Glad I’m not the only one with this question. Feels like it’s difficult to find up-to-date information on the performance of these Arc cards on Linux; I’d like to support Intel’s move into this space but it’s hard without knowing how drastically it’s going to affect my gaming performance. 😅
I’m glad to hear the situation seems to be rapidly improving. I may pick up an A770 yet.
I’ll assume that was meant to be WiFi. It’s indeed one of the few components that’s easy to swap (a new one is about 30€), as long as it’s accessible (it usually is).
I feel a bit lazy at the moment, but Brodie does IMO an excellent job at explaining what a package manager is within the context of Linux. I’d recommend you to watch that instead over here; it’s already set to play at the correct time*.
Not sure if I’m using the same package or just a similar one. I’ve been annoyed at all the snaps, flatpacks, appimages, etc. for a while now. I just want to update from the repo and not end up with a bunch of slow, broken, poorly integrated alternatives on my computer. Being able to properly manage app images with a tool like this made the alternate distribution formats so much more tolerable. Now when I install something I pray that I’ll find an app image if it’s not in the repos!
I mostly used apt-get but when I installed Ubuntu as a desktop OS, I used their store until I understood that Snaps were not always the officially packaged versions. The same thing with Flatpaks. I wanted to install Sublime Text so I looked to Flathub and found a package by Sublime HQ Pty Ltd. Imagine my surprise when went to Sublimes own website to saw that they offer it via apt-get (on Ubuntu/Debian), they even say on their forum that they do not provide via Flatpak or Snap.
Someone just uploaded a package using a name that looks official, while not actually being the owner of the product.
Gotcha! I browsed their site a bit. I’d have to check ebay because I cannot afford the prices on their new stuff lol. I have a question that maybe you can answer. alot of folks recommend older laptops or whatever for linux. Does age of the computer matter much? I know you can always make upgrades to the internals and such, but say I got an old thinkpad for example maybe from 2010… and it’s certified linux compatible and all that… would i be able to run the latest versions of distros or would i be limited to older kernels due to the system being old? or is all of that determined by the hardware specs?
You don’t need certified Linux hardware to use Linux, and hardware is supported for a really long time once it’s there.
So you don’t have to worry about using latest distros, you should always welcome every update, they fix and add new things (unless it’s Ubuntu, screw them). And if you have new unsupported hardware, it will usually be supported in the next kernel release.
Meaning if you go with usual x86 CPU, Linux won’t have issues with almost anything that comes with it.
So, gnome is an alternative desktop environment and it’s great that they exist. If they inspired Apple’s UI or the other way around, doesn’t matter but they are the Apple UI of Linux. Mac users switching to Linux can have a somewhat familiar experience.
That said, their “we know better than you what you want, luser” attitude makes it hard for me not to grin when someone rants about their stuff. It shouldn’t, because they are probably mostly unpaid contributors and their work should be valued, but once in a while…
Dell is well known for their proprietary fuckery, both in hardware and software. Pretty much anything other than a Dell or an Ultrabook like the Surface or MacBooks (obviously) should give you very little issue. Look for something that uses Intel NICs and you should be fine, Realtek NICs are poorly supported in Linux.
One of my coworkers had a Dimension or whatever the “base level” laptops are and absolutely hates it. He said it ran like shit but couldn’t get another one.
I’ve had two Dell laptops that ran Ubuntu perfectly. Dell sells laptops with Ubuntu pre-installed and also certifies models for Linux. Their Linux support is top notch in my experience.
Yeah, obviously the ones they sell with Linux pre-installed support Linux perfectly, but that’s like 5 out of their 20 laptops. It would be shitty if they didn’t. People tend to buy a model with Windows preloaded and then install Linux on it though. Even though I used to work for Disney+ as a Linux System Engineer, which runs entirely on Linux, I had to fight with the helldesk to get a laptop that runs Linux, they would only support Windows and MacBooks. I told them straight up that I didn’t need their support and I was able to figure out things on my own. It took me about 5 months to get the Lenovo Carbon X1, granted this was during the end of the first year of COVID.
Seconding this, Dell has excellent support for Linux on their enterprise laptops (Latitude and Precision). XPS are another breed, and tend to be marketed as a ultrabook or a MacBook competition.
I wiped Windows and have been running Linux without issues on a Dell XPS 13 9360 for some time, so it can be done at least with some of their models. For what it’s worth I’m using OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.
Is that a desktop or laptop? The desktops are generally better supported and they just make the case and motherboard proprietary. My dad had an XPS Gen3 desktop back in 2005. When it finally died I couldn’t reuse the case since it was the BTX form factor and the front panel connector was proprietary 😑
It’s a 13" laptop from late 2017, with an 8th gen Intel i7 in it. With Tumbleweed it feels faster than my other XPS 13, which has an 11th gen i7 but runs Windows. I actually thought the 2017 one was finished because under Windows the fans ran all the time and it overheated so badly it would slow to a crawl. I repasted it twice with no improvement. But once I switched it to Linux the fans hardly come on, and they’re quiet when they do. Linux has been a huge improvement on that machine.
With Windows it always feels like I get the dregs of the CPU cycles after all the corporate interests with software on the computer have taken their share.
Every Dell laptop I’ve ever owned has had a key repeat issue. Mind you, this was an issue on Windows too. Otherwise, I bought a Dell Latitude last year and it has worked great.
Lenovo/Thinkpad will certify certain models for use with Linux, other brands sell Linux laptops. Those are obviously good indicators that those models should be safe to choose. More generally, the more popular a model is, and the longer it’s been on the market the more likely they are to be compatible, just because they are in people’s hands and people tinker with them and add stuff to the Linux Kernel. So stay away from the latest model that is uncertified, and don’t choose the flashy, overpriced model that will see poor sales.
I second this. I got a Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon X1 for work after the Dell I had originally got straight up refused to sleep. I would put it to sleep manually, close the screen and when fully closed the screen would turn back on. Also, it refused to charge properly so I just left it plugged in 24/7. One day it became unplugged and then refused to turn on at all.
I’ve been running Fedora for about 2 years on it and the only issue I’ve had that I can’t fix is the fingerprint reader doesn’t work in SDDM/KDE for unlocking stuff. Fprintd recognizes it and I can enroll fingerprints, it just doesn’t work with KDE for some reason.
The fingerprint reader on mine doesn’t work either. I’ve read up on solutions for that regards Debian but I haven’t tried any yet. I have a yubikey and that works fine as an extra layer of login security.
I wanted the fingerprint reader to work just because it’s easier than typing a password, using something like a YubiKey is the complete opposite unless you keep it plugged into the device 24/7, and then it really no longer serves its original purpose.
Yeah, unfortunately it looks like the reader on the X1 is a special case. Thankfully, this isn’t an issue with my Z13 - the reader itself worked out-of-the-box, just had to enroll my fingerprint from the Settings menu and then added fprintd to my pam.d rules.
Wonderful to know! thanks alot. I have heard alot of good about linux and thinkpads but only up to a certain generation I think? What about HP? my computer repair guy swears by HP but I honestly know nothing about HP and never hear people talk about HP either.
HP consumer products are literal garbage. The only good thing that comes out of HP is their commercial server equipment.
Lenovo won’t let you down for Linux. I’ve run Linux on thinkpads for years, multiple generations. I used to work at IBM, so I had em for work. Rock solid machines, I still run with them today (just the newer generations).
What about HP business grade stuff? thats what ive heard good about. Also any idea on other IBM equipment than their old thinkpads? I have no clue about nowaday IBM but am curious.
I have a lenovo thinkbook (cheapy thinkpad) for work with AMD chip and gpu. It wasn’t one of their models certified for linux but everything runs flawlessly for a lean debian build for me. I’ve had linux on several laptops and this is my second machine with AMD chips, and I’ll say that what you hear is true; There are way more, and better, drivers available for AMD if you go with linux.
Well, Flatseal is using flatpak’s standard way of managing permissions. Everything it does you can also do from the command line with flatpak. It’s just a frontend.
I think KDE wants to add these options to it’s settings as well. That will be great, when it’s better integrated into the whole system.
I’d like to see permission pop ups so I know it wanted permission to do something and didn’t have them, having to ask me. Sometimes it is explained that certain stuff the app does are blocked by the sandbox by default for security, but you can enable it, which is alright. Sometimes you’ll just have to find that out for yourself.
I wish it would be possible now but it probably won’t happen until windows and mac will have similar features. The problem is that processes cannot just read a file, because in the container it doesn’t exist. It’s maybe due to permission. Maybe not. You cannot tell. Android apps are written in a way that they request access, while pc apps are just reading the files directly without requesting permission.
So the app has to be written for flatpak. However, afaik, this is the maintainers goal too. Btw, the file open dialog is a currently working example of the dynamic permission handling. It’s just that the app should use these features which is not guaranteed.
Same. In addition to the prompt-based permissions that @Kusimulkku brings up, I’d like to see more granular control of permissions. For example, a flatpak app’s access to webcams, controllers, etc. are all controlled through just one permission: –device=all (aka “Device Access” in KDE’s Flatpak Permission Settings).
I’ve been running an A770 Limited Edition on Arch for a year now and I am happy with it now. It was a rough start, with issues ranging from glitches and crashes to HDMI and DisplayPort audio/VRR issues, but these days it is pretty solid. VRR works fine on my DisplayPort 144Hz 4K monitor. Most games perform pretty well but temper your expectations, the A770 is a midrange card.
I can play Overwatch 2 at 4K 144Hz low settings just fine and I don’t see many frame dips. It’s not noticeable if it does dip because VRR. CS2 performance isn’t amazing, but at low settings 4K I get between 100 and 160 frames depending on complexity. I have FSR turned on. On Cyberpunk I have FSR turned on and it seems to dip down to 20fps when out in the desert and the city is in view, but usually 40 to 60.
Thanks for this. I’m on 1440p so hopefully the performance will be a bit better. The A770 seems like it has great price to performance though, making it one of the top spots on my list.
I wasn’t able to enable VRR on my monitor (with freesync). I’m using KDE Wayland on Debian Testing, just wondering if you knew a workaround or something?
What kernel are you using? Debian tends to lag behind with kernel updates which makes it a bad choice when running new hardware. I switched from Debian to Arch when I got my A770 because at the time Debian’s latest kernel even in sid didn’t support Arc at all while it worked fine in Arch.
Just to make sure, you’re using DisplayPort right? I don’t think the Arc cards support VRR over HDMI. The HDMI port on the Arc is actually a built in DisplayPort to HDMI converter, and I don’t think any converter chips support VRR modes.
Okay so for whatever reason, turning Freesync on and off a bunch of times from the OSD and then replugging works until the next reboot, so I’ve dumped the working EDID and I’m trying to figure out how to load it at boot (but I’m not having much luck).
For reference, the monitor is a Samsung LC24RG50.
Edit: Got the EDID loaded, KDE says it’s supported, but VRRTest doesn’t really seem to do anything.
I’ve been hearing this debate for nearly 32 years. It’s a useless argument.
The correct name for the # symbol is “octothorpe,” but how many people do you know who call it that? You’ll either hear it called the Pound sign (by us older folk) or the more modern Hash mark.
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