New GPU

[Daerandin]

I've had the same gpu for 4 years now, and it's about time to get a new one. It's starting to show its age a bit with newer games, and I have to admit I miss being able to put all settings to maximum.

My current gpu is the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, I got a model from MSI. It's been okay, a bit unstable at times but that is apparently common with the 5700 model from AMD. I have a coworker with the same gpu, and he experienced frequent reboots on windows with this model. I had hard crashes randomly now and then, sometime with weeks or even months with no issues, and then suddenly crashes again for a while. But apart from the random stability issues, it's been a pretty good gpu that have handled demanding games well on Linux.

So for my next gpu I went ahead and ordered the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, this time from Sapphire. This one has very good reviews. Sapphire's cooling solution is very well made based on the reviews I have seen, so it looks promising.

https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/nitro-radeon-rx-7900-xt-vaporx-20g-gddr6

 

[Gizmo]

The RX 7900 XT has been getting generally good reviews, from what I've seen. I've got some questions regarding the performance of the 8000-series, especially given AMD's current stance of "we have given up on the high-end for now, we are going to concentrate on growing market share in the mid-range".

 

[Daerandin]

Yes I have seen the same, so I am also curious what that means for their future products. Although, with nvidia moving towards an open source driver as well then maybe we will eventually get nvidia drivers in the kernel just as with amd.

Although from what I understand, the new open source nvidia driver is very minimal, with most stuff being in the closed source firmware.

 

[booman]

What resolution are you running for games with that card?

I've been thinking about upgrading to a 2K or 4K monitor and try running games at those resolutions. Of course I'll have to create a new PC build... but its about time.

 

[Daerandin]

I've been playing on 2560 x 1440 resolution for the past 4 years. My current gpu has handled it well up until some newer games. I started noticing issues with Talos Principle 2 (amazing puzzle game), and Space Marine 2.

I'll be running on the same resolution with the new gpu.

 

[booman]

Nice! That is what I'm thinking as well.

Space Marine 2!!!???

I didn't realize there was a second one! Looking now!

 

[Daerandin]

Been using the new GPU for a week now, and it's really nice upgrade. Since both my old and new gpu are both AMD, I didn't need to do any changes or install new stuff.

Been testing a few newer games and it's a huge difference. I especially noticed the difference in temperature. My old gpu would often reach temperatures of around 80°C, while the new gpu is rarely above 50°C, even when running Space Marine 2 with all settings as high as possible and native 2560x1440 resolution.

 

[Gizmo]

How is the stability of the Radeon drivers on Linux?

I ask because I've been thinking about upgrading my GTX 1650 to something better. I've got two 4K monitors and it kinda sux swampwater when I'm doing anything intensive.

 

[Daerandin]

My experience with the 5700 was mostly good, except for the random crashes I had. But as I mentioned, they were common for the 5700 cards no matter what OS you were on, and only some specific games would trigger these crashes.

So far the 7900 has not shown any problems. The driver for any newer gpu's from AMD (not older than 10 years or so) is called amdgpu, and is in the Linux kernel. So you don't need to install anything in particular except for the firmware. I don't want to say too much about stability before having had a few more weeks of using this gpu. I'm not expecting any issues, but after my experience with the 5700 I want a bit more time before I feel confident about the stability.

I suppose the main difference from Nvidia is the lack of an equivalent to the Nvidia Settings. There are some unofficial graphical tools, or you could modify files directly in /sys/class/drm/card*

 

[Gizmo]

Once I have my setup the way I like it, I don't mess with it, so not having something like nVidia Settings is not a big deal to me.

My main issue is stability. This is also my work machine, so I NEED for it to work.

 

[booman]

Wow Gizmo... Two 4K monitors???
I haven't even upgraded to one!

I had the exact same question because for years I read that Radeon drivers were lacking but then I heard from Daerandin that the drivers are great. I've always stuck with Nvidia cause I've almost always had great experiences. Except for my media computer and the settings that wouldn't save. But other than that, my computers have always rocked when gaming!

At the same time, it sounds like Nvidia still won't release their code to the open community which means the drivers will never be in the kernel like Radeon drivers. Sucks but not the end of the world. Anyone from the Windows world is used to installing drivers and Mint does a great job providing the proper Nvidia drivers with the Driver Manager. So I'm cool!

But 4K... I'm ready... gonna upgrade soon and start creating screenshots in 4K... I can't wait.
What monitor do you recommend?

 

[Daerandin]

Don't confuse the old radeon driver with the new amdgpu driver. The radeon driver always sucked, but the new amdgpu driver works great. I think AMD got a bad reputation on Linux because of the old driver, but things are entirely different now.

As long as the architecture is either GNC3 or newer, or RNDNA and newer, then it will use the amdgpu driver. Everything made in 2018 or later should be on those architectures.

After next week I will have two weeks off from work, and I'm not going anywhere so I'll spend a lot of time gaming and pushing my gpu fully. I'll post here again after those weeks to let you all know if there have been any issues or not.

 

[Gizmo]

Wow Gizmo... Two 4K monitors???
I haven't even upgraded to one!

Like I said, this is my work computer. LOL

Having two monitors is really useful for me, because it allows me to have a cell node map on one display and other information on another display while I'm troubleshooting e.g. a network outage.

 

[booman]

Yes Daerandin! please let us know some performance stories you have when gaming. Shoot, make a video or two!
I love watching games in 4K on my TV!!!

 

[Daerandin]

I think I have been using my new gpu enough to comment on stability. In particular I have been playing Talos Principle 2 with all graphical settings on ultra, running on 2560x1440 resolution. I have also played Space Marine 2, also all settings on ultra with same resolution. I have had no issues at all, no crashes or freezes or anything. So the problems I had with my older AMD gpu was probably not a general driver issues, but more an issue with that specific gpu.

The amdgpu driver on Linux seems rock solid.

However, there was one minor issue I noticed, but nothing to do with stability. When I connected both my computer monitor (2560x1440@144Hz) and the TV (3840x21600@60Hz) then the computer monitor would black out for a second or so whenever focus switched to the monitor. Apparently, this is a bit of a known issue with this model of gpu and was solved by manually setting dpm to 'high' instead of 'auto'. It's apparently an issue when you use two outputs, one with a high refresh rate, and one with lower refresh rate.

This can be changed by writing 'high' to the file at: /sys/class/drm/card#/device/power_dpm_force_performance_level

I have a coworker with the exact same gpu, but running Windows. Whenever he connects two monitors, one with high refresh rate and the other with lower, he saw a drastic increase in power usage, same increase I get when changing dpm to 'high'. So most likely this is just a general thing with this gpu when two monitors are connected, independent of OS.

I didn't record any videos, but maybe I can do a little Talos Principle 2 video during this week, that game looks amazing.

 

[booman]

Yeah, please post screenshots of both games! I would love to see them!
Specially in 2K or 4K

Yup, I'm not surprised there is increased power usage for two screens, specially with a TV.

I experienced an issue at work once when the CEO was using a super wide external monitor connected to his laptop. Windows would drag dramatically because the GPU processing shot up to 100% usage. As soon as I disconnected the external monitor it should drop. Of course this is on a laptop with integrated GPU, but the same concept... more screens, high resolution, more power.

 

[Daerandin]

I forgot about posting screenshots here. I'll start with some Talos Principle 2! I'll get some of Space Marine 2 this weekend.

 

[booman]

Wow! the grass and flower petals in that one screenshot!
Also love the stone steps with all the little holes and worn surfaces.
What a cool looking game!