AMD RX400 and 500 series running on Linux
AMD RX400 and 500 series running on Linux
I believe an open source driver offers a significant advantage when using an AMD GPU today. This is the main reason behind my consideration of switching now, since AMD GPUs are becoming a solid option for playing other games besides Tetris or Nethack on Linux systems. I'm also keen on the performance improvements. (Sorry, I don't have any experience yet!) If anyone spots any real issues, there should be a dedicated channel for reporting them, allowing tracking by users. With closed source drivers, it's less clear who will address problems—especially if a critical bug like Suspend failure arises. While open source drivers may not always prioritize, they usually aim for better user outcomes. I've thought about testing an older used AM4 GPU first to see how it performs, and if it works well, I'd consider upgrading to a newer AM4 or even Vega model. Also, it seems that within a device family, newer models tend to function similarly, as older ones do. If not, at least the foundational support has already been established and improvements are likely coming soon.
What you state usually applies to devices with both closed and open drivers. However, AMD has shifted recently. AMDGPU serves as the primary driver, fully open source, and performs better for standard desktop tasks. AMGGPUPro is aimed at workstations and incorporates features like Cuda. From a user standpoint, details remain unclear, but as someone who values performance, I rely heavily on GPU-based video decoding—especially for smooth playback—and also require Cuda support.
RX480 is performing excellently on Arch Linux with Ryzen. I’m really impressed by the OpenGL performance after switching to Ryzen. Hitman lags slightly, around 2-3 FPS, matching DX11 on Windows – impressive considering OpenGL’s limitations. Wine with Gallium Nine patches presents some problems, but I can’t clearly identify the cause yet (logs need more analysis). Sometimes Shadows on DX9 Games behave poorly, and crashes with memory access violations (Mafia 2) are common. Overclocking can be tricky, but it’s doable. Unfortunately, AMDGPUPro isn’t working because it requires Xorg1.18 and Arch Linux is nearing Xorg1.20, so I had to downgrade. Still, you don’t need AMDGPUPro – @Wild Penquin is right. However, it doesn’t support CUDA; it uses OpenCL, and on ArchLinux it’s available as a standalone package, which functions well. Fan Control also works fine – at least on my MSI RX 480 I can’t fully shut it down, though. At 600 RPM it’s not a big issue. The only missing feature is FreeSync – my monitor doesn’t officially support it, but under Windows I can enable it and it works. Linux doesn’t allow this setting via the GUI, so you must use the console. Overall, it runs beautifully. Honestly, I haven’t been using an NVidia card for years, and I’ll never again. AMD is making great strides for Linux right now – the green team has clearly lost in this game. After enduring a rough experience with NVidia last time, I’d say “Gameover” for them. I’ve been a Linux user for about eight years, and while AMD cards sometimes required some manual adjustments (especially back in the 1950s), most were functional. NVidia, on the other hand, often caused compatibility issues, making it hard to track down problems.
@David89, thanks for the details! Have you experimented with hardware video playback (va-api, vdpau)? Across various frame rates (24, 25, 50, 60) and without de-interlacing? Are there any issues with tearing during playback?
Usually I rely on VLC with CPU de-interlacing, which works fine. HVEC decoding isn't supported, but I'm willing to give it a shot. The video in the attached image has about 95 Mbit Bitrate—think streaming something high quality: 4k resolution, 30 FPS, H.264 format. I think it's also 10-bit color, though I'm not certain.
It won't, though breaking proprietary drivers isn't a problem anymore—at least for me. The main drawback is Arch lacks an LTS Branch. For gamers, AMDGPUPro isn't advantageous; Mesa performs better. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=ar...open&num=2 This is partly why I choose Arch Linux, and I generally dislike Ubuntu and its derivatives. Except with Vulkan, AMDGPUPro runs a bit faster, but RADV Vulkan is still in early stages. You can install standalone binaries on Arch, which gives you the best of both worlds right now. What would you like to confirm? http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles...LINUX.aspx
Remaining just the core component.
It's still only the kernel.