Looking for cheapest 4K capable GPU with good linux support

Hardware Hub GPU
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Hi all!

I’m a long time youtube subscriber, but haven’t been around forums for too long. After seeing the video about LookingGlass and successfully having configured GPU passthrough on a demo Linux install, I’ve decided I want to use that setup full-time.
The only issues is that I only have one GPU (GTX 970) which I’d like to use in my Windows VM. I have a 4K monitor (only HDMI, but I have an active DP adapter) and 1440p monitor. My motherboard doesn’t have HDMI 2.0 or DP port, so I can’t use integrated GPU for my Linux host (I could, but 30Hz limit is really annoying for everyday use).
So I’m looking for the cheapest (used if fine) GPU that can run 4K and 1440p monitors at the same time - with good Linux support.
I believe something like this could work fine:

but I’ve been hearing stuff about bad NVidia drivers for linux. Is that true, should I be concerned? Is there a better choice for the host GPU?
I’m looking for the cheapest option as 90% of the time I’ll be working inside a terminal (and have a browser open on the side) on my host OS, so even GTX 1050 (especially with prices right now) is a overkill.

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Stick with AMD for Linux. Better driver support.

Could pick up 2 used Furys for sub 1 thousand.

That’s for 60 fps at 4k.

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R9 270x 4GB should do. Is probably overkill though.
specs

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Nvidia might be harder to work with if you’re new to linux, or it might not. It depends on your usage scenario, distro, and overall know-how.
Not a big deal tho, but generally AMD is way easier to work with, and considering that in this point in time nvda doesn’t provide a noticable performance benefit it’s safer to opt for team red.

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hd7750 can push 4k60 via DP, though idk about how fluid movie playback etc. will be.

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Thanks for the suggestions so far. HD 7750 looks good! If Intel HD 4600 can play movies, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be able to. But I’ll mainly use host OS for work, maybe watch a youtube video, so it doesn’t matter.
R9 270x is definitely an overkill :slight_smile:

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If you can find any of these 14nm cards for close to 100, I think that would be the best choice considering things

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@anon25377527 I’ll take a look, but why do you think that makes more sense than buying HD 7750/7770 for $40 bucks or Quadro K600 for $30?

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Because nvidia will cut off support for older cards at some point and the old radeon drivers are … not great. Polaris is where it’s at for cheap-ish linux GPUs.

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They use less power too. Which is always nice. Lower bill and less heat, something to think a bout with two card working on things.

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hm? The HD7750 (r7 250) is supported by amdgpu just fine. (And the radeon kernel driver can also handle x11-forwarded graphics and video playback fine, in Qubes.)

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It is a GCN 2 card, and for best performance with amdgpu one should get a GCN 3 card.

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That is taken out of context and applies to Optimus drivers. As someone who has been watching Linux GPU drivers since the beta release of Steam on Linux in 2012, the NVIDIA is overall more bang for the buck.

NVIDIA proprietary consistently out performs AMD drivers both proprietary and open source. A quick look at Phoronix benchmarks proves this.

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OK, that wasn’t the case not that long ago. Anyway, for decent video playback you would probably want the newer card and I’m not sure if the older cards can even output 4k60.

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Guys, I kinda don’t care about performance. I’ll be running text based apps (like terminal) most of the time. But given all of the other arguments, I’ll definitely try to grab RX 550. I’m running my PC about 12 hours per day. I couldn’t find exact numbers on 7750/7770, but if the newer architecture uses 50W less, thats 600Wh per day. 18kWh per month. 216kWh per year, which is about $40 in my country.

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