Finaly Switched :) any tips be great!

Savi

Savi

Gawd
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
657
Yo! think it was lil more than a year ago I decided to switch to Linux had trouble dual booting then i got sick kinda bad but all good now! and i got the dual boot working......

for 1 day lol...then I dumped windows(that fast/secure boot from windows which i did disable in bios and windows! Dam thing turned back on by itself the next day lol, took me a week to get 3 drives to work:p)

Have tired POP_OS, Mint, Ubuntu Studio, Lubuntu using Kubuntu atm (sticking with Ubuntu based distros for now I think till i get a better hang of Linux), so far out of the desktops i like KDE alot, and xfce.
Some of this is kinda frustrating though, only cause I have been a windows user since 1995 lol, so i know were every thing i need in windows is, but Linux will take a bit getting used to.

Any kind of tips, or good Linux websites/forums. Once I'm more used to Linux and got it the way i want it to look, Will jump deep into game development. and some games here and there lol

Even though there were a few days that were super frustrating (those hard drives!), But I am having a ton of fun, its the same old hardware but feels like a new PC lol


:)
 
Hey there! I'm on a Linux journey as well. About 2 weeks as a daily driver.

I have used it before, mostly Ubuntu, but I want to try to stick with it this time.

Best advice is just to not give up. Sometimes there can be things you don't know how to do or that seem impossible, but if you work at it you'll probably find a fix.

There are sometimes things that just won't work, hardware that doesn't have drivers, etc., so be flexible and find a good middle ground.

I'm finding the development tools on Linux to be very robust, maybe better than Windows, and everything just feels faster, less bloat, etc.

And always, have fun. You might run into issues but having to learn how to fix it can be rewarding.
 
That was fast lol! nice to know I'm not alone cybereality :) Ya defenitly not giving up this time ether, Thankfully my hardware is from 2017 so should be good, every thing seems to be working so far lol though planing to get a laptop next year and throw linux on it, will do my research on laptops and linux b4 i pull the trigger.

And ty DrLobotomy will check those out :) I did buy the humble bundle linux book sale other day b4 the sale ended ppl on reddit said it was a good deal on decent books so will read those to... so much to learn lol, will be fun but thats for tommorow time for sleep! ty guys :)
 
 
So here is a good example of what I'm talking about.

I was having a problem with Steam downloads getting slower and slower and then killing my internet. Searching Google lead me to believe it was a DNS issue, so I installed a program called dnsmasq as a dns caching service.

This took about 2 days to figure out, during which time the internet was constantly dying and I had to restart my computer.

Eventually I realized it was not a DNS issue. My problem was I was downloading to an external drive (M.2 NVMe SSD in a USB 3.0 enclosure) and the write speed was too low so it was getting backed up and stalling the OS.

So I had to learn a bit about different mounting options, using the async flag (well really the default settings that include async) fixed the problem. Now Steam is working.

But it took another day to undo all the config setting I changed (I didn't note what files I changed, I was kind of tinkering around willy-nilly). Though now that I know how DNS caching works, I decided to put dnsmasq back and tweak things a bit.

I have now got to a place where the internet is *way* faster than anything I have seen before, even on Windows 10 on the same machine dual boot. I went to YouTube and started clicking a random videos and they were basically playing instantly at 1080P with maybe 1 second to load if that.

Download speed on Steam are still about the same (25Mb/s) but navigating websites for sure feels faster, especially YouTube. Maybe there is some way to do that same thing on Windows, I don't know. It definitely feels like Linux gives you more control for this stuff.

So yeah, several days of troubleshooting, but in the end everything is working much better and actually an improvement over what I have seen on Windows. But you do have to work for it. Probably gets easier with time.
 
When external drives slow while transferring data under Linux, it's usually as a result of the drive being formatted as NTFS - Remember, Linux uses a reverse engineered version of NTFS called NTFS-3G due to licensing issues, which is very compatible but can result in performance issues at times. Try formatting the drive in a Linux native format like Ext4 and use Ext2Fsd under Windows. ;)

The best advice I can give anyone transitioning from Windows to Linux is to forget everything you know about the Windows way of doing things - Linux is not a Windows clone, Linux is Linux. The second bit of advice I can offer is: Ignore the naysayers, they fear change and will do anything to stop it.

Enjoy your journey.
 
I will never switch but, that is only because I love using all Operating Systems. :) :D ;) That said, this thread already has a bunch of stuff I have never looked at and will be enjoying and perusing over the next few days, thanks. :)

Oh, any way to fix the Firefox font in Linux looking like crap when on the main Hardforum site? Also, where in Ubuntu can we install the AMD driver so that the control panel will get installed, without using the one from the AMD site itself? Thanks. I installed Ubuntu 18.04 on one of my 3 computers, on a blank 120GB SSD for the heck of it and prefer that interface over all the Windows look alike ones, being able to hit the start key and type or being in the settings panel and just start typing, without having to click anything, is very convenient.

Now, I just have to configure the computer to be able to shutdown with the power button straight up, without the pop up to click on it, and I will be set. :)
 
cybereality said:
So here is a good example of what I'm talking about.

I was having a problem with Steam downloads getting slower and slower and then killing my internet. Searching Google lead me to believe it was a DNS issue, so I installed a program called dnsmasq as a dns caching service.

This took about 2 days to figure out, during which time the internet was constantly dying and I had to restart my computer.

Eventually I realized it was not a DNS issue. My problem was I was downloading to an external drive (M.2 NVMe SSD in a USB 3.0 enclosure) and the write speed was too low so it was getting backed up and stalling the OS.

So I had to learn a bit about different mounting options, using the async flag (well really the default settings that include async) fixed the problem. Now Steam is working.

But it took another day to undo all the config setting I changed (I didn't note what files I changed, I was kind of tinkering around willy-nilly). Though now that I know how DNS caching works, I decided to put dnsmasq back and tweak things a bit.

I have now got to a place where the internet is *way* faster than anything I have seen before, even on Windows 10 on the same machine dual boot. I went to YouTube and started clicking a random videos and they were basically playing instantly at 1080P with maybe 1 second to load if that.

Download speed on Steam are still about the same (25Mb/s) but navigating websites for sure feels faster, especially YouTube. Maybe there is some way to do that same thing on Windows, I don't know. It definitely feels like Linux gives you more control for this stuff.

So yeah, several days of troubleshooting, but in the end everything is working much better and actually an improvement over what I have seen on Windows. But you do have to work for it. Probably gets easier with time.
Click to expand...

dnsmasq appears to be specifically a DNS Server type of service which, if I understand correctly, would basically do so for the entire network, not just the computer you install it on, correct? I would prefer to just let my router take care of things, since it does so well but, I have a 400mbps connection and that could be why. However, did you configure it to just administer only the Linux computer you have it installed on? Always like screwing around with stuff but, I do not want to take my entire network down in the process. :D
 
Mazzspeed said:
When external drives slow while transferring data under Linux, it's usually as a result of the drive being formatted as NTFS - Remember, Linux uses a reverse engineered version of NTFS called NTFS-3G due to licensing issues, which is very compatible but can result in performance issues at times. Try formatting the drive in a Linux native format like Ext4 and use Ext2Fsd under Windows. ;)

The best advice I can give anyone transitioning from Windows to Linux is to forget everything you know about the Windows way of doing things - Linux is not a Windows clone, Linux is Linux. The second bit of advice I can offer is: Ignore the naysayers, they fear change and will do anything to stop it.

Enjoy your journey.
Click to expand...

Never forget what you learned about Windows, always expand your knowledge. Now mind you, I have never had issues switching between OSes but then again, I seem to have a mind that for some reason, just simply adapts to whatever OS is in front of me. (Life, not so much. :D ) Think Amiga OS 2.04, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 and OS/2 Warp 3. All different OSes, all did thing a different sort of way but all were attempting to accomplish the same things.

Savi, do not let this thread die, probably one of the better ones I have seen in a while.

Edit: Oh, and whatever distro was available in 1996, that is what I was using then.

Edit 2: Oh, and I forgot: BEOS! :)
 
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Mazzspeed said:
When external drives slow while transferring data under Linux, it's usually as a result of the drive being formatted as NTFS
Click to expand...
The drive is Ext4. I formatted it specifically for using in Ubuntu only.

I believe the problem had to do with Steam downloading files (or pieces of files) faster than could be written beacuse the mount options were on synchronous instead of asynchronous (the default). But it is working now.
 
ManofGod said:
dnsmasq appears to be specifically a DNS Server type of service which, if I understand correctly, would basically do so for the entire network, not just the computer you install it on, correct?
Click to expand...
dnsmasq can do different things, I am using it as a dns caching service. It is running on localhost, potentially accessible to other computers on the network but they would have to be configured to look there. So right now the rest of my network is not affected.

So I have it set to use the OpenDNS nameservers, and also caching all dns requests. Meaning that name lookups (after the first time) are instantaneous and much faster than normal (I also think OpenDNS may have helped rather than using my ISP).
 
ManofGod said:
Never forget what you learned about Windows, always expand your knowledge. Now mind you, I have never had issues switching between OSes but then again, I seem to have a mind that for some reason, just simply adapts to whatever OS is in front of me. (Life, not so much. :D ) Think Amiga OS 2.04, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 and OS/2 Warp 3. All different OSes, all did thing a different sort of way but all were attempting to accomplish the same things.

Savi, do not let this thread die, probably one of the better ones I have seen in a while.

Edit: Oh, and whatever distro was available in 1996, that is what I was using then.

Edit 2: Oh, and I forgot: BEOS! :)
Click to expand...

I've been using computers since before the inception of the GUI, in most cases Windows wasn't our first encounter with point and click, for most classic MacOS was (unless you were lucky enough to experience Xerox machines).

Navigating an OS isn't the issue, anyone can navigate an OS, the icons simply have to be identical or similar - Hence the reason why average users are perfectly suited to Linux. Issues arise when more advanced users try to achieve more complex tasks with a lifetime of Windows experience, all of a sudden they're lost and frustration leads to them blaming the OS as it's not a Windows clone.

As you highlighted in your example, history tells us that not every OS has to behave identically to Windows - If that was the case than everything would still run identically to classic MacOS, thank God it doesn't as the experience really wasn't that good! AmigaOS crapped all over MacOS. Which highlights another point pertaining to OS popularity - Marketing. AmigaOS was the better operating system, yet MacOS and Windows won at the end of the day as a result of good marketing.

I also use every OS available, I'm fascinated by operating systems as that's the interface, that's really the only part of the computing experience that really matters to us. It's for this reason that I avoid Windows for my daily tasks as much as possible as there are issues that make it a lucrative target and to be perfectly honest I find my Linux operating system to have a better interface and by far prefer installing software using terminal as I can see right throughout the entire process exactly what's happening, as opposed to information being hidden behind a GUI with requester boxes appearing and disappearing faster than I can read them.

The only question that matters is: "Did I like Linux the first time I tried it after using Windows for so long?" and the answer to that question would be a resounding "Not a chance". But I persisted, over time Linux as an OS and the many DE's as GUI's improved out of sight and before I knew it I was actually using the Linux box more than I was using the Windows box until I found myself questioning the need to pay for a Windows license anymore.

It's like your comment on the font used in Firefox by default, if that fault was all you've even known, the Windows font would be looking horrible to you right now.
 
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Tips? Just enjoy the journey, stability, learn a lot, and enjoy being Windows free.

Podcasts to go hit up are Linux Unplugged and Ubuntu Podcast. Destination Linux is good too.
 
cybereality said:
So here is a good example of what I'm talking about.

I was having a problem with Steam downloads getting slower and slower and then killing my internet. Searching Google lead me to believe it was a DNS issue, so I installed a program called dnsmasq as a dns caching service.

This took about 2 days to figure out, during which time the internet was constantly dying and I had to restart my computer.

Eventually I realized it was not a DNS issue. My problem was I was downloading to an external drive (M.2 NVMe SSD in a USB 3.0 enclosure) and the write speed was too low so it was getting backed up and stalling the OS.

So I had to learn a bit about different mounting options, using the async flag (well really the default settings that include async) fixed the problem. Now Steam is working.

But it took another day to undo all the config setting I changed (I didn't note what files I changed, I was kind of tinkering around willy-nilly). Though now that I know how DNS caching works, I decided to put dnsmasq back and tweak things a bit.

I have now got to a place where the internet is *way* faster than anything I have seen before, even on Windows 10 on the same machine dual boot. I went to YouTube and started clicking a random videos and they were basically playing instantly at 1080P with maybe 1 second to load if that.

Download speed on Steam are still about the same (25Mb/s) but navigating websites for sure feels faster, especially YouTube. Maybe there is some way to do that same thing on Windows, I don't know. It definitely feels like Linux gives you more control for this stuff.

So yeah, several days of troubleshooting, but in the end everything is working much better and actually an improvement over what I have seen on Windows. But you do have to work for it. Probably gets easier with time.
Click to expand...

Bear in mind that if you want a GUI method of mounting drives as opposed to editing fstab, Gnome disks utility works perfectly.
 
ManofGod said:
Oh, any way to fix the Firefox font in Linux looking like crap when on the main Hardforum site?
Click to expand...
It's because HardForum uses Arial as the default font and Ubuntu doesn't come with it. I just looked into it and fixed it, but now I'm not sure if I like it better.

If you want to try, you can install Arial (and the other Microsoft fonts) with this:

Code: 
sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer
sudo fc-cache
 
Mazzspeed said:
Bear in mind that if you want a GUI method of mounting drives as opposed to editing fstab, Gnome disks utility works perfectly.
Click to expand...
I'm cool with the command line (I'm actually a programmer, so text scripting is fine for me) but I did check on the Disk app as well just to see how it works.
 
Mazzspeed said:
I've been using computers since before the inception of the GUI, in most cases Windows wasn't our first encounter with point and click, for most classic MacOS was (unless you were lucky enough to experience Xerox machines).

Navigating an OS isn't the issue, anyone can navigate an OS, the icons simply have to be identical or similar - Hence the reason why average users are perfectly suited to Linux. Issues arise when more advanced users try to achieve more complex tasks with a lifetime of Windows experience, all of a sudden they're lost and frustration leads to them blaming the OS as it's not a Windows clone.

As you highlighted in your example, history tells us that not every OS has to behave identically to Windows - If that was the case than everything would still run identically to classic MacOS, thank God it doesn't as the experience really wasn't that good! AmigaOS crapped all over MacOS. Which highlights another point pertaining to OS popularity - Marketing, AmigaOS was the better operating system, yet MacOS and Windows won at the end of the day as a result of good marketing.

I also use every OS available, I'm fascinated by operating systems as that's the interface, that's really the only part of the computing experience that really matters to us. It's for this reason that I avoid Windows for my daily tasks as much as possible as there are issues that make it a lucrative target and to be perfectly honest I find my Linux operating system to have a better interface and by far prefer installing software using terminal as I can see right throughout the entire process exactly what's happening, as opposed to information being hidden behind a GUI with requester boxes appearing and disappearing faster than I can read them.

The only question that matters is: "Did I like Linux the first time I tried it after using Windows for so long?" and the answer to that question would be a resounding "Not a chance". But I persisted, over time Linux as an OS and the many DE's as GUI's improved out of sight and before I knew it I was actually using the Linux box more than I was using the Windows box until I found myself questioning the need to pay for a Windows license anymore.

It's like your comment on the font used in Firefox by default, if that fault was all you've even known, the Windows font would be looking horrible to you right now.
Click to expand...

I am speaking of going far beyond navigating to OS. I do not own a Mac but, I very much enjoy using those systems as well. When I sit in front of a computer, I have always thought they all do the same thing and that is all that matters. Based upon your definition of advanced user, that would make me a absolute expert because I do not find myself thinking of one OS as this or that and the other OS must be exactly the same. I have no favorite anymore, I love them all. Back in the day, I loved OS/2 Warp and before that, my Amiga and the OS but, I always very much loved using and messing around with Windows.

Point is, my experiences in certain areas, such as installing the newest versions of Windows, does not match up with yours and it never has. Why? We would like to know and that is the point of the other thread. I refuse to think one person has it all figured out and that is fine. I have used Linux since the day it was released in distro form with a GUI, basically, 1996. No one should ever throw out their knowledge of any OS but use and enjoy them all.
 
ManofGod said:
I am speaking of going far beyond navigating to OS. I do not own a Mac but, I very much enjoy using those systems as well. When I sit in front of a computer, I have always thought they all do the same thing and that is all that matters. Based upon your definition of advanced user, that would make me a absolute expert because I do not find myself thinking of one OS as this or that and the other OS must be exactly the same. I have no favorite anymore, I love them all. Back in the day, I loved OS/2 Warp and before that, my Amiga and the OS but, I always very much loved using and messing around with Windows.

Point is, my experiences in certain areas, such as installing the newest versions of Windows, does not match up with yours and it never has. Why? We would like to know and that is the point of the other thread. I refuse to think one person has it all figured out and that is fine. I have used Linux since the day it was released in distro form with a GUI, basically, 1996. No one should ever throw out their knowledge of any OS but use and enjoy them all.
Click to expand...

It's not so much about being an expert, it's the simple fact that the average computer user has remarkably simple needs with a limited skill set.

I work on Windows machines every day. Not in a locked down, tidy corporate environment protected by Linux machines, and I work on many machines per day - Chances are I simply have more exposure to various operating systems than you do. I have my wants and needs sorted perfectly.

But this isn't a post about me, so lets discuss the OP's topic.
 
Ok Mazzspeed, lets see you figure this one out. :D I am using Ubuntu 18.04, I have Secure Boot Enabled and Ultra Fast Boot enabled on my Asrock mainboard. I had to redo from scratch because I got a complete blackscreen after trying to update the graphics drivers. I had Steam Installed, Proton and Steamplay enabled but, Batman Arkham Knight would install but not run.

Now, I am figuring it is a graphics driver issue and also, I do not have the control panel for the AMD drivers in the default install of Ubuntu. So, how did you get the working drivers installed without a black screen?
 
ManofGod said:
Ok Mazzspeed, lets see you figure this one out. :D I am using Ubuntu 18.04, I have Secure Boot Enabled and Ultra Fast Boot enabled on my Asrock mainboard. I had to redo from scratch because I got a complete blackscreen after trying to update the graphics drivers. I had Steam Installed, Proton and Steamplay enabled but, Batman Arkham Knight would install but not run.

Now, I am figuring it is a graphics driver issue and also, I do not have the control panel for the AMD drivers in the default install of Ubuntu. So, how did you get the working drivers installed without a black screen?
Click to expand...

The drivers are working... Linux Open source drivers don't have a "control" panel. Control is in general taken care of in game... with a few options being possible from the command line if they aren't in your DEs settings panel.

If you want to overclock or control fans directly you can try a program called Radeon Profile. Its in the Arch Linux AUR and I install it from there....

https://launchpad.net/~trebelnik-stefina/+archive/ubuntu/radeon-profile

Here is a link to the PPA version for Ubuntu. Its just a fan control / overclock program... with the standard Temp information ect if you want that stuff.

https://github.com/marazmista/radeon-profile the main Git page
 
ChadD said:
The drivers are working... Linux Open source drivers don't have a "control" panel. Control is in general taken care of in game... with a few options being possible from the command line if they aren't in your DEs settings panel.

If you want to overclock or control fans directly you can try a program called Radeon Profile. Its in the Arch Linux AUR and I install it from there....

https://launchpad.net/~trebelnik-stefina/+archive/ubuntu/radeon-profile

Here is a link to the PPA version for Ubuntu. Its just a fan control / overclock program... with the standard Temp information ect if you want that stuff.

https://github.com/marazmista/radeon-profile the main Git page
Click to expand...

Yes but, how do I verify that Freesync has been enabled then? I know the 144hz part is working, however.
 
ManofGod said:
Yes but, how do I verify that Freesync has been enabled then? I know the 144hz part is working, however.
Click to expand...

Oh this is going to be a painful read. lol

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=AMD-FreeSync-Linux-5.0-Enable

It is very possible to turn it on... however its command line and a xorg.conf edit. Also it doesn't work yet with Vulkan. (which yes means DXVK doesn't work with freesync yet either.)

Now this will be coming hopefully shortly after the new year if everything goes well....
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Vulkan-Adaptive-Sync-VRR-Future
They are planning to build support into vulkan. IME when they start talking about features at conferences like XDC the beta builds are probably a few months away... and stable 3-6 months away, unless its some pie in the sky feature anyway. If I was betting I would expect to see VRR in Vulkan around Jan... perhaps Dec if they don't run into any odd hangups.
 
ManofGod said:
Ok Mazzspeed, lets see you figure this one out. :D I am using Ubuntu 18.04, I have Secure Boot Enabled and Ultra Fast Boot enabled on my Asrock mainboard. I had to redo from scratch because I got a complete blackscreen after trying to update the graphics drivers. I had Steam Installed, Proton and Steamplay enabled but, Batman Arkham Knight would install but not run.

Now, I am figuring it is a graphics driver issue and also, I do not have the control panel for the AMD drivers in the default install of Ubuntu. So, how did you get the working drivers installed without a black screen?
Click to expand...

AMD drivers are part of the kernel regarding AMD, you don't need to install AMDGPU or Mesa. All the things you want to do are actually easier under Nvidia as Nvidia drivers are installed manually and have a proper control panel.
 
Mazzspeed said:
AMD drivers are part of the kernel regarding AMD, you don't need to install AMDGPU or Mesa. All the things you want to do are actually easier under Nvidia as Nvidia drivers are installed and have a proper control panel.
Click to expand...

Well you do need MESA. MESA is the open source implementation of OpenGL and Vulkan used by almost every distro for Intel and AMD API translation. The driver is in the kernel of course yes... the user space API stuff is in Mesa.
 
ChadD said:
Well you do need MESA. MESA is the open source implementation of OpenGL and Vulkan used by almost every distro for Intel and AMD API translation. The driver is in the kernel of course yes... the user space API stuff is in Mesa.
Click to expand...

Ah, my bad. Shows you how long it's been since I ran an AMD card.
 
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Mazzspeed said:
Ah, my bad. Shows you how long it's been since I ran an AMD card.
Click to expand...

Ya I know your a Nvidiot. ;) kidden. I have both around. Nice thing about MESA same drivers AMD or Intel... I know your probably more likely to be using mesa on a Intel laptop or something. :)
 
ChadD said:
Ya I know your a Nvidiot. ;) kidden. I have both around. Nice thing about MESA same drivers AMD or Intel... I know your probably more likely to be using mesa on a Intel laptop or something. :)
Click to expand...

I am, no point denying it! ;)
 
Mazzspeed said:
Does AMDGPU-PRO show Freesync status?

EDIT:

Freesync still has a number of limitations under Linux?

https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-754
Click to expand...

Ya you can use it, but its basically an OpenGL implementation at the moment. The Vulkan folks are working on getting VRR stuff working soonish... they have been talking about it recently in presentations. I would assume its 3-6 months out for Vulkan.

Right not to be honest the only game I play that is Open GL that I could turn it on in is Dota2... which as it runs at like 160 FPS all the time isn't needed anyway. lol

I'm hoping support is ironed out on the OSS side soon. Be nice to stop skirting the Freesync questions.
 
ChadD said:
Ya you can use it, but its basically an OpenGL implementation at the moment. The Vulkan folks are working on getting VRR stuff working soonish... they have been talking about it recently in presentations. I would assume its 3-6 months out for Vulkan.

Right not to be honest the only game I play that is Open GL that I could turn it on in is Dota2... which as it runs at like 160 FPS all the time isn't needed anyway. lol

I'm hoping support is ironed out on the OSS side soon. Be nice to stop skirting the Freesync questions.
Click to expand...

Yeah, well I'm more about resolution than refresh rate so I'm still on 60Hz. Slow but steady for me.
 
Mazzspeed said:
Yeah, well I'm more about resolution than refresh rate so I'm still on 60Hz. Slow but steady for me.
Click to expand...

I just picked up a Freesync montior not long ago myself. I didn't really rush in either. I get pretty steady frame rates anyway... but It would be nice to be able to flip it on. Bought my first monitor in 4 or 5 years a few months ago and went ultrawide. Won't ever go back to 16:9 that's for sure.
 
ChadD said:
I just picked up a Freesync montior not long ago myself. I didn't really rush in either. I get pretty steady frame rates anyway... but It would be nice to be able to flip it on. Bought my first monitor in 4 or 5 years a few months ago and went ultrawide. Won't ever go back to 16:9 that's for sure.
Click to expand...

Oh well, I am just using Linux on my third computer to refresh what I know about it and relearn some things. (Learn new things as well.) I have my other two computers with Windows 10 Pro and they are not going anywhere. (1440p 144hz Freesync on one of them and Freesync works great.) I am just trying out the gaming part, regardless and do not need it.
 
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ManofGod said:
Oh well, I am just using Linux on my third computer to refresh what I know about it and relearn some things. (Learn new things as well.) I have my other two computers with Windows 10 Pro and they are not going anywhere. (1440p 144hz Freesync on one of them and Freesync works great.) I am just trying out the gaming part, regardless and do not need it.
Click to expand...

That's fair... as much of a Linux booster as I am, I am willing to admit that right now today windows is still the best gaming platform. In every other way I believe Linux is superior. Gaming is still pretty tied to windows... Valve has done a good job of making it possible to drop windows for gaming. As long as your not a buy it day one AAA gaming type... hey if you spend 200-300 bucks min a month on every new AAA game don't even think about going Linux exclusively. If like a lot of us old farts you play games a year after they release at min cause you prefer to buy them on sale for 20 bucks rather then 60 or 80 the day they launch. Linux is very viable. I have a backlog of games I don't have time to play... in general by the time I get to them most run quite well under Linux. A few annoying acceptions... like the batman games. I haven't played them yet like most people I grabbed the freebies from Epic when they gave 6 batman games away. lol By the time I get the time to play them hopefully they install and run well.
 
ChadD said:
That's fair... as much of a Linux booster as I am, I am willing to admit that right now today windows is still the best gaming platform. In every other way I believe Linux is superior. Gaming is still pretty tied to windows... Valve has done a good job of making it possible to drop windows for gaming. As long as your not a buy it day one AAA gaming type... hey if you spend 200-300 bucks min a month on every new AAA game don't even think about going Linux exclusively. If like a lot of us old farts you play games a year after they release at min cause you prefer to buy them on sale for 20 bucks rather then 60 or 80 the day they launch. Linux is very viable. I have a backlog of games I don't have time to play... in general by the time I get to them most run quite well under Linux. A few annoying acceptions... like the batman games. I haven't played them yet like most people I grabbed the freebies from Epic when they gave 6 batman games away. lol By the time I get the time to play them hopefully they install and run well.
Click to expand...

Got a link that shows the AMD Graphics drivers are exclusively in the kernel? What I mean by exclusively is that it is no longer installed separately? If that is the case, why are the drivers on the AMD website available then? Or is only specific parts in the kernel and you still need a separate driver for everything else?
 
ManofGod said:
Got a link that shows the AMD Graphics drivers are exclusively in the kernel? What I mean by exclusively is that it is no longer installed separately? If that is the case, why are the drivers on the AMD website available then? Or is only specific parts in the kernel and you still need a separate driver for everything else?
Click to expand...

AMD provides closed source Linux drivers. If you are doing commercial workstation work on using something like Houdini they would recommend you install the closed source drivers.

The open source driver is part of the kernel. You can run the AMD driver if you prefer... but it will be slower in 99% of the games you run.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=radeon-software-1840&num=1
This is a year old now... but I think for the most part Micheal at Phoronix has stopped testing AMD closed source stuff. A year ago there was still a few cases where the closed source driver was a bit faster in a couple games... but the open source driver was faster in others. Today the closed source driver really doesn't win anywhere. Its an option though... if you want to install the AMD kernel driver you can. It basically bolts itself to the kernel in the same way the closed source Nvidia driver does.

I prefer the open source option myself. I can switch kernels fast and easy no DKMS module rebuilds ect... IME issues with games also get fixed quicker as the open source folks are pretty dedicated to improving gaming. However by all means if you want to install the AMD closed source drivers go ahead. Its not that things won't work or anything.

Valve is also working on updating the AMD open source Vulkan drivers... which is very exciting.
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=radv-aco-llvm&num=1
At some point I would expect their improvements to be sent to mainstream. :)

As for proof of what AMD recommends....
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/release-notes/amdgpu-installation
"The amdgpu-pro Graphics stack is recommended for use with Radeon Pro graphics products. Use of amdgpu is recommended for all other products. "
AMDGPU is the open source in kernel driver. They are basically saying if you are on a workstation with a Radeon Pro card run closed source, otherwise the open source driver is what they recommend. AMD contributes code to the open source stacks.
 
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ChadD said:
AMD provides closed source Linux drivers. If you are doing commercial workstation work on using something like Houdini they would recommend you install the closed source drivers.

The open source driver is part of the kernel. You can run the AMD driver if you prefer... but it will be slower in 99% of the games you run.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=radeon-software-1840&num=1
This is a year old now... but I think for the most part Micheal at Phoronix has stopped testing AMD closed source stuff. A year ago there was still a few cases where the closed source driver was a bit faster in a couple games... but the open source driver was faster in others. Today the closed source driver really doesn't win anywhere. Its an option though... if you want to install the AMD kernel driver you can. It basically bolts itself to the kernel in the same way the closed source Nvidia driver does.

I prefer the open source option myself. I can switch kernels fast and easy no DKMS module rebuilds ect... IME issues with games also get fixed quicker as the open source folks are pretty dedicated to improving gaming. However by all means if you want to install the AMD closed source drivers go ahead. Its not that things won't work or anything.

Valve is also working on updating the AMD open source Vulkan drivers... which is very exciting.
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=radv-aco-llvm&num=1
At some point I would expect their improvements to be sent to mainstream. :)
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Thanks, I will probably install the 5.3 Kernel and just leave it at that. (Just saw that it is available and want the latest drivers.) Now I just have to do some file editing so that my computer will just shut off straight up when I press the power button, which is what I prefer.
 
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ManofGod said:
Thanks, I will probably install the 5.3 Kernel and just leave it at that. (Just saw that it is available and want the latest drivers.) Now I just have to do some file editing so that my computer will just shut off straight up when I press the power button, which is what I prefer.
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Should be a pretty painless change... adding a shutdown -h script.
 
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