 blacklisted, r8125 loads exclusively	VERIFIED
2	EC access for fan/shift/battery	msi-ec-dkms-git + early-load via modules-load.d	VERIFIED
3	GUI fan control	coolercontrol installed, coolercontrold active	VERIFIED
4	Per-key RGB	msi-perkeyrgb installed	INSTALLED — no config (not in scope)
5	NVIDIA-settings	nvidia-settings installed	VERIFIED
6	thermald disabled	systemctl disable --now thermald	VERIFIED
7	X11 DPMS config	10-nvidia-dpms.conf created	VERIFIED
8	r8125 in install script	msi.sh installs r8125-dkms	VERIFIED
9	omarchy-hw-msi detector	bin/omarchy-hw-msi with 14-family detection	VERIFIED
10	Wire into all.sh	PR adds msi.sh to all.sh	VERIFIED in PR diff
11	Battery charge thresholds	msi.sh sets 60/80 when on battery	VERIFIED in script

Found Gaps

None. All issue requirements are implemented in the PR. The previous "gap" about all.sh was based on the installed system state (PR not yet merged), not the PR content. Battery thresholds are set in msi.sh. RGB was intentionally removed from scope.

Additional Verification Commands

# Detector test
omarchy-hw-msi && echo PASS || echo FAIL
# → PASS

# r8169 blacklist active
lsmod | grep r8169 && echo FAIL || echo PASS
# → PASS (no output = no r8169)

# EC writable
echo eco > /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/shift_mode && cat /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/shift_mode
# → eco (write succeeded)
echo comfort > /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/shift_mode
# → restored

# NVIDIA settings functional
nvidia-settings -q gpucoretemp
# → GPUCoreTemp: 45

# coolercontrold detects hardware
journalctl -u coolercontrold | grep -i initialized.*msi_wmi_platform
# → msi_wmi_platform detected with 4 fans

# EC LED control present
ls /sys/devices/platform/msi-ec/leds/
# → platform::micmute, platform::mute

# Battery thresholds (on battery)
cat /sys/class/power_supply/BAT1/charge_control_start_threshold
# → 60
cat /sys/class/power_supply/BAT1/charge_control_end_threshold
# → 80

Test Suite

PR includes test/shell.d/hw-msi-test.sh (34 tests). Detector tested with OMARCHY_DMI_ID_PATH stubs covering 14 MSI families (Titan, Stealth, Raider, Vector, Crosshair, Summit, Creator, Modern, Katana, Cyborg, Pulse, Bravo, Alpha, Prestige), desktop rejection, and other-vendor rejection.

[andyholst]

Driver packaging is included in #12003 (together with Cooler Boost). #11549 was closed as superseded.

[andyholst]

Duplicate of #11583. Drivers + Cooler Boost (85C/70C) are in the single PR #12003.