Intel or AMD for Linux desktop

[Sandy]

Hi,

my current desktop PC is from 2007 and it is time for me to build a new system. Back then I was recommended to get an Intel CPU with an NVIDIA grafics card for Linux as this combination was best supported and would most probably cause me the least problems. This proved to be true.

I have done some online searching and will probably get something in the price range of an Intel Core i5 or an AMD Ryzen 5 or 7. For me, this should be more than enough processing power for many years to come.

Now my question: is there still a general rule of thumb on what cpu and gpu hardware to get, if a stable system and best Linux compatibility are more important to me than a few percentage points of higher speed or small cost advantages?

The intended use is for a Linux desktop PC, no Windows, no gaming. I do general office work, some graphic and video editing and video encoding. I love my desktop PC to quietly sit in the corner and just run and do it's job

Any thoughts and ideas on that topic would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
Sandy

[deepakdeshp]

Hardware compatibility
https://community.linuxmint.com/hardware

[michael louwe]

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For Linux compatibility, buy Intel and Nvidia, ie avoid AMD.

The Meltdown & Spectre patches which affect Intel CPUs more than AMD CPUs, introduce a significant performance hit. So, better to put in more RAM to compensate.

Personally, I would go for the 7th-gen AMD Ryzen CPUs which are fully supported by LM 19, ie avoid the latest 8th-gen AMD CPUs/APUs like the Ryzen 5 2400G. The 7th-gen AMD APUs like the A8-9600 are not yet fully supported by LM 19.

[thesmileyone]

For Linux compatibility, buy Intel and Nvidia, ie avoid AMD.

From threads I read when figuring out my nvidia driver issue, it seemed the opposite was more accurate. AMD cpu and AMD gpu?

[jpenguin]

Nvidia does give better performance; I love the fact that I can use opensource drivers with AMD though, don't you know what Torvalds told nvidia?

Nvidia has the best binary drivers, it's hard for the community to offer support with binary drivers.

[michael louwe]

For Linux compatibility, buy Intel and Nvidia, ie avoid AMD.

From threads I read when figuring out my nvidia driver issue, it seemed the opposite was more accurate. AMD cpu and AMD gpu?

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/AMD
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https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/03/ubu ... iver-16-04 (Why Radeon Users May Want to Avoid Ubuntu 16.04 LTS; Catalyst Finally Goes Kaboom! ;Joey Sneddon ; Updated 11 March 2016)

To top it all off Canonical say: “AMD won’t support fglrx on 16.04, period”, and Canonical has no desire to take over the duties (which it would have to support for the next five years kids, as this is an LTS).

.
With the latest Nvidia graphics cards, LM users can opt to install the proprietary Nvidia drivers to make use of advanced features. LM users cannot do the same for the latest AMD graphics cards because AMD has stopped supporting Linux since 2016, likely due to Linux's tiny world marketshare or lack of resources.

[gm10]

The intended use is for a Linux desktop PC, no Windows, no gaming. I do general office work, some graphic and video editing and video encoding.

Depending on your video encoding needs you may not need a discrete GPU for this at all, the integrated one can handle this.

intel support is easier because intel directly contributes to the Linux kernel and their chips are supported out of the box with official open-source driver, whereas for AMD you basically need their binary drivers (there's an open-source community maintained driver that still needs proprietary firmware though).

[silvatech]

AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 works great on Linux. avoid the APUS.

For video card if you want best stable performance get an Nvidia.

[jpenguin]

With the latest Nvidia graphics cards, LM users can opt to install the proprietary Nvidia drivers to make use of advanced features. LM users cannot do the same for the latest AMD graphics cards because AMD has stopped supporting Linux since 2016, likely due to Linux's tiny world marketshare or lack of resources.

Where did you get this? It's only true that AMD isn't in driver manger

AMD dumped fglrx completely, not just for linux. They work with the opensource community, so there is rarely a need to us the binary driver, but here they are https://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articl ... Notes.aspx

[jpenguin]

intel support is easier because intel directly contributes to the Linux kernel and their chips are supported out of the box with official open-source driver, whereas for AMD you basically need their binary drivers (there's an open-source community maintained driver that still needs proprietary firmware though).

Yes, Intel is the best on opensource drivers, but since the will prob never release a GFX card https://youtu.be/um-1fAVU1OQ. AMD is prtty gopod in that department, nvidia hasn't really change since this https://youtu.be/iYWzMvlj2RQ

[gm10]

intel support is easier because intel directly contributes to the Linux kernel and their chips are supported out of the box with official open-source driver, whereas for AMD you basically need their binary drivers (there's an open-source community maintained driver that still needs proprietary firmware though).

Yes, Intel is the best on opensource drivers, but since the will prob never release a GFX card https://youtu.be/um-1fAVU1OQ. AMD is prtty gopod in that department, nvidia hasn't really change since this https://youtu.be/iYWzMvlj2RQ

True. I was talking in the context of my statement that the iGPU should be enough. For discrete GPU binary drivers I believe AMD and NVIDIA are pretty much on par these days.

[Sandy]

Thanks a lot for the replies so far. I've collected some arguments myself:

CPU:
* The newest Intel processors tend to perform best in lightly-threaded apps, Ryzen 2 CPUs tend to perform better in heavily-threaded applications
* AMD CPUs can be run with ECC RAM as well (if supported by the Mobo)
* AMD has adopted a single socket (AM4) which will be supported until 2020, Intel likes to regularly change socket designs
* AMD CPUs come with excellent coolers; Intel stock coolers aren't noteworthy (K-series models don't even come with a cooler); when going Intel I'd probably have to get an aftermarket cooler adding more cost to the build
* AMD builds on average have an about 50 Watts higher power consumption -> more heat -> more noise, more difficult to build a quiet system
* Intel CPUs are more effected by the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities; security fixes come with a (noticeable ?) performance hit

GPU:
* New AMD GPU drivers are FOSS; best out of the box support
* AMD offers better support for newer graphics cards (AMD is actually supporting the open source community)
* Nvidia's proprietary drivers are the best performing ones for Linux (gaming)
* The open-source Nvidia drivers are not very good as they have been built almost enirely through reverse-engineering; new "security features" on the newer Nvidia cards make this reverse-engineering even more difficult, support for the newest Nvidia cards is often lacking in the open source drivers
* No true Optimus support for Nvidia GPUs (not even with their proprietary drivers)
* Intel graphic cards are the best supported but also the slowest

I still find it quite difficult to decide what hardware to get.


P.S.: If this thread was posted in the wrong forum I'll be more than happy to move it the the right one (hardware). Can I do that myself or only one of the admins?

[michael louwe]

With the latest Nvidia graphics cards, LM users can opt to install the proprietary Nvidia drivers to make use of advanced features. LM users cannot do the same for the latest AMD graphics cards because AMD has stopped supporting Linux since 2016, likely due to Linux's tiny world marketshare or lack of resources.

Where did you get this? It's only true that AMD isn't in driver manger

AMD dumped fglrx completely, not just for linux. They work with the opensource community, so there is rarely a need to us the binary driver, but here they are https://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articl ... Notes.aspx

Sorry. My apologies.

Seems, there are a lot of ambiguities and variables in Nvidia vs AMD, ... https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/use-amd-n ... pus-linux/
https://www.techradar.com/news/computin ... rds-699480 (Nvidia vs AMD: which should be your next graphics card? By Gabe Carey 5 hours ago)
viewtopic.php?t=237659 (Re: Buying A New Video Card - Which is Best Supported? - June 2017)

[thesmileyone]

BTW when it comes to cooling, as long as you don't overclock you can run any consumer cpu without any fans if you buy a big heatsink like a noctua D series.

I am running a 6 year old 2500k with a noctua DH14 with no fans currently it never skips a beat. Granted my case does have good ventilation. It is incredibly awesome to be able to say, meditate next to your PC, in complete silence.

The only fans I have are the 1060 6gb's which turn off when not under load and the corsair rm650x psu again the fan only comes on under extreme load. And I swapped all my HDD's for SSD's though now, with a Plex server I don't even require storage.

Bliss