Ubu/Mint selection for AMD r9270x processor
Ubu/Mint selection for AMD r9270x processor
Catalyst is outdated for the OS, AMDGPU-PRO feels too 'pro' for 270x. What's the top 3D gaming driver left for 16.4+ Ubuntu (Mint-18) on an AMD R9 270x? I gave up earlier this year. I upgraded to a cheaper GTX750ti and downgraded from the better model just because of AMD drivers. I didn't mention it in the Hardware-GraphicsCards section since it's more about Linux issues than card problems.
Using the newest Ubuntu release, AMD drivers are more than enough for gaming even though it can be tricky to access the catalyst or Radeon settings. I’m aware AMD supported the developers by providing drivers for Ubuntu, so you probably don’t need to modify them. By the way, I tried Linux Lite 3.0—based on Ubuntu—and played games there; I got similar results to when I was on Windows.
GCN 1.0 and 1.1 aren't currently supported by the default AMD GPU driver. Meanwhile, the older Catalyst driver isn't working with the latest kernels either. This creates a limitation for users with older AMD graphics cards. The "Radeon" driver remains available as the recommended option for that hardware. I tested it on Xubuntu (16.04) using an R9 270 without the 'x' variant, and it functioned properly at the time while AMD GPUs weren't supported.
The reasons behind my purchase of Nvidia are clear. They offer superior support, and my old 9800GTX+ remains functional on the newest Ubuntu versions. Both Ubuntu 12 and 14 are still receiving updates.
Just installed the latest 16.10 Ubuntu version. Accepted non-free licenses. Added Chromium and Heaven Benchmark. Ran Heaven multiple times and achieved scores between 1038-1047. Compared to other boot versions, the score is close but not drastically different (1070 vs 1070). Checked the Steam page after installation. Steam failed to launch initially; tried again and rebooted. Still, Steam doesn’t start properly. It seems drivers might be the issue. Current setup includes Ubuntu/Mint with AMD R9 270X and a 128GB SSD.
AMD made a smart choice by combining two drivers into one, releasing them as open source and adding any remaining proprietary features as an optional module. They began with the newest hardware, though older versions were removed (though 1.1/1.0 remains experimental). Such a major change often leaves some parts unfinished. nVidia maintains a clear policy for supporting legacy drivers, while Tegra chips followed an open source approach—suggesting custom chips might not be integrated into the standard nVidia driver set or could work only on ARM Linux.