I’ve seen stuff about Nvidia cards not working well with Linux, is that true?
If one was in the market for a new laptop anyway, would you recommend not getting nvidia and going with AMD?
I’m currently intrigued by the Lenovo LOQ line (full size numpad). Not buying anytime soon, just scoping out good brands and ideas.
*Primary role is laptop productivity, secondary role is maybe patient gaming, so I’m ok with budget gaming. Going Linux is not guaranteed, but maybe in the future because windows keeps getting more nuts. So I’m looking for info to make sure Linux is possible.
*I want this to last a long time, 10 years should be easy.
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I had this hunt earlier this year myself; ended up going with the Acer Nitro 5 15. Its fully user upgradeable with DDR4 RAM, two m2 drives and even a 2.5 in drive. And it has a TB3 port for charging and works with external graphics as well. Everything worked under linux right out of the box.
*I want this to last a long time, 10 years should be easy.
LOL.
Nvidia cards on desktops work very well, you just need to install proprietary drivers.
The problem with laptops is that they’re not dedicated cards anymore but an hybrid intel/nvidia that can give you a lot of headaches on Linux, I advise against it. No idea how AMD is on laptops.
If being cheap is a priority, I suggest getting a Steam Deck, it’s designed for gaming (unlike budget laptops) and it’s a PC. You can get a docking and connect whatever peripheral you want (mouse/keyboard/monitor/TV/whatever) and it has a desktop mode to be used as a “regular” PC if you need other things besides gaming.
I’d recommend AMD over Nvidia for a linux laptop, but it’s not as big a deal as it used to be. Most distros have good Nvidia support, although you often have to install the proprietary drivers after installing the OS. Even distros like Nobara that have Nvidia images to DL have to install and update the drivers at first launch.
So either will work, but if you’ve got a choice, go with AMD. It’s just a smoother experience.
There is no such thing as a budget gaming laptop. Usually you’re better off getting a Steam Deck or a PC and a laptop.
Good “budget” gaming laptops are still about $2000. If you buy a good used laptop and a low range gaming PC you pay the same but don’t have to lug around a 3kg laptop with loud fans and lots of heat output, bad battery life and next to no repairability, just to still have less FPS than a similarly priced PC+laptop combo.
@Helix @linux_gaming
https://youtu.be/YGxTnGEAx3E?si=xmFTuzTCtntHaYPG 👈 looks promising for all hardware (especially high-end). To a certain extent, industry is reacting to what is consumers want; thin machines. That doesn’t sit well with the physics that can’t be ignored.Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/YGxTnGEAx3E?si=xmFTuzTCtntHaYPG
https://piped.video/YGxTnGEAx3E?si=xmFTuzTCtntHaYPG
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When you buy Nvidia for Linux, you’re buying obsolescence. It will work fine for a while and then they’ll hard-drop driver support at a certain kernel version. Your 3d acceleration will last as long as you can run an LTS kernel compatible with it. You may have moved on by then, but I currently have 3 Nvidia laptops that have between limited and zero 3D support in Linux. If I cared to run Windows or MacOS, 3D would still work. MacOS would also be outdated, though. In the future, I’m going AMD only.
How long do they support it typically?
My 5 yo acer nitro 5 with nvidia 1050 mobile still gets support (driver update), but it’s true that they don’t care about their older cards as much. New features like the NVK driver would never support my card.
AMD does tend to have better support but Nvidia GPUs work fine nowadays. Pretty much any laptop you buy should work fine out of the box, so just get something that has decent specs.
Another guy says that long term Nvidia is a problem with Linux. That support is dropped after some years. Thoughts?
Some years? Maybe if you have a 10+ year old GPU. They’re supported for a really long time. The GTX 10xx series are still fully supported despite releasing in 2016 for example.
Here’s his exact comment:
When you buy Nvidia for Linux, you’re buying obsolescence. It will work fine for a while and then they’ll hard-drop driver support at a certain kernel version. Your 3d acceleration will last as long as you can run an LTS kernel compatible with it. You may have moved on by then, but I currently have 3 Nvidia laptops that have between limited and zero 3D support in Linux. If I cared to run Windows or MacOS, 3D would still work. MacOS would also be outdated, though. In the future, I’m going AMD only.
I am looking to keep laptops for a long long time.
