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New Linux gamer having some Vulkan issues
Lingon Feb 16, 2019
Hey guys!

Been following GamingOnLinux for some time on Mastodon and you seem like a friendly lot. :)

Now, I am a Windows user looking to leave that OS behind me for some time and I have on occasion dipped my toes into Linux (primarily Linux Mint, Kubuntu..) And now I am at it again. It started with the purchase of an m.2 NVMe SSD, only to realise Windows 7 does not support it. Solution? Install Mint! :)

Now then, I have it all installed and working quite decently. However, I have noticed that in my Driver Manager, it offers my no option to switch from the open source GPU drivers to the official, proprietary AMD drivers. I have seen this option listed in the past, so I am more than a little confused why is it missing here.

In which ever case, I have been playing some titles like Minecraft and Skyrim with really satisfactory results. But, when I went to try out Doom 4 (2016), I started running into problems. The game installs and runs, but performance is quite poor under OpenGL, 30-40 FPS running in game at 1080p, but a stable 60 in the main menu. Switching to Vulkan changes the frame rate to a literal slideshow with about 2-3 FPS across the board. I had a friend help me install this PPA https://launchpad.net/~paulo-miguel-dias/+archive/ubuntu/pkppa/ though performance remains what it is.

Is anyone able to offer some assistance? I would greatly appreciate it. :)

Specs:

Intel 4790K, Asus Z97-A
AMD Radeon R9 280X
8 GB DDR3 RAM
Samsung 970 500 GB SSD
tuxintuxedo Feb 16, 2019
For a while now, AMD open source drivers are the default and the best. The closed one is still recommended for businesses, but it's main parts are the same open source drivers you already have with Padoka. Vulkan drivers might have to be installed manually (Padoka also has them), or install automatically with it. Don't remember right now. To use Vulkan in Windows games people usually need some specific additional software (e.g. DXVK) or tweaks in Wine for it to understand what you want.
Which driver is in use for you graphics card? lspci -k (only the needed line)
Lingon Feb 16, 2019
Thanks! I see, times are changing I hear. :)

I am not 100% sure if this is what you are looking for, but here:

Kernel driver in use: radeon
Kernel modules: radeon, amdgpu
Liam Dawe Feb 16, 2019
Welcome, nice to see me posting on Mastodon is seen by more people :)

For Steam Play titles, Valve have instructions to follow here: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/wiki/Requirements

For AMD GPUs, don't even bother with the closed drivers.
tuxintuxedo Feb 16, 2019
Okay.
For Vulkan, the amdgpu driver is required. For your card, it seems support is still considered experimental, so it's not used as default (because your card is based on GCN 1.0).
There are tweaks how to enable it with force, I usually look it up on Phoronix.
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