So, from what you said Dalto, can we presume that you would only advise more advanced users to use Nvidia due to the complexity of managing out of kernel modules?
While I haven’t touched an Nvidia (a laptop was the last) for years, I did try using ZFS on my server for a year or two, and fully appreciate how annoying and difficult it can be dealing with required modules that may lag days or even weeks behind the kernel at times.
No, not really. It doesn’t require any super-secret ninja skills or anything. It is just one more thing to manage.
IMO, the zfs modules are quite a lot harder to manage than the nvidia modules. The nvidia modules are provided directly by Arch in the repos and are virtually always updated for the latest kernel.
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I would agree with this 100%
I’m not sure what GPU-intensive workloads you are referring to? It also depends on what GPU you are talking about? You can’t compare some AMD GPU to the higher end Nvidia. I’m not going to say that AMD beats out Nvidia but their higher end cards can’t be beat for the price and how well they work on linux in gaming and or under normal use. I won’t even consider hybrid laptops because i myself would never buy one that is hybrid and I also wouldn’t buy one with Nvidia only as they consume way too much power in my opinion. Again this is just my own personal feelings on it. I don’t like hybrid laptops to begin with.
Any GPU-intensive workload. There are many examples: gaming, AI, rendering, etc, etc.
Neither amd or intel are currently making GPUs that compete with nvidia at the high-end. The last-gen models from amd weren’t competitive in any workloads that require AI(Including gaming) or RT. In the current generation, amd isn’t even making a high-end GPU.
To be clear, many people don’t need that. My original point was simply that for those that do, they have a choice to make.
In a simple sense, CUDA often carries a performance advantage (over say OpenCL), for tasks that can utilise it. So any task where CUDA can be leveraged, would be one way to look at this.
Eg:
- Using Large Language Models
- Using Davinci Resolve (although especially true for Studio / non-free)
- Blender rendering
- ffmpeg (or similar) video decoding/encoding
- Streaming and/or recording in OBS
- Various libs and tools that can leverage CUDA for development, mathematics and science.
If considering a laptop, I would certainly be considering a fully AMD system, for three reasons:
- Modern AMD APU’s have powerful built-in GPU’s that are unparalleled.
See: Dave2D > AMD Made Something INCREDIBLE!. - There is no need for a power hungry discreet GPU.
- There is no need to mess around with hybrid graphics.
Yes i understand some users having GPU-intensive workloads if using Blender, ffmpeg, OBS or Davinci Resolve etc. But I was actually thinking in terms of gaming that a high end AMD is going to be very good at a fraction of the cost and on most games it will be more than adequate. Obviously there are some newer games that require maybe an Nvidia card but I don’t think the average user needs an RTX 5000 series card let alone an RTX 4000 series. There are AMD cards that will be just fine. I also don’t think games need to be played in 4K either. I honestly don’t think that most Linux users need some of these things. Maybe some but most not really. 
It is all a matter of personal perspective. If we are talking new AAA single player games, there is an increasing trend towards ray-tracing. Many newly released or upcoming games either look materially worse or simply don’t run without RT capable hardware. I have a 7900XTX in my main workstation and, for me, it isn’t good enough for many of the games I want to play at 1440p. For me, 10-30 fps@1440p isn’t good enough.
Of course, someone else might say the same card is amazing for their needs because they either play different games or have different expectations. Nothing wrong with that.
The point of my statement was never, “Everyone should buy nvidia”. It was that if you have needs on the higher end, you have to choose between worse performance on amd/intel or a bit more hassle with nvidia. There is no perfect answer that solves everyone’s needs.
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That’s kind of what i was thinking. 1440P is where i would want to be and frame rates that are high enough. Obviously if i was gaming I would know what my card is capable of and i wouldn’t play games that it can’t handle.
This is just a difference in expectation between us. You skip games you can’t play. I upgrade my GPU so I can play the games I want to play.
Nothing wrong with either approach.
@dalto (warning, making fun of you), except your pocket book suffers.
I actually embody both sides, though I have chosen to have AMD hassle free, but every few years there’s the upgrade chase, though I think as I get older perhaps less so. I had to pay for someone to assemble this machine last year, because my eyesight wasn’t good enough to do it.
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NVidia’s focus has been on AI and gaming. Previously it was crypto currency mining and gaming. It has never been linux. Their support for drivers has been patchy at the best. And many a times I have heard the unverified claim that Nvidia’s Linux Drivers are not upto the mark as their Windows drivers are.
But yes the issues that NVidia chips cause is enormous. And they are not worth the hassle unless there is a specific usecase that has to be catered to.
You have made a sensible choice by avoiding NVidia. Does your mini PC have the ability to support dual GPU? And will you be using the mobile processors of AMD/Intel or the server/desktop variant of the processors? And what cabinet are you using? Mini ATX or Micro ATX or something else?
All that is to be determined. I’ve not yet made a purchase.
Since I last replied to this topic, I switched to an Nvidia GPU: Nvidia RTX 5080 
Ok, please leave all Linux forums for your video card heresy.
Please deposit all badges in the basket by the door.
That is all.
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I’ve been dealing with an amdgpu driver bug since November or December, one of these issues.
Where my RX 7900XTX would freeze/reset once a day at least and none of the workarounds work. You would have to switch tty than back to your graphical tty, login again and then you would have your graphical session again and sometimes you would have to reset your entire system. Since no one seemed to be working on a fix I decided it was time to move back to Nvidia because it’s just not workable when that happens once a day.
Hah, now you are (perhaps) totally unstable. Good trade ;0 (I’m not being totally serious btw)
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lol you head me, thought you were being serious.
Fellow 6700 (XT) user here, coupled with a 7800X3D built late last year. Without hyperbole, this has been the most flawless (and painless) experience I’ve ever had with Linux, since the mid 90’s.. AMD have (thanks to David Airlie and the team) years, and I mean years, of a head-start with Linux drivers for their graphics stack, and it really shows now.
Congrats, hope you found one at a semi-reasonable price.
Interesting. I have not seen this issue at all. I also have a 7900XTX.
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