Linux RPG list

[GentlemanCthulhu]

With regards to GPU pass-through: It's basically a virtual machine with GPU acceleration. No need for a restart or anything. But you will need TWO graphics cards, one dedicated to the VM while it's on. It's a good solution if you don't have two systems. It's not better than remoting, but better than dual-booting if you have the option imo. A real galaxy brain way to do it is to set up a NAS with a GPU-passed VM on it and let it server a lot of different functions at the same time.

 

[OSK]

With regards to GPU pass-through: It's basically a virtual machine with GPU acceleration. No need for a restart or anything. But you will need TWO graphics cards, one dedicated to the VM while it's on. It's a good solution if you don't have two systems. It's not better than remoting, but better than dual-booting if you have the option imo. A real galaxy brain way to do it is to set up a NAS with a GPU-passed VM on it and let it server a lot of different functions at the same time.

I actually only recently learned myself that you can do it with a single GPU, but the GPU can only be used for a single OS at a time: https://github.com/joeknock90/Single-GPU-Passthrough

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

With regards to GPU pass-through: It's basically a virtual machine with GPU acceleration. No need for a restart or anything. But you will need TWO graphics cards, one dedicated to the VM while it's on. It's a good solution if you don't have two systems. It's not better than remoting, but better than dual-booting if you have the option imo. A real galaxy brain way to do it is to set up a NAS with a GPU-passed VM on it and let it server a lot of different functions at the same time.

I actually only recently learned myself that you can do it with a single GPU, but the GPU can only be used for a single OS at a time: https://github.com/joeknock90/Single-GPU-Passthrough

I see. Well looking at the disadvantages list there, I wouldn't say it's any better than dual booting. At least not on a modern machine that boots in 30 seconds or so.

 

[Twiglard]

While I agree with your incredibly generous spin, the original comment comes off as classic elitist bullshit that drives away new people from Linux.

It's called gatekeeping. And it's a good thing, for both the community and the user himself.

 

[Bad Sector]

You can have single GPU passthrough and revert back without changes, though AFAIK with Nvidia GPUs things are tricky. Most posts i've seen from people who managed to get it working are using AMD GPUs.

 

[OSK]

While I agree with your incredibly generous spin, the original comment comes off as classic elitist bullshit that drives away new people from Linux.

It's called gatekeeping. And it's a good thing, for both the community and the user himself.

Gatekeeping, eh? Let's find a definition.

When someone uses a hobby or interest as a means of elevating themselves above others to give oneself a sense of being superior transforming their passion or knowledge about a particular subject into an ugly tool of self-inflation.

Does that sound about right?

Now if you're being an asshole and telling someone completely new to Linux to install Gentoo, then yeah you're hurting everyone involved. But there's no reason to shit on someone for wanting to get started with Mint.

 

[Grauken]

While I agree with your incredibly generous spin, the original comment comes off as classic elitist bullshit that drives away new people from Linux.

It's called gatekeeping. And it's a good thing, for both the community and the user himself.

Lol, keep gatekeeping Linux into insignificance, it's working great so far

 

[Catacombs]

It's called gatekeeping. And it's a good thing, for both the community and the user himself.

How is gatekeeping Linux, of all things, a good thing?

 

[Absinthe]

I did have Ubuntu installed on my previous PC but didn't give it much of a chance. Might re-install. Is Ubuntu the best Linux based system?

What are you after? If you're a technical user interested in learning how to do things the Linux way, I'd recommend Slackware or Gentoo. Bit of a learning curve but once you get the hang of it it's quite a comfortable experience. Slackware in particular tends to be more newbie-friendly while also being very hands-on in an old-school way. There's a Linux maxim that goes "When you know Ubuntu, you know Ubuntu. When you know Red Hat, you know Red Hat. But when you know Slackware, you know Linux." (because Slackware is very straightforward in walking you through how to actually handle Linux yourself instead of attempting to prepackage all your solutions for you). Gentoo works also but it's intended for people with Linux experience unlike Slackware which puts in more of an effort for noobs. Very oldschool distro though. If you want a distro that "just works" out of the box without needing to learn anything technical and with the caveat that much like Windows, on occasion it won't work and unlike Windows, the solutions you find on the internet might not be tailored for quite the same setup as you have, then Ubuntu or Linux Mint are the way to go.

My general advice is to start with Slackware and then move on to whatever distro floats your boat if you want a more tailored solution, although usually if you've got a handle on Slackware you can pretty much make it do whatever you want the way you want it anyway.

 

[Bad Sector]

One caveat with Slackware that might trip people off is that while it does have packages, they do not track dependency information so if you install the package for a program A that depends on libraries L1 and L2 and perhaps L2 depends on library LB, then you need to also install the packages for these libraries - otherwise the program likely wont even start (if it tells you that it needs the library or outright crashes or does nothing really depends on the program). For this reason it is recommended (even by the installer) that unless you absolutely know what you are down, to install everything even if you do not think you need it. Though Slackware being Slackware it allows you to skip anything, even stuff from the core package set.

Another caveat is that the last version is already four years old and if you have too recent hardware it may not even boot (i had that issue with one of my computers). In that case you may want to use alienBOB's "current" ISOs which use the latest kernels.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Serious question for the Linux elitists on this site. What do you think about purchasing a System76 laptop with PopOS? I've tried PopOS on another laptop of mine and found it to be a little buggy when it's time for me to do a system update, but I work through it. System76 computers seem a bit on the expensive side, but supposedly the company has a good reputation on its hardware.

 

[OSK]

Serious question for the Linux elitists on this site. What do you think about purchasing a System76 laptop with PopOS? I've tried PopOS on another laptop of mine and found it to be a little buggy when it's time for me to do a system update, but I work through it. System76 computers seem a bit on the expensive side, but supposedly the company has a good reputation on its hardware.

What do you mean by buggy when you need to do a system update?

The benefit of buying a laptop from a place that provides Linux pre-installed is that you're guaranteed all the hardware works with Linux. If you buy a Windows laptop some of the hardware like fingerprint scanners might not work, and you'll probably have to go into the BIOS and update things. So, ultimately, it saves you some research and configuration. If you buy a machine from a major OEM like Dell or Lenovo, they'll frequently knock off some money for not having a Windows license. Earlier this year I bought a Dell XPS 9300, and they knocked of $100 for the "Developer's Edition" which came pre-installed with Ubuntu.

I don't have any firsthand experience with System76; I've heard the same things you have. The hardware is definitely a bit pricier. You're probably already aware, but System76 is the company behind Pop!_OS, so you could view it as supporting them if you like the OS.

 

[Bad Sector]

TBH unless the prices are actually better, personally i wouldn't bother with something like System76. Even though they have their own distribution, 99.9999% of the software -and the bugs in it- is made by others. It isn't like Apple where the same company makes everything, from the OS down to the CPU (and even Apple cannot keep their systems as stable as they used to even a decade ago). Also note that companies like System76 do not make the hardware themselves, their laptops are rebranded machines made by Clevo. The specs are of course for hardware that is supported by Linux.

Personally i'd just try to find whatever laptop was available and see if the hardware is supported. There are two main things you may want to focus on: wifi and GPU. The GPU is relatively easy: for single GPU, all are fine. For dual GPU, stick with AMD (Nvidia should work nowadays but AFAIK it still has some minor issues). Note that unlike Windows, on Linux you must explicitly launch the game for the second GPU. For Wifi things are bit harder because wifi chip manufacturers are bastards. You'll need to research that (note that some wifi chips may work but end up being slow). Or make gamble and if you lose, buy a tiny wifi dongle :-P.

Of course you can always just throw money at System76 or whatever to avoid the above, but all you'll be paying for is a "filter" for hardware to look for that you could do yourself - you wont be paying for any sort of stability or whatever.

 

[OSK]

Also note that companies like System76 do not make the hardware themselves, their laptops are rebranded machines made by Clevo. The specs are of course for hardware that is supported by Linux.

They actually opened a manufacturing plant in the US to make their machines.

As it turns out, System76 is making the transition from a Linux-based computer seller, into a complete Linux-based computer manufacturer. The Twitter photos are from their new manufacturing facility. This means that System76 will no longer be slapping their logo on other company’s laptops and shipping them out, but making their own in-house laptops for consumers.

This puts System76 into a very interesting position of possibly becoming the “Apple of the Linux world”. System76’s “Customer Happiness Manager” Emma had this to say on their official blog about their massive undertaking:

“We are going to make computers in the USA. We can assemble them anywhere- but we need a factory to make them. So we found one. A BIG one.”

https://appuals.com/system76-opens-manufacturing-facility-to-build-linux-laptops/


They've also opensourced some of their hardware and are shipping machines with opensource firmware.

Will Coreboot Ship On Other System76 Machines?

Don Watkins at OpenSource.com asked this question, and System76 responded by saying: “Yes. Long term, System76 is working to open source all aspects of the computer. Thelio Io, the controller board in the Thelio desktop, is both open hardware and open firmware. This is a long journey but we're picking up speed. It's been less than a year since the our open hardware Thelio desktop was released and we're now producing two laptops with System76 Open Firmware.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasone...t-based-open-source-firmware/?sh=1a822f894e64

They sound like a good company to support.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Over summer I migrated to Linux, full time, cold turkey. Never used Linux before. I did a VAST amount if research on distros and chose Solus. Its Its lightning fast, perfectly stable, well polished, and very intuitive. I've only just begun messing around with Wine, but tools like Lutris really help. I use all AMD hardware, and so far everything runs perfectly.

Terminal hasn't been too bad. I am an expert in windows and used to use command prompt alot many moons ago. I've also accepted that I'm not going to be a super user over night and that it took me years to accumulate the knowledge I had of Windows systems.

Presently though, I have no need to go back. The only problem I foresee in the future is using CAD software. I don't think Autodesk Inventor or Solidworks will operate well, if at all, on Linux.

 

[Catacombs]

I am an expert in windows and used to use command prompt alot many moons ago. I've also accepted that I'm not going to be a super user over night and that it took me years to accumulate the knowledge I had of Windows systems.

Unix is comfy, and you'll be happy with the switch.

 

[Twiglard]

Now if you're being an asshole and telling someone completely new to Linux to install Gentoo, then yeah you're hurting everyone involved. But there's no reason to shit on someone for wanting to get started with Mint.

I'm not looking forward to yet another user that doesn't expect to understand the workings of their own OS, and clearly expects any work to be done for them. I just got another one of these expecting to fix the broken multilib on their system -- preferably by guiding them each step along the way, and apologizing profusely for the inconvenience.

It's called gatekeeping. And it's a good thing, for both the community and the user himself.

How is gatekeeping Linux, of all things, a good thing?

Pretending Linux to be a good OS for games isn't doing anyone any good.

 

[OSK]

Now if you're being an asshole and telling someone completely new to Linux to install Gentoo, then yeah you're hurting everyone involved. But there's no reason to shit on someone for wanting to get started with Mint.

I'm not looking forward to yet another user that doesn't expect to understand the workings of their own OS, and clearly expects any work to be done for them. I just got another one of these expecting to fix the broken multilib on their system -- preferably by guiding them each step along the way, and apologizing profusely for the inconvenience.

I don't know the first thing about plumbing. Are you suggesting I should start shitting outside rather than calling an expert when something goes wrong? Or do you think I should become an apprentice plumber to fix my own toilet?

Either you're not charging enough or you need to tell these users to fuck off. Regardless, this is a personal problem.

It's called gatekeeping. And it's a good thing, for both the community and the user himself.

How is gatekeeping Linux, of all things, a good thing?

Pretending Linux to be a good OS for games isn't doing anyone any good.

It's serviceable. Windows is objectively better for gaming. On Linux your games might not work, and, if they do, you might have to jump through a bunch of hoops to make them work, and they might not perform as well as they would on Windows, and there's no guarantee your games will continue to work in the future. If your primary concern is gaming, you should continue to use Windows for gaming. But you can use Linux without having to give up gaming entirely.

How many times do you see people on this very site piss-and-moan about whatever stupid shit Microsoft is doing to Windows? They act like there's no alternative and they have to continue taking it up the ass. They completely dismiss Linux due to stereotypes largely perpetuated by Linux users themselves.

Gaming on Linux has made tremendous strides over the last few years. I went from dual booting to gaming 100% on Linux. Despite all the advances, the there's still one major problem with Linux gaming: The minuscule userbase. And that's not a problem that's going to be solved with gatekeeping.

 

[Bad Sector]

They actually opened a manufacturing plant in the US to make their machines.

I didn't knew about that. Interesting.

 

[Azdul]

Note that unlike Windows, on Linux you must explicitly launch the game for the second GPU.

On Windows only DirectX titles and titles in Windows "game DB" automatically launch on second GPU. There were plans to implement something similar for Linux, however it won't work with closed source Nvidia drivers, because "fuck Nvidia" attitude.

IMO the biggest issue with gaming on Linux is that solutions are either deprecated, or new, untested and experimental.

X-org is deprecated, Wayland is not ready for prime-time. Kernel developers try to make it as hard as possible to use Nvidia closed source drivers, and unstable Nouveau is being installed by default by many distros, and it often fails to start graphic mode on new GPUs. For many years it was the case with ALSA and PulseAudio. And more recently with OpenGL and Vulkan. I've heard horror stories about early versions of SystemD.

Gaming on Linux is like taking part in multiple "early access programs" for various components at once.

 

[OSK]

Note that unlike Windows, on Linux you must explicitly launch the game for the second GPU.

On Windows only DirectX titles and titles in Windows "game DB" automatically launch on second GPU. There were plans to implement something similar for Linux, however it won't work with closed source Nvidia drivers, because "fuck Nvidia" attitude.

IMO the biggest issue with gaming on Linux is that solutions are either deprecated, or new, untested and experimental.

X-org is deprecated, Wayland is not ready for prime-time. Kernel developers try to make it as hard as possible to use Nvidia closed source drivers, and unstable Nouveau is being installed by default by many distros, and it often fails to start graphic mode on new GPUs. For many years it was the case with ALSA and PulseAudio. And more recently with OpenGL and Vulkan. I've heard horror stories about early versions of SystemD.

Gaming on Linux is like taking part in multiple "early access programs" for various components at once.

I feel like there's a lot of misplaced blame here.

1. The Nvidia drivers can't be included in the kernel because the kernel can only be comprised of opensource code. I'm not sure if that's a legal requirement or a self-imposed requirement, but that's how it is. That's why the Nouveau drivers exist.
2. A lot of distros pride themselves on only having free and opensource software, so they don't include Nvidia drivers by default. None will stop you from installing them yourself and there are plenty that provide them (effectively) out of the box.
3. The Nouveau drivers are shit, not only because Nvidia refuses to help out, but because they lock hardware features of the card behind signed firmware that only the proprietary driver can use.

From Linus himself:


Also, the biggest problem with Wayland is that it doesn't work well with Nvidia. You can guess why.

 

[Azdul]

I feel like there's a lot of misplaced blame here.

The Nvidia drivers can't be included in the kernel because the kernel can only be comprised of opensource code. I'm not sure if that's a legal requirement or a self-imposed requirement, but that's how it is.

Almost every kernel in the world - except Linux - exposes stable API for drivers. Linux breaks APIs used by drivers on minor releases, just because it can, as a way to 'fight' closed source drivers. Some solutions, like pass-through for dual GPUs (like Optimus) - are intentionally implemented in a way that does not allow closed source drivers to use it.

Nvidia screwed up because some features that could be implemented in hardware are actually controlled by firmware. Clock speeds, power and temperature limits - all those things can be changed by firmware, and you can pretty much upgrade from consumer level card to Quadro, or from 3070 to 3080 by changing firmware. You can buy fake Chinese Nvidia cards right now, which are just lower models with higher model firmware.

Linus thinks that by making Linux users life miserable will force Nvidia to open their driver. Nvidia thinks that by putting less effort into supporting latest Linux technologies will force Linus to accept reality.

And there are end-users which get insane amount of knowledge about inner workings of operating system just by trying to get rid of screen tearing, or trying to get hardware acceleration of movie codec on forbidden combination of GPU and operating system.

 

[Absinthe]

Fun fact by the way, the Windows overclocking community cashes in on the Linux community's efforts at making open source graphics card drivers in order to make their own better overclocking tools that provide options, features, and detailed information that the official graphics card drivers won't. They study the open source drivers to pick up on a lot of that shit.

 

[Twiglard]

Nvidia screwed up because some features that could be implemented in hardware are actually controlled by firmware. Clock speeds, power and temperature limits - all those things can be changed by firmware, and you can pretty much upgrade from consumer level card to Quadro, or from 3070 to 3080 by changing firmware. You can buy fake Chinese Nvidia cards right now, which are just lower models with higher model firmware.

It's not like it helps without proper userspace driver support anyway. AMD and Intel have Mesa developers on their payroll.

 

[Elzair]

Serious question for the Linux elitists on this site. What do you think about purchasing a System76 laptop with PopOS? I've tried PopOS on another laptop of mine and found it to be a little buggy when it's time for me to do a system update, but I work through it. System76 computers seem a bit on the expensive side, but supposedly the company has a good reputation on its hardware.

I am typing this on a 2019 Orxy Pro laptop, and I love it. They recently integrated Flathub into the Pop Shop, so you can easily install lots of up to date apps straight from the developers. The 144Hz monitor is also nice. (1920x1080, unfortunately). What mainly drew me to System76 was potential to save/grow the Linux desktop. I admit, I have been a fan of FOSS for many years, and I have seen several high profile Linux desktop plays *cough* Red Hat, Ubuntu *cough* give up and slink off into the server space. System76's PopOS is different because it has the same business model as Apple: sell the hardware, do not worry about the software. Yes, the current laptops are simply rebranded Clevos, but that will likely change soon. Their Thelio desktop lines are already being produced in-house. Of course, one day, System76 could go the same way as Apple: having a proprietary, custom system with mandatory signing certificates and $100 fees to simply publish your Notepad app, but that is tomorrow's problem. Today, I choose Pop!

Full Dislosure: I only have two issues with my Orxy Pro:

1. Sometimes, when the computer awakes from sleep, it does not wake up the second monitor (attached via HDMI cable). The way I solve it is I keep the display settings pulled up, change something, wait a split second for the second monitor to come on, and then click Revert Settings.
2. You have to restart to switch GPUs.