New GPU

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Daerandin, Oct 6, 2024.

  1. Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    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
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  2. Gizmo

    Gizmo Chief Site Administrator Staff Member

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    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".
  3. Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    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.
  4. booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    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.
  5. Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    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.
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  6. booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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

    Space Marine 2!!!???

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

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    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.
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  8. Gizmo

    Gizmo Chief Site Administrator Staff Member

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    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.
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  9. Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    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*
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  10. Gizmo

    Gizmo Chief Site Administrator Staff Member

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    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.
  11. booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    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?
  12. Daerandin

    Daerandin Well-Known Member

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    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.
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  13. Gizmo

    Gizmo Chief Site Administrator Staff Member

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    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.
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  14. booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    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!!!

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