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    #1

    New install going in on Monday - never had an AMD linux machine...thoughts?

    Hi everyone!!

    New guy here obviously...my main desktop just bit it, so i ordered new components today, arrive monday.

    Some background - i grew up using MS products, have dabbled in the ubuntu enviroment from time to time. My desktop that just died was running Ubuntu 16.04. Last time i tried Kubuntu was like 2011, but i liked KDE back then more than Unity now so i want to give Kubuntu 16.10 a shot when i rebuild my system.

    The new system will be a huge change for me. Ive pretty much always had Intel CPUs and nVidia graphics with a descrete graphics card. I got used to what i had to do to the nVidia drivers and whatnot to keep them running on 16.04. So..What i ordered is the AMD 7870K APU on an MSI A88-based mobo.

    Ive never run an AMD or one of these combined CPU/GPU things in Linux. Ive read about driver issues with AMD and Linux, so now I'm slightly worried.

    So - question. What do i have to worry about, what are the common hangups with this type system, any recommendations to make my Kubuntu experience a better one?

    Also, system uses: typical internet, email, netflix, some light CAD/CAM work, and what I'd call "non-serious gaming" (Kerbal space program and the like).

    I may someday put an R7 250 graohics card in to compliment the APU...any worries there?

    Thanks in advance for any advice people can provide!

    Dustin
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    #2
    The EOL for Kubuntu 16.10 is July 2017, eight months from now. 14.04 and 16.04 have an EOL in April of 2019.
    So, unless you like frequently installing Linux, or using an unsupported release, my recommendation is to use one of the .04 releases. (Or, you could try KDE Neon! )

    The X.Org X server -- AMD/ATI Radeon display driver is in the repository, and the AMD Catalyst Driver is offered for Ubuntu (Kubuntu) at: http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-arti...D10_7870K.aspx
    The 64b version is the fourth one down on the R7 list.

    Years ago I used to run AMD & Radeon powered boxes and never had problems, but ymmv.
    "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
    – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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      #3
      Being a noob, I suppose using an LTS version makes sense. Thanks for the thoughts...I'd heard a lot of bad things about AMD Linux drivers in the past, hoping that this goes better.
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        #4
        In the past most peripheral makers always supplied Microsoft with their hardware data to make sure Windows worked "well" with them, Microsoft took a dim view of those who supplied that data to Linux developers so Tux, for the most part, always had to work in green rooms to avoid copyright and patent issues in order to develop Linux drivers. But things are changing, and several makers release drivers for Linux, primarily Ubuntu, Fedora and SUSE. For example, this Acer v3-771G has an integrated NVidia 650M GPU and was made in 2012. Back then I had to use Bumblebee and run selected graphical programs using optimus as a wrapper. It didn't work very well. Today, Ubuntu has a ppa (graphics-drivers/ppa) that supplies NVidia drivers and config files.. I installed nvidia-prime and nvidia-370.28. Nvidia, my secondary GPU, which I cannot make the primary in the BIOS, now runs as if it were the primary GPU and is easily configurable with the Nvidia configuration center. To run Minecraft at a reasonable speed I had to load Optifine, turn down (or off) particle count, turn off fancy graphics, reduce the visible range to 100 blocks, and more, just to get 25-50 fps. Now, I run Minecraft without Optifine, with full graphics, maximum range and get 150-200 fps.

        I have an ag engineer friend who was a client before I retired. I wrote a tractor control program for a new kind of tractor he invented and built. The software was IQAN from Parker-Hannifin, made only for Windows. It is a highly graphical GUI RAD tool. I used to run it in WinXP running as a guest OS in VirtualBox. However, when Microsoft started forcing WinX users to "upgrade" to Win10 my purchased copy of XP would no longer validate. So, I installed WINE and ran the software using it. Worked just fine.

        As I've written many times before, there is a "window of hardware compatibility" for Linux, generally about 3 generations wide, each generation being about three years. The latest hardware, unless the vendor supplies Linux drivers or uses a standardized USB connectivity, takes a few months before Linux drivers appear. Because most Linux ISO's are in the range of 800MB to 1.5GB room for the new drivers is made by removing drivers for the oldest and/or least used hardware. When that happens the older hardware is limited to running Puppy or other small Linux distros made for underpowered or older equipment.
        Last edited by GreyGeek; Nov 05, 2016, 11:21 AM.
        "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
        – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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          #5
          There was a sticky I read about "why doesn't Linux work on my computer". That combined with what you said makes good sense. So, the fact that the APU and mono chipset I'm using is a year and a half to two years old should mean I'm sitting in a good spot then? I don't need to have cutting edge anything, which seems to benefit me here...

          Thanks for the replies!
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            #6
            Should be fine! (If you don't want your box I'll take it! )
            "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
            – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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              #7
              I have an AMD proc and MSI mobo. Also I seem to be the semi-rare bird that also runs AMD graphics. No issues here. Runs great and I actually have 3 boxes currently; One older Dell duel core Intel and 2 AMD rigs. I don't expect you'll have any problems. The correct RadeonSI open-source driver will work automatically (it's already in the Linux kernel). If you are hard-core gamer there are steps to take to insure your set-up is right, but since you got an APU, I'm going to assume you're doing light gaming, if any.
              ​"Keep it between the ditches"
              K*Digest Blog
              K*Digest on Twitter
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                #8
                Hi dequire - Sounds good, thanks for the thoughts. And yeah, not a hard core gamer.

                Building the computer over lunch break today, should be running tonight.
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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Dlrocket89 View Post
                  Hi dequire - Sounds good, thanks for the thoughts. And yeah, not a hard core gamer.

                  Building the computer over lunch break today, should be running tonight.
                  Good luck and let us know how it went!
                  ​"Keep it between the ditches"
                  K*Digest Blog
                  K*Digest on Twitter
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                    #10
                    Originally posted by dequire View Post
                    Good luck and let us know how it went!
                    Got home, put the components together. Brief panic attack until I figured out that I forgot to plug in the 8-pin power connector on the mobo, then all was well. Got Kubuntu rolling on install, went to bowling league, came back to find a spiffy new computer that's working great! Haven't tried anything stressful on it yet, but the fact that it's working is pretty awesome. I'll let everyone know if any difficulties pop up.

                    Also, took a look at KDE Neon, that seems to be like pretty much what I always wanted the Ubuntu universe to be, so I'll probably give that a whirl sometime.

                    Thanks again everyone!
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                      #11
                      Brief panic attack until I figured out that I forgot to plug in the 8-pin power connector on the mobo
                      You do have to hate when you do that!!
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                        #12
                        Brief update, wiped the drive and installed KDE Neon. Have had about 5 seconds to dig into it, but there was one slight issue I was seeing with Kubuntu that isn't happening with Neon, so that's neat. Not sure if that's because I told the installer to go ahead and install proprietary drivers with Neon and I didn't with Kubuntu, whatever. Appears to be working well.

                        I’ll know more tomorrow evening and Thursday, as I’mspending tonight getting drunk and watching movies and pretending the electionisn’t happening. If I’m on the computerI know I’ll slip up and open up a news website of some or another and then in afit of completely rational anger I’ll end up putting my fist through mymonitor, and that’s money I don’t need to spend right now.

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                          #13
                          Glad to see you're new gear is representing KDE Neon proper!
                          ​"Keep it between the ditches"
                          K*Digest Blog
                          K*Digest on Twitter
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                            #14
                            contrary to what the talking heads of linux reviewers say....

                            intel/amd TODAY................NOT A PROBLEM....

                            I should start a blog and make a lot of money from clickthroughs.

                            amd / intel //A SPECIFIC card......maybe a problem...

                            otherwise....not a problem...

                            woodsmoke
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                              #15
                              Originally posted by woodsmoke View Post
                              ...
                              I should start a blog and make a lot of money from clickthroughs.

                              amd / intel //A SPECIFIC card......maybe a problem...

                              otherwise....not a problem...

                              woodsmoke
                              A guaranteed money maker, Woody, from both sides of the issue!
                              "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”
                              – John F. Kennedy, February 26, 1962.
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