Does the Radeon HD 7790 graphics/video card work well in Linux?

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Yann Bane

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Jul 18, 2013
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I have bought the Radeon HD 7790 graphics/video card, and I'd like to use Linux (Fedora, Arch, any distro really).

Will it work? Will I get 3D acceleration needed to run GNOME or KDE?

What features will I be missing?

And one last question - how can I test how well the card is working?

It's the 1GB MSI version.
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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I can't speak to the 7790 directly, but I run a 6950 and 3d rendering works fine for me. I suspect it will work on yours also. Linux does not support directx - it works only in opengl. To test the card, run a terminal and type in "glxinfo | grep rendering" without the quotes. If you have the correct drivers installed the response should be "direct rendering: Yes" without the quotes.

Mark
 
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Yann Bane

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Jul 18, 2013
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Well are there any other features that might not work?

I know about OGL/DX.

What about virtualization? Would it work better with a Windows host?
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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VM's have been around for linux for several years and are pretty well dialed in.

If you have an old hdd stick it in your pc, wipe the drive and install linux and test it. Or run linux from a usb with a persistant cache so you can experiment. The usb method is easy (use THIS to create the thumb drive with persistance) and as a beginning point try linux mint cinnamon. The cinnamon desktop is very intuitive and easy to work with and will be the most "windows-like" you will find. Stay away from the Arch type distros unless you are comfortable working in command line to fix the breakage.

Mark
 
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Yann Bane

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Jul 18, 2013
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I'm pretty well acquainted with Linux. I have just been running the same system for almost 10 years and was completely out of the loop when it comes to hardware.

I'm just wondering whether there is any benefit to running in a VM instead of on metal when it comes to 3D accel. (if Windows already has perfect access to the GPU, Linux could utilize that right?)
 
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Yann Bane

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Jul 18, 2013
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But I'm asking how Linux works in them, is it able to use hardware drivers from Windows (especially for GPU)?
 
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1991ATServerTower

1991ATServerTower

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May 6, 2013
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1. Linux will run in the "Virtual Machine", not the actual machine when using the VM, on ANY host.
2. An OS running in VM does not know about, care about, and does not in any way utilize the drivers of the host.
3. If you're doing more than dicking around for kicks or some specialized server setup, always run a real, fully installed operating system. This is especially true for gaming, because VMs have significant limitations when it comes to 3D rendering (due to the VM software itself, not the drivers of the host or virtualized operating system).
 
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Yann Bane

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Jul 18, 2013
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But modern VMs should be doing hardware acceleration, shouldn't they?

And I'm 100% positive that VirtualBox has 3D acceleration as well, even though it's experimental.
 
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