Perpetual Linux Distro Thread

I've absolutely no experience doing this, just curious but I wonder if it would work it you just,
sudo apt install kde-standard plasma-nm

 

I have a spare pc with a GTX1660 and an AMD 3500X, looking to try and install a linux distro. Not sure it will stay, but i will give it a shot.
Looking for KDE desktop and probably ubuntu, not sure of the difference of ubuntu and arch.

I'm looking for some nice effects and potentially make the PC a plex server and maybe game (just for the sake of it, i have 9700 xt on my main pc)

 

I've been running KDE Neon for about 4 years or more now, and with the exception of the upgrade to KDE 6 it's never given me any problems. What's more KDE Neon runs the latest KDE software, so you get the latest KDE DE updates as they're released and it's loosly based on Ubuntu LTS.

There's also TuxedoOS, which draws from the same repo's as KDE Neon, but should technically be slightly more stable considering Neon is essentially a testing platform for KDE software - However, as stated I've been running KDE Neon for years with little in the way of problems; and I don't just game on this PC, it's also used for the daily running of my business.

 

Thanks for this, i was between these two and chose TuxedoOs for some reason.

 

Both are great distro's if you want Ubuntu LTS with the latest KDE DE and features (in fact, they're the only distro's that allow for Ubuntu LTS and the latest KDE DE and features).

 

Tried both.
With Tuxedo OS i had choppy animations and couldn't go to 120hz (nvidia drivers seem to be installed fine)
Then i tried KDE Neon and i couldnt choose 120hz (only goes up to 60hz too)
I tried installing different nvidia drivers and now it boots to a black screen.

 

Ah, everyone's early Linux experience

 

gave up years ago with nvidias crappy support of linux. Radeon GPUs work no drivers needed - AMD actually submit their drivers to the kernel.

currently running a 7900XTX zero issues.

with nvidia, you'd have to wait for them to update their drivers before you could do a kernel update because it might not work with a new kernel. that and nvidias drivers are closed source which goes against the linux way. they make billions off of linux use in datacentres, yet don't play nice with supporting the OS.

 

How did you install the Nvidia drivers? If any binary downloaded direct from Nvidia was involved along with a .run script - You did it wrong.

You need to add the Launchpad Nvidia driver PPA:

https://launchpad.net/~graphics-drivers/+archive/ubuntu/ppa

Open terminal and run the following commands under either TuxedoOS or KDE Neon:

Code:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa

Code:

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-570

Reboot and try setting your refresh rate again. You're most likely running Nouveau drivers which won't support any more than basic 60Hz.

Honestly, with the exception of the very latest bleeding edge kernels, I've never had a problem. Stay a kernel release back and all is good.

EDIT: Ironically enough, right now the latest Nvidia Linux drivers are actually a metric tonne more stable than the latest Nvidia Windows drivers.

Right now I'm playing all my games with full path based ray tracing using DLSS4 Transformer as well as frame gen and Nvidia Reflex and life is good - The system runs well, GPU is maxed out, and FPS are more than adequate. Even Wayland's fully supported now, I can also overclock my GPU under Wayland and set custom fan profiles. The only problems persisting under Wayland nowadays are essentially basic features every modern desktop should have that have for some obscure reason simply never been implemented correctly under Wayland - As a result I still use X11 and probably will continue to do so until it's finally shoved into the closet, fading into obscurity.

 

wayland only just recently, has added a session management protocol to cover some of those basic use cases it's never been able to do. however it's still draft spec, and requires the DE and apps to support it.

kinda useless still.

 

I read that today, the fact it needs app support renders it largely useless short term. But it's OK, as Wayland supports mixed monitor resolutions and refresh rates [/s]. I run dual identical monitors under X11 and all is good.

 

As i said, Nvidia drivers were running properly. The issue is with GTX1660 that 'only' supports HDMI 2.0
I ended up installing Mint but still can't get 120hz when running at 4k, even if i use 4:2:2 (i don't see option for 4:2:0) at 1440p. i see 120hz
I will try windows again and see if i can run 4k120hz, not sure how i did it before upgrading my PC

 

hdmi2.0 isn't capable of full colour depth (or 4:2:2) 4k at more than 60Hz, 4:2:0 will do it, but depends if drivers/config will let you set it. which is probably how you managed it before.

 

I know you said they were running properly, however it's important to know specifically how they were installed. As stated, downloading the driver binaries direct from Nvidia and using the .run script will result in bizarre issues as important packages get overwritten.

As cvidler stated, technically speaking HDMI 2.0 isn't capable of the output configuration you're trying to use. If you go to nvidia-settings > Select your active output > Go to the 'Color Space' drop down, you should see the option to change your color space - Try to change it to something your HDMI revision is capable of. Even better, can you use Displayport? That should resolve your issues.

 

They were installed automatically. When i tried mint i installed them using a 'driver installer' tool. 4:2:0 would allow me to use 120hz but it just isnt there (like in your screenshot. )

 

What driver version are you running under Mint? If the option isn't there the possibility exists that your HDMI version simply doesn't support it under Linux drtivers, is Displayport a possibility?

 

I run Mint and is the "driver installer" actually called "driver manager" and look something like this?

 

Yes

 

Are you running the latest Nvidia 570 drivers as shown in the screenie above?

 

I want to try linux on my main pc and i want to absolutely NOT mess with my windows installation.
The way i used to do it back in the day is to just unplug the windows disk and install linux on it's own disk.
Then just boot from separate disks when needed.
Will this work?