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-   -   AMD vs nvidia in linux (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-hardware-18/amd-vs-nvidia-in-linux-4175594840/)

Grahf 12-05-2016 12:12 PM

AMD vs nvidia in linux
 
Im trying to decide between a laptop with an AMD APU (either 12-9700p or FX-9800p) or a core i5 with an nvidia geforce 940mx. How would each of these perform for video editing and gaming in Linux? I know I'd have to use bumblebee for the 940mx, which in my experience has sucked. How would the APUs be handled by linux?

Ztcoracat 12-05-2016 03:53 PM

You might want to post the links to these laptops so members can read through the specifications to give you a fair response.

AMD doesn't have the greatest support for Linux.:hattip:

Any AMD driver that I've ever installed was buggy and made a mess of my Linux distro's graphics when I was running Ubuntu.

jkirchner 12-05-2016 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grahf (Post 5638258)
Im trying to decide between a laptop with an AMD APU (either 12-9700p or FX-9800p) or a core i5 with an nvidia geforce 940mx. How would each of these perform for video editing and gaming in Linux? I know I'd have to use bumblebee for the 940mx, which in my experience has sucked. How would the APUs be handled by linux?

I have a Lenovo Y700, core i7 with a nVidia 960M running with Linux Mint. Mint and Ubuntu have nVidia Prime so it is easy to switch to the discrete nVidia card or back to the Intel, just make the selection and log out and back in. Other distributions have other options too.

I have always had better luck with nVidia while using Linux rather than AMD, just my personal experiences there.

Grahf 12-05-2016 04:29 PM

I've been trying a lot of different non ubuntu based distros to try to get bumblebee to work. Some work after some effort and some wont work at all. Maybe I should try Mint and nvidia Prime. Maybe it would work better for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkirchner (Post 5638373)
I have a Lenovo Y700, core i7 with a nVidia 960M running with Linux Mint. Mint and Ubuntu have nVidia Prime so it is easy to switch to the discrete nVidia card or back to the Intel, just make the selection and log out and back in. Other distributions have other options too.

I have always had better luck with nVidia while using Linux rather than AMD, just my personal experiences there.


jkirchner 12-05-2016 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grahf (Post 5638258)
Im trying to decide between a laptop with an AMD APU (either 12-9700p or FX-9800p) or a core i5 with an nvidia geforce 940mx. How would each of these perform for video editing and gaming in Linux? I know I'd have to use bumblebee for the 940mx, which in my experience has sucked. How would the APUs be handled by linux?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grahf (Post 5638377)
I've been trying a lot of different non ubuntu based distros to try to get bumblebee to work. Some work after some effort and some wont work at all. Maybe I should try Mint and nvidia Prime. Maybe it would work better for me.

Ubuntu uses the prime as well. After you install and do the initial updates go to driver manager and install the nvidia drivers, reboot and you should have the selection options in the nVidia xserver settings app. I just prefer mint cinnamon edition/version. Again, after install update and do the driver manager thing. It actually places the nvidia settings app on the task bar for easy checking. I have found, for me, mint has less issues with gaming; I have had a few hiccups with Ubuntu. I use Mint 18, the latest long term release version.

Note, the PC won't auto-manage the cards, it is either always Intel or if you change it always nVidia. I run mine with nVidia when plugged in, Intel if on battery and not gaming for power conservation

Here is more on prime. It is actually some scripts Canonical has. Mint uses it as well.

Grahf 12-05-2016 04:42 PM

I wont be using Ubuntu. It would either be Mint or KDE Neon if im going ubuntu based.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkirchner (Post 5638382)
Ubuntu uses the prime as well. After you install and do the initial updates go to driver manager and install the nvidia drivers, reboot and you should have the selection options in the nVidia xserver settings app. I just prefer mint cinnamon edition/version. Again, after install update and do the driver manager thing. It actually places the nvidia settings app on the task bar for easy checking. I have found, for me, mint has less issues with gaming; I have had a few hiccups with Ubuntu. I use Mint 18, the latest long term release version.

Note, the PC won't auto-manage the cards, it is either always Intel or if you change it always nVidia. I run mine with nVidia when plugged in, Intel if on battery and not gaming for power conservation

Here is more on prime. It is actually some scripts Canonical has. Mint uses it as well.


jkirchner 12-05-2016 04:47 PM

I love Mint, I wiped windows completely, recovery partition too and have not looked back.

Ztcoracat 12-05-2016 05:17 PM

Quote:

I have always had better luck with nVidia while using Linux rather than AMD, just my personal experiences there.
I don't have any machines with nVidia hardware but I have had trouble getting AMD merchandise playing nice with Linux.

jkirchner 12-05-2016 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ztcoracat (Post 5638393)
I don't have any machines with nVidia hardware but I have had trouble getting AMD merchandise playing nice with Linux.

Me too, I stick with nVidia, my other laptop uses Intel which works well also

Timothy Miller 12-05-2016 07:40 PM

I have 1 machine with Nvidia, which I've never had any issues with as long as I avoided the binary drivers and stuck to open source drivers. I've got one laptop that has AMD and it also has never had any issues, but is new enough that it uses amdgpu, not radeon. However, yes, I vastly prefer Intel since their open source drivers just work...

Grahf 12-05-2016 08:02 PM

Just installed Maui Linux. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get nvidia prime working?

Ztcoracat 12-05-2016 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timothy Miller (Post 5638436)
I have 1 machine with Nvidia, which I've never had any issues with as long as I avoided the binary drivers and stuck to open source drivers. I've got one laptop that has AMD and it also has never had any issues, but is new enough that it uses amdgpu, not radeon. However, yes, I vastly prefer Intel since their open source drivers just work...

Agreed that Intel src drivers just work.

Linux rocks on my Sony Vaio with the Intel GPU.

Grahf 12-05-2016 08:44 PM

NM got nvidia prime working.

Ztcoracat 12-05-2016 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grahf (Post 5638441)
Just installed Maui Linux. Can anyone point me in the right direction to get nvidia prime working?

Is nvidia-prime installed on Maui Linux?

https://devtalk.nvidia.com/default/t...nchronization/

Here's the download to nvidia-prime_0.8.4.tar.gz if it's not installed. (check Synaptic first)
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-prime/0.8.4

Ztcoracat 12-05-2016 08:53 PM

You can use Nvidia and Bumblebee at the same time.
http://nlug.ml1.co.uk/2016/02/an-alm...bumblebee/5065


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