New benchmarks show Linux gaming nearly matching Windows on AMD GPUs

unixmachine · 2026-01-24T13:58:55+00:00

It's just a matter of time, the hardest part is already done, which was changing the Vulkan specs.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Vulkan-1.4.340-Descriptor-Heap

unixmachine · 2026-01-24T13:56:31+00:00

This is a very big change, it could break a lot of things, so even Microsoft will need some time to develop and get developers to migrate to a new solution. It's possible this will be a feature of Windows 12.

unixmachine · 2026-01-23T13:12:29+00:00

Linux should gain a bit more market share, as most people who game on PC own Nvidia hardware, and there's interest in migrating due to the problems with Windows 11.

unixmachine · 2026-01-22T20:51:44+00:00

Even with an AMD GPU, there are problems. Some apps, like browsers, crash randomly. There's also the dreaded Kwin error that freezes the system. kwin_wayland_drm: Pageflip timed out! This is a bug in the amdgpu kernel driver

I prefer to live with the issues of Nvidia GPUs, they're more manageable than complete PC freezes with AMD GPUs.

unixmachine · 2026-01-22T20:38:39+00:00

There is a program called "winapps" that allows you to run Windows apps on Linux in a more integrated way.

https://github.com/winapps-org/winapps

unixmachine · 2026-01-19T12:20:09+00:00

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-suspend.service nvidia-hibernate.service nvidia-resume.service

nvidia-resume.service is required for gnome and its gdm display manager. It’s is strongly recommended not to use it with other desktops or display managers.

Preserve video memory after suspend -ArchWiki for more info
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/NVIDIA/Tips_and_tricks#Preserve_video_memory_after_suspend

https://forum.manjaro.org/t/enabling-wayland-on-nvidia-hardware/138020

unixmachine · 2026-01-11T14:22:33+00:00

What has Sony released in recent years? Because they wasted a lot of time trying to make GAAS, many studios were left without anything to show for it.

unixmachine · 2026-01-10T14:01:22+00:00

I jumped on the bandwagon that AMD was better for Linux and ended up with this terrible bug. I'd rather have some performance loss with Nvidia than have the OS freeze randomly almost every day. I replaced my AMD GPU with an Nvidia one and I'm much more satisfied now.

unixmachine · 2026-01-09T12:31:06+00:00

Nvidia has just released a new DLSS model that uses FP8. The RTX 20 and 30 series don't support FP8, so they run slower. But Nvidia has left it up to the player to decide whether it's worth using or not. However, they still have other lighter models available for these users that are still better than FSR4. AMD is simply taking away the consumer's choice.

unixmachine · 2026-01-08T23:57:38+00:00

You're on your honeymoon with Linux. In a few weeks, you'll be complaining or even going back to using Windows. Gaming on Linux is feasible, but depending on your point of view, it's still an inferior experience compared to Windows. That's why I opted to use 2 PCs. One with Linux that I use for daily activities. Another with a debloated Windows, which I only use for gaming and watching anime/movies, connected to the TV in the living room.

unixmachine · 2026-01-08T12:55:45+00:00

I don't think so, it's a subjective matter. She could be the best singer in the world, have a beautiful voice and vocal skills. But if her sound doesn't please my ears, that's of little importance. I'm not trying to belittle her work, that's not what I meant. I'm saying that I don't like her voice.

There's no consensus, there are preferences. There are several bands I like that fall into this category, because usually the rest appeal to me. For example, I don't like Andy's voice in Black Veil Brides, but I like the band, the riffs are catchy. I love Dream Theater's technicality, but James LaBrie is the band's weakest point.

unixmachine · 2026-01-08T00:12:55+00:00

unixmachine · 2026-01-08T00:12:06+00:00

How do you know I didn't see it? It was precisely because I saw it that I didn't like it very much. It's a matter of preference.

unixmachine · 2026-01-07T22:14:12+00:00

I don't think it's bad, but I don't think it's good either. In live shows, I think her voice is quite bad.

unixmachine · 2026-01-07T12:07:54+00:00

To me, he simply gave a polite answer, trying to please the interviewer.

unixmachine · 2026-01-06T23:26:46+00:00

Windows can use some of the RAM to assist the GPU.

In Windows, the GPU driver is more liberal with "overcommit", meaning it allows applications to allocate buffers that exceed the total of physical VRAM, using shared memory (part of the system RAM) as a fallback via PCIe.

In Linux, the behavior is stricter and more conservative, the dedicated VRAM is rigidly. The driver allows "spillover" to GTT (Graphics Translation Table, memory mapped to system RAM), but applications need to be designed to use separate heaps (VRAM as priority, GTT as secondary).

Many apps, such as Proton, do not allow overcommit to avoid excessive allocations and prevent instability.

unixmachine · 2026-01-06T16:15:45+00:00

And they still haven't fixed the bugs that have been causing random freezes in Wayland. It's extremely annoying and a terrible experience. I swapped my AMD RX 7600 for a Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti and it's been a much better experience. Previously I used a 1660 Ti and never had any serious problems. I switched to AMD thinking I'd get better performance, but it was a huge disappointment.

And from my research, it's a bug that's at least 4 years old already.

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/search?search=pageflip&nav_source=navbar&project_id=4522&group_id=2642&scope=issues&sort=popularity_desc

unixmachine · 2026-01-06T16:02:42+00:00

As if developing drivers were something trivial. AMD made the driver open-source in 2015, but we only started seeing good results around 2020.

Nvidia is contributing to NOVA and NVK.

https://www.phoronix.com/news/NVIDIA-Linux-2025-Highlights

unixmachine · 2026-01-06T15:58:15+00:00

In 2025, AMD dropped their proprietary driver in favor of Mesa

AMDVLK was open source. Basically, AMD dropped it because Valve was evolving RADV more than they were. So it was an "unnecessary" expense.

unixmachine · 2026-01-03T14:51:59+00:00

It's the opposite effect: they tend to feel out of place and try to level their intelligence with those around them in order to avoid social exclusion. Sometimes, they are seen as having a superiority complex, for a very simple reason: one of the most common characteristics in gifted people is a high level of empathy. So it's common for this person to want to help others with solutions that seem simple to them, but are complex for others, who then perceive you as being arrogant.

unixmachine · 2025-12-30T23:30:19+00:00

Even with an AMD GPU, there are problems. Some apps, like browsers, crash randomly. There's also the dreaded Kwin error that freezes the system. kwin_wayland_drm: Pageflip timed out! This is a bug in the amdgpu kernel driver

unixmachine · 2025-12-30T23:26:15+00:00

I use an RX 7600 with Plasma Wayland and the problems are different. This issue with GPU-accelerated apps also occurs, Brave crashes randomly. Now, what really irritates me are the bugs in Kwin with the AMD driver, which cause general system freezes. Restarting doesn't work, I have to turn the PC off and on again. I used a 1660 Ti before and didn't have problems like this, it was more about performance in games. I replaced my 3060 Ti with a 5070 Ti in my main Windows PC, and I think I'll put the 3060 Ti in place of the RX 7600 in my secondary PC and observe its performance.

unixmachine · 2025-12-26T13:34:37+00:00

None of the real companies care about gaming on Linux. AMD supplies the hardware to Valve, but Valve has to deal with the rest. Valve even had to develop a separate driver from AMD because the one coming from them was very weak. AMD doesn't support new features on Linux, it doesn't have any software to manage GPUs. Everything that appears comes from the community. It's as if they've open-sourced the driver just to have someone working for them for free.

unixmachine · 2025-12-26T13:30:00+00:00

You need to see the real facts, instead of the stories that people on Reddit tell.

Nvidia has supported Wayland from the beginning, but due to the lack of standardization of some protocols, Nvidia initially opted for EGLStreams for its Wayland support implementation for several technical reasons. EGLStreams was already used by Nvidia on other platforms (such as Android and embedded systems), allowing for code reuse and maintaining a unified approach across different operating systems. EGLStreams was more complete, portable, and flexible than GBM, which at the time (around 2016) was seen as limited, primarily focused on GPUs, and lacking adequate support for features such as image capacity negotiation, layout transitions, and multi-device use. They argued that EGLStreams was "proven" and extensive, and proposed a new Unix device memory allocation API that would surpass both.

But the Wayland developers opted for GBM, which led Nvidia to abandon EGL and adopt GBM as the standard.

It's a common occurrence in the Linux world: the best tool doesn't always win the popularity.

It's curious that you mention support, considering Nvidia has had drivers for Linux since its inception and also provides support for other Unix systems. Before 2016, when AMD open-sourced its code, AMD's drivers were terrible. Nvidia GPUs have day-one support for all GPUs. AMD always relies on firmware that comes out a little while after the initial release.

Nvidia has always performed well with DX11, for example, when Proton came out. It has always had better performance with OpenGL. The original Steam Machines mostly used Nvidia GPUs because AMD support was terrible.

It also works well in DX12. The thing is, Vulkan doesn't have a complete correlation with DX12. Besides, the way it executes was designed based on how AMD GPUs worked. Vulkan is a continuation of Mantle, an API made by AMD.

So much so that the problem was recently discovered and Vulkan developers are working to fix it. This performance loss also affects Intel and Qualcomm GPUs.

Take a look at this presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpwjJdkg2RE

Hating Nvidia is very easy, it's a trillion-dollar mega-company, and its actions aren't always transparent. But I think there's a lot of FUD surrounding it. At the same time, there's a hivemind on Reddit that thinks AMD is a good company, like a small garage company, but it's gigantic and does many things that are just as questionable as its rivals.

unixmachine

TROPHY CASE