GPU for Fedora 26 (VM Rig)

Hardware Build a PC
1

Hello, new guy here :slight_smile:

I just ordered a new rig with the following specs:

  • CPU: Threadripper 1950X
  • GPU: 32 GB CL14 TridentZ
  • Board: ASRock X399 Taichi
  • GPU: I will reuse my old 660 Ti and once GPU prices will come down a bit I’ll get a EVGA 1070 SC Black Edition
  • PSU: Seasonic Prime Titanium 750 Watt

Cooling will be handled by the following parts:

  • CPU: EK Supremacy EVO Threadripper Edition - Full Nickel
  • GPU: Currently on Air with the 1070 it will be with a EK-FC1070 GTX - Nickel
  • Pump: EK XRES 140 Revo with D5 PWM (sleeved)
  • AlphaCool NexXos XT45 360mm and 240 mm from the old system
  • 16/10mm tube and fittings
  • 6x Noctua NF-F12 PWM

So, now to my question. Considering I will be running VMs using this guide:

I need a second GPU for Fedora. Now when it comes to AMD I have no idea what to buy but I heard it’s better for Linux/Fedora to use a AMD GPU since the drivers are open source. I was thinking that a Sapphire Radeon HD 6450 or maybe a XFX Radeon R5 230 could do the job.

If you have any other recommendations that I could take a look at just say so :slight_smile: The only real specification I have is that the GPU is a passively cooled.

3

I see that you want to use the Radeon HD 6450 in a multiple GPU setup. Please see this post by @Chop91 It links to Reddit where some people report on having to flash their GPU bios in order to get the Radeon HD 6450 working with UEFI motherboards and CSM disabled.

https://forum.level1techs.com/t/ryzen-gpu-passthrough-setup-guide-fedora-26-windows-gaming-on-linux-level-one-techs/116959/110

4

It does not have to bee a 6450. As I said if there is something better that is cooled passiv then name it.

If it has to be an Nvidia that is also ok as long as it works with Fedora.

5

the polaris card work fine as host or guest GPU’s so RX 4xx and 5xx

6

Yes, with all the additional video acceleration and newest spec outputs I would go for one of those. XFX made a passive RX460.

7

I would prefer AMD, because of the open source drivers. Since I only have a single slot available and require a low profile passively cooled card, I went with the MSI GT710. Just installed proprietary drivers using this guide and seems to run fine. As soon as I have a successful setup passing through the guest GPU (1050Ti), I’ll report back.

8

I can confirm that the combination of a GT710 as Host GPU & GTX 1050Ti as Guest GPU works. I had problems with vfio capturing my card, so I used the legacy pci-stub. I also did some additional VM settings opposed to @wendell’s tutorial. This post by @MichaelS clearly discribes the steps to take. You might also want to listen to this young man, his video helped me with some extra settings to solve my GTX 1050Ti driver error code 43. I also had to run the nvidia installer twice in my win10 VM.

So, you can use a small, low-profile, single slot, passively cooled GT710 as host GPU. Yet, if your rig can harbor an AMD GPU (like the R5 230), I would go with AMD. Good luck!

9

Thanks for the feedback! Greatly appreciated.

Im geting the parts today so it will be build time this evening :smiley:

I’m still going to have to sleep on it but it looks like it will be an RX 460. It’s just newer and has more features that might come in handy in a few years like h265. Follow up question for the 460:

Is there a waterblock available? Might it even be possible to use a 480 block on it? If not it will probably be the XFX passiv card. My old 8800 GTX is from XFX and they did a good job there so I think it they’ll do a good job with AMD.