6 ms·

I want a desktop linux machine that "just works" (is that so unreasonable?). Is it genrally safe to buy a Ryzen? I've seen so many mixed messages.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
gameswithgo 7y ago
Every linux distro I have tried works fine with my Ryzen 3900X. Ubuntu 18/19/20. Maybe threadripper had some extra issues early but its likely fine now. The only Ryzen/Linux issue I've heard of is on launch week of Zen2 some distros of Linux were broken by an AMD bug which was fixed pretty quick. In fact performance is better for many cored Ryzens than windows usually.
liuliu 7y ago
If you stick with 1 or 2 GPUs and common mainstream motherboards, more recent Linux distro (Ubuntu 20.04). You will be fine. The most problem I had is due to the "high-end" motherboard.
erebe__ 7y ago
I have a Ryzen 9 3900X with Archlinux and it is working just fine without any issues.
mjard 7y ago
Few months back I put together Ryzen 3950x with an ASUS X570-ACE motherboard. Has been completely painless running Fedora. With a Gen3 Ryzen and a mainstream linux distro you probably can't go wrong.
wmf 7y ago
https://system76.com/desktops https://system76.com/desktops If you want something that just works, buy something with Linux preinstalled and supported. If no vendor offers the distro you want, buy from a Linux vendor anyway and install what you want. When people buy Windows hardware then complain that Linux doesn't work it sends the wrong message to the market.
- rumanator 7y ago
  > If you want something that just works, buy something with Linux preinstalled and supported. System76 is known for simply rebranding cheap Clevo/Sager laptops. * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17039414 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17039414 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17049463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17049463
  - Tuna-Fish 7y ago
    Just because they are not doing their own hardware does not mean that they don't test their drivers/firmware.
    - rumanator 7y ago
      They are buying Clevo gear and slapping their logo on it. A sticker with a 40% markup does not change hardware support. In fact, if you take the time to read the links I've presented you'll eventually stumble on comments stating that they even fail to support basic hardware shipped by Clevo such as fingerprint readers.
      - wmf 7y ago
        The original comment asked about desktops, not laptops. Figuring out which Clevo laptops can run Linux and which ones can't is work that is worth money.
    - N1H1L 7y ago
      I read the comments in that HN thread. The comments were way more salty than needed. Calling pop os a custom ghetto did not age well in 2020.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- ashtonkem 7y ago
  That runs somewhat contrary to the reason why people build their own computers.
old-gregg 7y ago
I have a home server with 32GB of RAM that's been up 24/7. I've been running Debian testing on it. I started with Ryzen 1700, then upgraded to Ryzen 2700. It's been running a dozen of VMs with Windows and Linux. Linux VMs run services like Samba, Kubernetes, Postgres and photo sharing albums inside. Windows VMs are used to run photo editing software, so it's not idle at all. I also compile Golang projects on that box frequently. The current uptime of the entire thing is 92 days since last reboot, which was intentional (new kernel). So... quite stable. But when I bought it a couple of years ago, I experienced some lock-ups, about once a month, especially when the CPU was idle. I replaced the "gamer" motherboard with [1] and the problems disappeared. I think a lot, but possibly not all, of problems you see online are caused by gaming community itself. For whatever reason, that culture/market is plagued by premature/buggy product launches (motherboard+UEFI) and oftentimes CPU has nothing to do with user issues. [1] https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=X470D4U https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=X...
- LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
  Interesting. What are you using for sound? The HDMI-out from the GPU?
  - old-gregg 6y ago
    TBH I don't use sound, and the GPU there is very basic ASpeed chip, the primary "UI" is IPMI, it's a server motherboard after all. But when you connect to a Windows VM via RDP, there's an option to pipe sound back to the client via a virtual sound card. On a gigabit ethernet, you can watch Youtube videos this way. :)
loeg 7y ago
I've had a first gen Threadripper and ASrock X399 board from right around launch and they've just worked the entire time (ECC RAM). The first gen Ryzen (desktop) parts had some issues that required RMAs for some end-users, but that was 2-3 generations ago.
mceachen 7y ago
I've been really happy with my Ryzen 9 3900X on a ASUS X570-PLUS AM4 TUF motherboard [0], with 64GB of RAM and a reused GeForce GTW 970 (built this Feb). No-drama install on Ubuntu 19.10 (18.04 didn't boot due to drivers?). No kernel panics or even X lockups. It's wonderful to have such a fast development box. If the stock cooler is too loud, the Noctua NH-D15 is silent until full load when it just audibly whispers. (I'd been developing PhotoStructure on older hardware to make inefficient code paths more immediately painful, but I needed a beefer box to replicate parallelism issues that some of my beta users were seeing. Thankfully, those issues were immediately apparent, and library syncs are dramatically faster now). [0] https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/TUF-GAMING-X570-PLUS/ https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/TUF-GAMING-X570-PLUS/
rbanffy 7y ago
My suggestion is to get a tower server from a good brand that fits your needs. My workhorse box is an aging Xeon E3 "server" that has been running Linux flawlessly from day one. It's replacement will probably be a similar box. You can go all the way from low-end server to MacPro-killer monster (dual socket Xeon Platinum, multiple GPU boards, insane disk IO and a couple terabytes of RAM) directly from Dell's website.
nwallin 7y ago
I bought a 3700X in September, two months after they were released. (took a while for prices/supply to stabilize) I have never had any problems with it. Linux problems only crop up with heavily integrated custom systems. Typically laptops that cram a ton of shit into the smallest possible space, and then try to work around incompatibilities with extensive driver customization. Typically, if you can wipe a system's hard disk, install Windows on it, and only install drivers from the chipset manufacturer rather than from the brand of the laptop, and everything works, you'll be fine. But if your Lenovo laptop has a Realtek wireless chip in it, and the driver downloaded directly from Realtek is flaky, but the driver downloaded from Lenovo works, it will be flaky in Linux too. The laptop brand isn't going to spend the money to monkey with some weird driver because they like spending money - they're spending that money because they're doing something the chipset maker doesn't support. These problems almost never happen on desktops with full sized ATX motherboards. First of all, the expectation is that you'll buy a copy of Windows and the motherboard manufacturer doesn't have the opportunity to slip in their pile of custom drivers and other assorted crapware into a custom Windows install. Second, with plenty of space on the motherboard there's no need for fancy tricks that fall down when you look at them funny.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

gameswithgo 7y ago

Every linux distro I have tried works fine with my Ryzen 3900X. Ubuntu 18/19/20. Maybe threadripper had some extra issues early but its likely fine now. The only Ryzen/Linux issue I've heard of is on launch week of Zen2 some distros of Linux were broken by an AMD bug which was fixed pretty quick. In fact performance is better for many cored Ryzens than windows usually.

liuliu 7y ago

If you stick with 1 or 2 GPUs and common mainstream motherboards, more recent Linux distro (Ubuntu 20.04). You will be fine. The most problem I had is due to the "high-end" motherboard.

erebe__ 7y ago

I have a Ryzen 9 3900X with Archlinux and it is working just fine without any issues.

mjard 7y ago

Few months back I put together Ryzen 3950x with an ASUS X570-ACE motherboard. Has been completely painless running Fedora. With a Gen3 Ryzen and a mainstream linux distro you probably can't go wrong.

wmf 7y ago

https://system76.com/desktops https://system76.com/desktops If you want something that just works, buy something with Linux preinstalled and supported. If no vendor offers the distro you want, buy from a Linux vendor anyway and install what you want. When people buy Windows hardware then complain that Linux doesn't work it sends the wrong message to the market.

rumanator 7y ago
> If you want something that just works, buy something with Linux preinstalled and supported. System76 is known for simply rebranding cheap Clevo/Sager laptops. * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17039414 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17039414 * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17049463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17049463
- Tuna-Fish 7y ago
  Just because they are not doing their own hardware does not mean that they don't test their drivers/firmware.
  - rumanator 7y ago
    They are buying Clevo gear and slapping their logo on it. A sticker with a 40% markup does not change hardware support. In fact, if you take the time to read the links I've presented you'll eventually stumble on comments stating that they even fail to support basic hardware shipped by Clevo such as fingerprint readers.
    - wmf 7y ago
      The original comment asked about desktops, not laptops. Figuring out which Clevo laptops can run Linux and which ones can't is work that is worth money.
  - N1H1L 7y ago
    I read the comments in that HN thread. The comments were way more salty than needed. Calling pop os a custom ghetto did not age well in 2020.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
ashtonkem 7y ago
That runs somewhat contrary to the reason why people build their own computers.

old-gregg 7y ago

I have a home server with 32GB of RAM that's been up 24/7. I've been running Debian testing on it. I started with Ryzen 1700, then upgraded to Ryzen 2700. It's been running a dozen of VMs with Windows and Linux. Linux VMs run services like Samba, Kubernetes, Postgres and photo sharing albums inside. Windows VMs are used to run photo editing software, so it's not idle at all. I also compile Golang projects on that box frequently. The current uptime of the entire thing is 92 days since last reboot, which was intentional (new kernel). So... quite stable. But when I bought it a couple of years ago, I experienced some lock-ups, about once a month, especially when the CPU was idle. I replaced the "gamer" motherboard with [1] and the problems disappeared. I think a lot, but possibly not all, of problems you see online are caused by gaming community itself. For whatever reason, that culture/market is plagued by premature/buggy product launches (motherboard+UEFI) and oftentimes CPU has nothing to do with user issues. [1] https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=X470D4U https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=X...

LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
Interesting. What are you using for sound? The HDMI-out from the GPU?
- old-gregg 6y ago
  TBH I don't use sound, and the GPU there is very basic ASpeed chip, the primary "UI" is IPMI, it's a server motherboard after all. But when you connect to a Windows VM via RDP, there's an option to pipe sound back to the client via a virtual sound card. On a gigabit ethernet, you can watch Youtube videos this way. :)

loeg 7y ago

I've had a first gen Threadripper and ASrock X399 board from right around launch and they've just worked the entire time (ECC RAM). The first gen Ryzen (desktop) parts had some issues that required RMAs for some end-users, but that was 2-3 generations ago.

mceachen 7y ago

I've been really happy with my Ryzen 9 3900X on a ASUS X570-PLUS AM4 TUF motherboard [0], with 64GB of RAM and a reused GeForce GTW 970 (built this Feb). No-drama install on Ubuntu 19.10 (18.04 didn't boot due to drivers?). No kernel panics or even X lockups. It's wonderful to have such a fast development box. If the stock cooler is too loud, the Noctua NH-D15 is silent until full load when it just audibly whispers. (I'd been developing PhotoStructure on older hardware to make inefficient code paths more immediately painful, but I needed a beefer box to replicate parallelism issues that some of my beta users were seeing. Thankfully, those issues were immediately apparent, and library syncs are dramatically faster now). [0] https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/TUF-GAMING-X570-PLUS/ https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/TUF-GAMING-X570-PLUS/

rbanffy 7y ago

My suggestion is to get a tower server from a good brand that fits your needs. My workhorse box is an aging Xeon E3 "server" that has been running Linux flawlessly from day one. It's replacement will probably be a similar box. You can go all the way from low-end server to MacPro-killer monster (dual socket Xeon Platinum, multiple GPU boards, insane disk IO and a couple terabytes of RAM) directly from Dell's website.

nwallin 7y ago

I bought a 3700X in September, two months after they were released. (took a while for prices/supply to stabilize) I have never had any problems with it. Linux problems only crop up with heavily integrated custom systems. Typically laptops that cram a ton of shit into the smallest possible space, and then try to work around incompatibilities with extensive driver customization. Typically, if you can wipe a system's hard disk, install Windows on it, and only install drivers from the chipset manufacturer rather than from the brand of the laptop, and everything works, you'll be fine. But if your Lenovo laptop has a Realtek wireless chip in it, and the driver downloaded directly from Realtek is flaky, but the driver downloaded from Lenovo works, it will be flaky in Linux too. The laptop brand isn't going to spend the money to monkey with some weird driver because they like spending money - they're spending that money because they're doing something the chipset maker doesn't support. These problems almost never happen on desktops with full sized ATX motherboards. First of all, the expectation is that you'll buy a copy of Windows and the motherboard manufacturer doesn't have the opportunity to slip in their pile of custom drivers and other assorted crapware into a custom Windows install. Second, with plenty of space on the motherboard there's no need for fancy tricks that fall down when you look at them funny.