AMD GPU upgrade

Issues & Assistance Newbies
1

Hi Everyone,

I've been using Garuda Linux for the last year so I'm kind of new to Garuda, I'm very new to this forum and I have about two years of experience with Linux overall. Garuda has been very solid and I've not had any issues whatsoever. In hopes of keeping the "no issues" streak going, I'm reaching out to the community for advice. Tomorrow I will replace the currently installed Radeon R9 290X with Radeon RX Vega 64.

Should Garuda Linux be prepped for this in any way (driver wise or anything else?) or this should be a matter of unplug the old one, plug in the new one, and everything should work as expected?

Any thoughts you have on this would be greatly appreciated.

λ garuda-inxi
System:
Kernel: 6.1.12-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.1
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=18b32049-f71a-4708-8256-eb94e1b2c3eb rw rootflags=subvol=@
cryptdevice=UUID=728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b:luks-728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b
root=/dev/mapper/luks-728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b quiet splash
rd.udev.log_priority=3 vt.global_cursor_default=0
resume=/dev/mapper/luks-dbd8124d-2d8c-461d-b435-8c46c16ee9fd loglevel=3
ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.0 tk: Qt v: 5.15.8 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 1 dm: SDDM
Distro: Garuda Linux base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop Mobo: ASUSTeK model: SABERTOOTH P67 v: Rev 1.xx
serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 3602
date: 11/01/2012
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i5-2400 bits: 64 type: MCP arch: Sandy Bridge
gen: core 2 level: v2 built: 2010-12 process: Intel 32nm family: 6
model-id: 0x2A (42) stepping: 7 microcode: 0x2F
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 4 smt: <unsupported> cache: L1: 256 KiB
desc: d-4x32 KiB; i-4x32 KiB L2: 1024 KiB desc: 4x256 KiB L3: 6 MiB
desc: 1x6 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 2502 high: 3400 min/max: 1600/3400 scaling:
driver: intel_cpufreq governor: performance cores: 1: 3400 2: 3400 3: 1605
4: 1605 bogomips: 24879
Flags: avx ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: AMD Hawaii XT / Grenada [Radeon R9 290X/390X] vendor: ASUSTeK
driver: radeon v: kernel alternate: amdgpu arch: GCN-2 code: Sea Islands
process: GF/TSMC 16-28nm built: 2013-17 pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s
lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports: active: HDMI-A-1
empty: DP-1,DVI-D-1,DVI-D-2 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:67b0
class-ID: 0300 temp: 47.0 C
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.8
compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: radeon unloaded: modesetting
alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: radeonsi gpu: radeon display-ID: :0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 508x285mm (20.00x11.22")
s-diag: 582mm (22.93")
Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-0 model: ASUS VP278 serial: <filter>
built: 2017 res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 82 gamma: 1.2
size: 598x336mm (23.54x13.23") diag: 686mm (27") ratio: 16:9 modes:
max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
API: OpenGL v: 4.5 Mesa 22.3.5 renderer: HAWAII ( LLVM 15.0.7 DRM 2.50
6.1.12-zen1-1-zen) direct-render: Yes
Audio:
Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio
vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
chip-ID: 8086:1c20 class-ID: 0403
Device-2: AMD Hawaii HDMI Audio [Radeon R9 290/290X / 390/390X]
vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s
lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s bus-ID: 01:00.1
chip-ID: 1002:aac8 class-ID: 0403
Sound API: ALSA v: k6.1.12-zen1-1-zen running: yes
Sound Interface: sndio v: N/A running: no
Sound Server-1: PulseAudio v: 16.1 running: no
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.66 running: yes
Network:
Device-1: Intel 82579V Gigabit Network vendor: ASUSTeK P8P67 Deluxe
driver: e1000e v: kernel port: f040 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:1503
class-ID: 0200
IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
IF-ID-1: anbox0 state: down mac: <filter>
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 931.51 GiB used: 252.2 GiB (27.1%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Crucial model: CT1000MX500SSD1
size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 043 scheme: GPT
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 922.41 GiB size: 922.41 GiB (100.00%)
used: 252.2 GiB (27.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 254:0
mapped: luks-728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 752 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 922.41 GiB size: 922.41 GiB (100.00%)
used: 252.2 GiB (27.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 254:0
mapped: luks-728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 922.41 GiB size: 922.41 GiB (100.00%)
used: 252.2 GiB (27.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 254:0
mapped: luks-728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 922.41 GiB size: 922.41 GiB (100.00%)
used: 252.2 GiB (27.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 254:0
mapped: luks-728eca4c-c2b7-4415-8903-64fa4824923b
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 7.73 GiB used: 1.52 GiB (19.7%)
priority: 100 dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 8.8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
dev: /dev/dm-1 maj-min: 254:1
mapped: luks-dbd8124d-2d8c-461d-b435-8c46c16ee9fd
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: radeon temp: 47.0 C
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
Processes: 287 Uptime: 11h 24m wakeups: 0 Memory: 7.73 GiB
used: 5.77 GiB (74.6%) Init: systemd v: 253 default: graphical
tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12.2.1 clang: 15.0.7 Packages: 2297
pm: pacman pkgs: 2286 libs: 602 tools: octopi,paru pm: flatpak pkgs: 11
Shell: fish v: 3.6.0 default: Bash v: 5.1.16 running-in: konsole
inxi: 3.3.25
Garuda (2.6.15-1):
System install date:     2022-02-01
Last full system update: 2023-02-21
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager mkinitcpio
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:            anbox-container-manager.service bluetooth-autoconnect.service systemd-networkd-wait-online.service

Thank you.

2

This GPU is a few years old and you have a very recent version of the kernel, which is basically the perfect combination for hardware support on Linux. I would expect your new GPU to work out of the box, with no additional intervention needed. Obviously make sure your PSU is up to the task, and so on.

A lot of GPU driver issues come from hardware that is extremely new (or extremely old), or kernels that are out of date. Or Nvidia drivers, which seem to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of grief and aggravation. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

7 Likes
3

The joys of proprietary software (cries at my gtx 1070)

If you have a beefy PSU, and a spare PCIe slot, you could always consider running them both. You can do some neat stuff, like GPU pass-through into a VM for example.

5 Likes
4

Thank you for your responses! Great idea about the PSU, I actually had to double check what's powering this system but it's a 750W PSU so it should do ok. May sweat a bit from time to time with the Vega 64 :smiley:
Running both cards would be fun and it's a super cool idea but the R9 290X has to make a move to my office where it will be bored as heck running an office suite and such with a 4K monitor. The built in GPU on my office machine can't handle 4K but the 290X should do fine and it will probably reach retirement age there :slightly_smiling_face:
This may seem like a silly question but if you had a choice, which would you run on your office / work desktop (no heavy processing required, no video editing, no coding, just general office like spreadsheets, browsers, e-mail, etc): Garuda, Tumbleweed or a different distribution altogether?

Thanks again!

Best.

5

I would run Garuda-kde. not the dragonized gaming version, just the kde version. but that is because i have gotten used to Arch-based Desktops.

6

Ah, yeah that’s better than on a shelf, though!

Honestly, I think it really just boils down to personal preference. Some people would argue a Debian based distro for it’s stability, but I’d just use whatever you’re comfortable with.

3 Likes