Hey guys, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this (feel free to point me to a better community) but I’m in a weird “predicament” this summer: My AMD build plans are in shambles after receiving a free ROG Astral 5080.
Now I want to make the switch now with my current (Intel i7-13700K) hardware + this new card. I was only considering AMD before but it’s really hard to say no to a video card worth more than my entire budget lol
The slightly worse performance compared to Windows is still an upgrade from my 3070 so that’s fine - It’s initial/recurring troubleshooting I don’t really want to deal with. Most of the info I’ve found is from earlier this year and no one speaks highly of the beta drivers
Sorry if this is a stupid question but am I setting myself up for disappointment with this new plan? I have a few more related questions I’ll toss in the comments but that’s my main concern.
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I tried Linux on my current build with a 9070XT and ended up on windows instead (still got linux on my laptop) Based on what I’ve been told you’re generally going to have issues with very new hardware unless you either get very lucky or go through a ton of troubleshooting. So Linux might work in a couple of months but for now it could be a headache.
I had multiple nvidia cards before. People were saying it is going to be fine, etc.
Never again. I bought an AMD for the first time, and fuck-A it’s great.
What about selling the NV to get an AMD?
Unfortunately not really an option, the card is “on loan” indefinitely. TLDR: friend runs a 3D lab and orders new PCs + spare cards every two years but those spares have never been used outside of his own PC. So I’ll have a spare until it’s time to upgrade (or if 5 GPUs in the lab die)
What was so bad about it? Was this in the past year? I’m reading a LOT of conflicting stuff
1070, 3060 and 3050ti.
On the top of my head:
- Wayland saga… (it’s fixed)
- A few kernel version last summer made my 30x0 systems unstable (it’s fixed now, still)
- The laptop comes with some other NV firmware, but at this day, the system randomly freeze
- New available drivers would crash, so doing rollbacks was a thing I had to do here and there during the years
Where AMD is boot and enjoy.
But anyway, if you can’t get an AMD, the whole thing is moot.
Well shit. I’m committed but it looks like my worries weren’t unfounded.
I can deal with worse performance but definitely not freezing/crashing…hopefully I’m not forced back to Windows
In most cases, everything works fine. Some people experience issues, but most don’t.
I’ve been using a 4080 for half a year on Kubuntu. Occasionally a driver update makes my monitor stop working so I have to reinstall it with a CLI-only interface. Other than that it’s great
It would work but you’ll be missing some features (e: even in distros meant for NV GPUs, like Garuda), especially the Nvidia Control Panel and Nvidia App.
That means no access to the 3D Settings page, so if you need to adjust a graphics setting that isn’t in-game, you can’t. (Like which performance mode the GPU runs in and other settings that can decrease display lag and increase FPS; if you play competitive games it can be a hindrance to not have access to these settings.)
That also means no RTX HDR, so you’ll be forced to to watch SDR YouTube videos and play SDR games in SDR (games and videos with native HDR support will still work, of course). There is no native conversion to HDR in Linux (you can still convert offline videos with MPV, though), which is a damn shame cause even SDR content looks great when converted. Especially games.
That said, if you don’t have an HDR display and don’t play competitive games, you might be able to get by just fine without the features offered by the Nvidia App and Control Panel. Yeah it sucks that you won’t get every feature the GPU supports, but then again you didn’t pay for it, so it’s not like you’re not getting your money’s worth.
The thing that really matters for me as far as gaming goes is frame rate. HDR would be nice but I’ve gone this long without it. I’ll have to look into what I might miss - I do love Shadowplay.
Any issues with ultrawides? I might use this freed up budget to get one
There’s gpu screen recorder, and gpu screen recorder UI which is basically a clone of the shadowplay ui. It’s worked pretty well for me on arch
Problem solved, thanks!
Ultrawides work fine, I use two of them at once 😂. I wish HDR was supported in every app but even on Windows it’s hit or miss. In some cases Linux has higher framerates than Windows, your performance is not gonna be bad.
Oh yeah forgot about Shadowplay. You won’t have that either. You’ll have to find a recording app for Linux that uses NVENC (so your framerates won’t be affected).
As far as ultrawides, you may have issues with games that require you to set a custom resolution for them to display properly. I have a 16:9 display and as such, I haven’t dabbled in that field much, so I don’t know how well Linux is at creating custom resolutions from within the OS itself.
OBS can use NVENC, though IIRC it needs to be built with support enabled, which may not be the case for all distros’ package managers.
Does OBS have a feature where it automatically deletes what it records if you don’t press a hotkey to save the footage? I thought OBS was meant mainly for streamers.
There’s a plugin for it. I’ve not personally tested it though. https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-hadowplay.1728/
I would try Garuda!
Or Bazzite!
Anything that sets it apart for you? I’ve seen the name in passing but don’t know anything about it
It’s a Linux distro made specifically with gaming on Nvidia GPUs in mind. It’s basically Arch, but GPU drivers are included with the installation, and Steam, Proton, and Wayland are already installed and configured for you.
Great performance and perfect for people who don’t want to set up all this stuff themselves, but like I said earlier, no NV Control Panel or NV App.
It also comes with a “Dr460nized” theme that you may or may not like. It reeks of early 2000s adolescence, but I was a teenager in that era so I kind of like it. Of course you can easily disable it and use a more mature theme if you’d like.
For a first time Linux gamer I’d recommend Garuda.
My lack of Linux knowledge is showing…I was under the impression Arch was more for “hardcore” users, is that an outdated mindset (or was it ever true)?
That’s the nice thing about Garuda; all the difficult stuff is already set up for you, but because the distro is basically Arch, you still have the power to do whatever you want with your OS once you’ve used it for awhile and get the hang of things. If you wanted, you could even strip out all the Garuda stuff and return to vanilla Arch.
That’s why I recommend it for first time Linux gamers. It’s Arch with easy mode enabled. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I was under the impression Arch was more for “hardcore” users, is that an outdated mindset (or was it ever true)?
It’s more nuanced than that.
Arch Linux, the distro Garuda Linux is derived from, is definitely not a distro that holds your hand like e.g. Linux Mint does. It (somewhat) demands you to read extensively through its excellent[1] ArchWiki.
However, Garuda and other derivatives[2] are opinionated takes on Arch that try to fulfill a specific goal that its respective maintainers have in mind. This can range from using Arch Linux as a base for delivering:
- a scrutinizingly optimized distro that at (the very) least inches out every other distro in performance (i.e. CachyOS)
- a distro that functions as a glorified installer[3] for Arch. But with that, remains very close in spirit to what Arch is all about (i.e. EndeavourOS)
- a ready-to-go gaming distro (i.e. Garuda Linux)
- (and everything in between and beyond…)
(Note that the oversimplified descriptions found above don’t quite do justice to the enormous effort that is put into these projects. Furthermore, it has to be mentioned that each of these distros proud themselves on the amazing communities they’ve built.)
Finally, it goes without saying that having an Arch base continues to pose a (potential) maintenance burden[4] with the constant stream of updates. While some of the above distros include some of the available protections by default, none claim to provide a silver bullet[5]. Thankfully, problems ‘should’ only act up every once in a while. And (almost surely) deflecting them with a working snapshot provides an evergreen magical experience.
So, to conclude, Arch Linux as a distro definitely is more demanding than e.g. Linux Mint. However, the derivatives mentioned above definitely bridge the gap to a remarkable extent. So much so, perhaps, that you might not even notice much of a difference (besides the constant stream of updates).
Arch Linux is not unique in its extensive documentation. This is more of a trend we find on other distros that come with (almost) no defaults; e.g. Gentoo also sports a(n arguably even more) comprehensive Wiki. This makes total sense as these systems require from their users to set it up. Which, unsurprisingly, is a nonstarter without proper guidance. ↩︎
This includes but is not limited to the likes of CachyOS and EndeavourOS. A more exhaustive list is found here. ↩︎
Historically speaking, the hardest part about Arch Linux was its installation. This has since been mostly alleviated with the introduction of
archinstall. ↩︎I think the Upgrading the system section of its System maintenance wiki entry is one of the most striking examples of what I mean. I’m simply unaware of any other distro that requires/demands something similar. Note that -on Arch- you’re encouraged to update daily or at least weekly. ↩︎
In Arch Linux’ defense, this is a hard problem to solve without introducing radical changes. Even openSUSE that pioneered the BTRFS + Snapper workflow in its Tumbleweed, is actively seeking and working on an even more powerful solution. But let’s not get down that rabbit hole for now 😜. ↩︎
Why wouldn’t you go AMD or Intel?
Couple of followup questions…
- Do any distros perform better out-of-the-box with Nvidia?
I didn’t expect to switch so soon so I’m just now deciding. I’m currently torn between Pop OS and Mint. I don’t think I want steamOS because gaming is only half of what I use my PC for - I’d rather a more desktop-oriented distro
My only Linux experience is a few servers and laptops over the years but I’m comfortable following along with CLI tutorials
- Are my current game files useless or can I copy them over?
90% of my games are on a secondary 2tb NVME. I have a home server I can back them up them up to before reformatting but I’m guessing I can’t just point Steam to that folder and have it rebuild my library, right?
- When it’s time to upgrade the rest of the machine, should I go AMD for the cpu?
Conventional wisdom used to be pairing Intel with Nvidia and AMD with AMD. Is that still the case? Should I stick to Intel?
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Ubuntu and derivatives. (I prefer Kubuntu, personally. It has even more support for things like HDR) I have a 3070 RTX and it’s working just fine in Kubuntu.
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Good question! I would definitely back up the files first and reformat in EXT4 or BTRFS or whatever. Then when you install the games in Steam with the compatibility layer, you can specify where to install the games. Then check where saved games/profiles are located and possibly overwrite the files?
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Yes. No doubt.
Does Kubuntu come as “preconfigured” as the more gaming-focused distros? I’ve heard one of the benefits of those is that a lot of the GPU stuff (drivers, config) works out of the box
Redownloading games isn’t a big deal, I just don’t want to take the time to make space and transfer it if it’s gonna freak out lol
It’s been so long since I installed mine that I forget.
I remember there being an option to download and install additional drivers during the installation. Otherwise, it’s a very simple process. As you can see here:
https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-nvidia-drivers-on-ubuntu-24-04
On Ubuntu there’s literally an application for additional drivers. On Kubuntu, I think you have to used the command line because Canonical only prioritizes their Gnome desktop. Kubuntu is a community-driven flavour. However, once you know which driver is recommended, you can use the graĥical software installer to install it.
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I don’t think I want steamOS
Good because SteamOS doesn’t want you. It’s AMD only at the moment.
Linux Mint is generally fine. But with bleeding edge hardware sometimes it’s better to be on a newer distro that gets driver updates more often. But that largely depends on if you have any issues with the current drivers. I don’t have any 50 series hardware to test to see what sort of issues there are. That said Nvidia has been making some good progress with their drivers after hiring Ben Skeggs.
Ah well that makes it easier!
Good call about the updates. I read a bit about the release schedules and assumed I’d want the “more stable” release schedules but that’s a good point about using new hardware.
Good to know about the drivers, too! All of the performance comparisons I read this morning were from earlier this year and Linux was behind by quite a bit with Nvidia.
Ubuntu and it’s derivatives have the best Nvidia support.
