Rx 580 support in Linux

I think I skimmed through all of the topics on here related to amd gpus in linux, but I haven’t found my answer yet. I tried following the instructions on https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=242474 page. The only thing I may have become confused about is this question. Should I completely uninstall ALL xorg drivers or just the specifically named one that url talks about and know that I ONLY end up with this “amdgpu-pro” driver? I don’t remember if I just uninstalled ONE of the xorg drivers and that is why It wouldn’t let me boot to the desktop with " error xorg failed to launch" or whatever the error message was. That situation is where I always ended up throwing my hands up and quitting Linux and going right back to Windows across the past 9 years I’ve tried LInux since Ubuntu 9.04 and Mint 12.04, and bits and piece of Arch and Fedora.

I"m just about to the point of giving up on Linux. I"m currently back on my Win 10 pro 64 machine, but I WANT to leave Windows behind. Screen tearing and stuttering as, ( what I think is/are the only issues) a result of not having the right driver(s) installed for my rx 580 8GB vram sapphire nitro + is keeping me from going 100% Linux.

Is there something I’m missing or misunderstanding? I’m not exactly a Linux noob, ( 1 ) , but I surely am not an expert like Joe Collins on youtube ( 8 to 10). I’m more like a 3 I’d say honestly, Would someone knowledgeable enough please help?

Yes I realize I probably should have just saved up more and bought a gtx 1070 and made this transition easier ( and I’ll probably sell my 580 and buy the highest end single gpu nvidia card later, but I’ve barely received 3 months use of this vid card.

I have found all other software I need and am able to make it work for my needs in Linux Mint 18.2 and love it overall, BUT I’m not against trying other other distros as long as I can have that start menu, autohide single taskbar at the bottom, and be able to pin or put whatever I want on that taskbar. Destroying this screen stuttering and tearing problem to ensure my gaming experience is solid is the absolutely LAST thing I need to flip the bird at Windows forever.

If I’ve missed the topic on here that directly addresses my request for help, I apologize and if I can I’ll delete my posting or someone else ca I suppose and perhaps point me to the topic already available? Thanks

Why do you need the pro driver in the first place? The open source one causes less problems and is generally faster.

2 Likes

what kernel are you running… All the gpu goodies are in 4.10.x or higher (the higher the better)

Linux Mint is probably not the best distro choice. I would recommend a rolling release distro like Antergos. This way you get an extremely current kernel, and related packages. However, if that is what you like more power to you. Not talking shit, just my opinion.

If you do not need HDMI audio, just use the open source Mesa driver.

Well I thought Wendell in a video ( which temporarily eludes me) said that the amdgpu-pro drivers are the best for the rx 400 or 500 series cards in Linux, but there may also be something else I’m misunderstanding. If by open source driver you mean the older flgrx or fglrx drivers? If so I’ve read those are no longer available or supported for anything newer than a certain version of ubuntu or Mint. …If not? (shruggs shoulders)

Oh and to the guy or woman asking " which kernel are you running?" Sorry, I always try running the absolutely latest kernel which I think now is 4.10.something, but I keep seeing " active" under a 4.8 one under Mint 18.2 even though I installed the 4.10.something latest kernel within Mint’s Update Manager.

I’m not sure how to install the Open Source Mesa Driver.

I’ve tried installing Antergos, but I ended up giving up because I couldn’t get it to work correctly. I’ll give it another shot with whatever instructions you feel are solid.

My requirements : A start menu with using the Super Key aka Win log key on the keyboard and functions the same, a single taskbar at the button with reasonably ease of pinning anything to it with autohide and auto re-appear functionality, the rest…I’ll have to see when I tip my toes in that particular pool/distro. Thank you for the fast responses everyone

fglrx is AMD’s old proprietary driver - you don’t want this one. The new proprietary driver is AMDGPU-PRO.

I’m not familiar with Mint, but it’s possible you already have the mesa (= open source) drivers installed. You can check which drivers you are running by executing glxinfo in a terminal.

The only drivers I know of available or were available for red team gpus in Linux were/are Mesa and AMDGPU-pro. I tried to install the Mesa driver, but I got lost in how to do it.

You don’t need the amdgpu-pro drivers. They only benefit professional series cards.

Please read this wiki page.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/AMDGPU

1 Like

Please don’t! I was waiting so long for Vega Just to get good Linux drivers. The open source drivers made so much progress in recent kernels and cause much less trouble than proprietary drivers (which Nvidia exclusively supports :/)

As the others said: upgrade your kernel and don’t bother to install the amdgpu-pro driver. It gives you worse performance in opengl anyway…

1 Like

That’s good to know. Thanks for the info. I just finished installing Ubuntu 17.04 64 bit and have made absolutely no modifications yet ( currently typing this comment on that system) other than upgrading the kernel to 4.12.something via terminal
My specs:
4790k overclocked to 4.6ghz
2400mhz ram 16GB total
asrock z97m4 pro matx mobo
8GB vram sapphire nitro + r580 vid card

Do you think I have the right driver’s installed

Problem so far is, even after upgrading the kernel to 4.12.something. I still have screen stuttering and some screen tearing ( regardless of the internet browser and addons/plug ins ) watching the long board 60fps 1080p youtube video found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ImZE0K7xc… the point of the video begins at 1:06. and pretty much all youtube videos. Tried enabling and disabling " use hardware acceleration" in firefox’s settings. Same result. I wonder if I have the wrong driver or driver type installed. I don’t want to have to go back to nvidia, but if there is no fix for screen tearing and stuttering, I can’t deal with that pititful of a computing experience and there was no point in paying the hundreds of bucks I did for the rx 580. I"m stilling researching things for the time being.

Have you tried to enable VSync in your Desktop environment?
This is how it looks like in KDE (in german anyways):

Yes, I just installed compiz-config-settings-manager via terminal. and ensured v sync is enabled and a few other settings adjustments within Compiz I found online, but the stuttering and mild tearing still exist

I believe I found the solution to your problem.

Can confirm that I no longer see screen tearing.

Yes, that’s the mesa driver.

@tpcs This is what you want.
To be specific you are running amdgpu (open source) mesa 17.0.3.

So everything is working and I found it funny that wanted to remove the xorg components. (Which would break your system).

It’s obvious to see @tpcs that you are very new to linux and that’s not a bad thing :slight_smile:

Exactly. I have never installed a *ubuntu distribution on any system without screen stuttering and playback issues. Always used compton and the config file from the arch wiki, never let me down so far.

Now that you mentioned it, I remember using comtpon back in 2011 on Linux mint 12 I think around October when I had a gtx580 Galaxy 3 slot vid card. Thank y’all much. Dynamic, I’ll try that option when I get off work this evening and let ya know know. Cheers

1 Like

I know I’m very new to Linux. That’s why I gave myself a 3 out of 10 knowledge rating​:grin::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Well guess what? I tried those instructions that Dynamic posted and no there is no change. Same problem exists. Also tried to completely uninstall compiz config settings manager and installed Compton and added it to the StartUp applications as the command " compton --backend glx --paint-on-overlay --vsync opengl-swc " and ensured the name of the start up file was Compton and the description as " Compositor x11 " if those last two parts even matter.
(Sign). It makes me thing I must go through a dozen different combination so trying multiple settings steps like this one with mutiple distros just to finally get the right combination of the correct setting or program to adjust with the right distro. Jesus. . this is why I keep ending up right back in Winblows -_-