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Latest Comments by PJ
Valve has formally announced the Steam Deck, a portable handheld console with SteamOS
15 Jul 2021 at 6:10 pm UTC Likes: 3

I found it surprising that I'm actually pretty excited about this device :D . This does not happen often. Looks great and it seems first impressions were also quite good.
And the ability to dock it, use it on the go with regular desktop environment and apps is just the icing on the cake. I can clearly see myself taking this one instead of a hefty laptop for some daily tasks.
Actually it is one of the very few devices I may preorder. Way to go Valve!

Google says Stadia is very much 'alive and well' according to a new interview
14 May 2021 at 10:32 am UTC Likes: 5

for me they've shot themselves in the foot by the model they've chosen. Having to buy something you actually rent is an awful idea. If it was like Netflix, but for games that would make much more sense (or other way around - if you'd get a key you could use elsewhere, for non-remote gaming). The tech is actually pretty cool, it is being pulled down by the terrible sales model.
So even though I'm excited seeing the tech I actually hope they won't succeed as I really don't want this sales model to take root.

Vulkan Video announced with new provisional extensions along with Vulkan 1.2.175 released
14 Apr 2021 at 7:10 am UTC

I wonder whether those will be of any use for those that make professional video editing apps.

Team Cherry upgrade the excellent Hollow Knight with Vulkan for Linux
24 Feb 2021 at 1:04 pm UTC Likes: 3

the previous version worked without a hitch on my end. But I'm happy to see this new one - gives me another excuse to hop in and spend some more time with "Hollow Knight". This game is among the best platformers I've played and the style is simply amazing.

NVIDIA continues tweaking their work for hardware accelerated Xwayland support
20 Feb 2021 at 10:01 am UTC

Quoting: EgonautThat's not correct, Nvidia GPUs work with Wayland, this is about xWayland.
I'd love to be proven wrong. I've re-read some threads about Wayland and it seems Nvidia still does not have GBM support - thus no proper Wayland on NVidia. Yes, you can get some compositors to work thx to eglstreams implementation but it is flaky and IMO it is wrong. Either Wayland devs should change the way it does things and implement something other than gbm, otherwise Nvidia should implement the standard, not try to enforce their way. Bending the knee is not the solution and makes situation more problematic.

But even with eglstreams it is rather awful IMO - at least the last time I've tried (it was around Xmas, when I had a bit more time). WHile in no means scientific test ;) when I've tried 2 distros and 2 DEs in one situation I've launched Wayland on Nvidia only after quite a bit of effort. On the other it was easier to launch. But sadly on both the performance was awful, much worse than on a laptop with integrated intel graphics.
I really do hope the situation got resolved as I can clearly see the benefits of Wayland (not the security ones, but everyday use related). When on hardware with proper support the session is tear free, more responsive and fluid.

NVIDIA continues tweaking their work for hardware accelerated Xwayland support
18 Feb 2021 at 2:17 pm UTC Likes: 2

shame nvidia still hasn't made their gpus work with Wayland :/ . This annoys me every time. I wonder when this drivers related clutch will come to an end.

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti arrives December 2, hits RTX 2080 SUPER level performance
7 Dec 2020 at 9:10 am UTC

Quoting: x_wingIf the average Joe knows how to install the latest Nvidia driver on a distro, he should also be able to keep to date the AMD counter part as it will require exactly the same steps.
But I've given you the reason why some people (like me) say that Nvidia is easier to maintain for average Joe.
But at least we've agreeded that for some users AMDGPU-PRO are a must (to get a pro app support , opencl etc).
And here's the deal - while you have repos for Nvidia which make installing drivers a breeze you don't have something along those lines for AMDGPU-PRO.
So steps are really not the same.
Yes, I can do a manual driver installation via command line. Yes, I can do driver uninstall and reinstall after a kernel update. But should I as a desktop user? I don't think so. And I haven't had to mess with it while using Nvindia for years.

And mind I'm not talking for a fanboy perspective. I don't care whether my system has a team red or green gpu. I care about about performance and how hassle free it is. And at this point if you're a creative that does not want to mess with system Nvidia IMO wins. No matter how much I cheers for AMD and for adoption of Wayland.

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti arrives December 2, hits RTX 2080 SUPER level performance
3 Dec 2020 at 9:39 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: x_wingBare in mind that you can use ORCA or PAL along side Mesa OpenGL/Vulkan. Also, not sure what do you mean when you say that Mesa OpenGL is not stable.
Honestly - I don't even know what you're talking about. I know just one thing - with Nvidia regular desktop user has OpenGL / Vulkan / CUDA / OpenCL working well out of the box (and sadly no Wayland). With Amd I don't - I need to install AMDGPUPRO.
When I'm talking about mesa opengl is not good for creatives I mean it regularly fails in professional creative apps (Maya, Modo, Substance, Resolve etc). Often those apps don't work at all (with Modo I've been able to report mesa related issues and Modo was tweaked to work with it). Also when I've used amd mesa drivers it was the only time I've encountered hard lockups on Linux.

Quoting: x_wingThat shouldn't be the case. AMDGPU-PRO is normally used in workstation, so a kernel version update is not very common and if the kernel mayor version is updated, the dynamic module will not be required anymore (a.k.a. everything will work out of the box).
I agree it shouldn't. But if you're creative it is. If you read my post you'll notice that I've specifically pointed out if you're a regular desktop user and a gamer mesa can be enough.
But if you're getting our of that comfort zone more than often it isn't.
I've managed a workstation with AMDGPU-PRO and I'm just reporting my findings. More than often after a kernel update I had to fix my box by reinstalling the driver. I get it that there may be a way to set it up better, so those won't break that easily / will get rebuilt. But that requires knowledge and setup that a creative / regular user shouldn't have to have. It's really not a way to expand linux user base.
That's the reason why when someone asks me about setting up a linux box for 3d I strongly recommend going with Nvidia despite my reservations about them as a company.

Quoting: x_wingWhich are the "Nvidia officially supported" drivers repos you refer?
I mean repos for distros like Ubuntu , OpenSUSE etc... And I don't care whether they're maintained by Nvidia or other organization. I'm just saying that from an average Joe perspective those are easier to handle. You enable the repo and you stop worrying about the driver - and again that it my experience, haven't had any major Nvidia driver related isssues for years.

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti arrives December 2, hits RTX 2080 SUPER level performance
2 Dec 2020 at 6:40 pm UTC Likes: 1

@3zekiel : yeah, I know... and I've tried. And it sucks big time. IMO there's no sense using Wayland session on Nvidia atm. Also I don't think it is the devs that should bend the knee. It is Nvidia who should adhere to the standard that has been clearly laid out. The only (unrealistic tbh) hope I have is that Wayland switches to Vulkan (which from what I've heard is at least possible since some missing pieces were added).

@Shmerl: yeah, I totally got it. But the question was whether there are any reasons to go with Nvidia - and I've given those :) .

GeForce RTX 3060 Ti arrives December 2, hits RTX 2080 SUPER level performance
2 Dec 2020 at 6:12 pm UTC

Quoting: Shmerl
Quoting: PJIt really depends. If you need a stable driver you won't have to uninstall/rebuild manually after each kernel update
That's exactly AMD situation (the driver is part of the kernel).
Not really, but to I should had been more clear what I mean. If you're creative you probably need good opencl and stable opengl that works well in professional content creation apps (no matter 3d, video production etc). Sadly this means Mesa won't be enough.
Thus when you're on AMD you need to install AMDGPU PRO. And my experience is that as you don't have a repo for amdgpu pro for most distros provided by AMD after each kernel update you end with a blank black screen and you neeed to reinstall the driver.
With Nvidia it is just way simpler - you get the rebuilt driver after a kernel update (or at least should - which worked for me in the last 3 or 4 years) as Nvidia offers repos for the most popular distros.

And to be clear - all I am saying is that it is still not that simple. I'd love to use AMD (because of Wayland for example), but as a creative I'd be shooting myself in the foot (and yeah.... I've tried).

But I totally understand that if you're a typical desktop user and just need good gaming performance and nice desktop AMD can be a good option for you.