Re: [gentoo-user] Time to switch back to AMD?

[Dale]

Grant Edwards wrote:
> For several decades, I was a loyal AMD customer.  But the last time I
> upgraded my home desktop (2013), AMD just didn't seem to have anything
> that could complete with the Core-i3/5 CPUs with integrated graphics.
> The Intel HD-2500 GPU was plenty fast enough for everything I did back
> then, so I went with an i3-3220T (2 cores, 4 threads), and have been
> very happy with it (except for the security vulnerabilties).  It even
> handled it fine when I started working from home and added a second
> monitor.
>
> But, after the last update to the Heli-X flight simulator, I did
> notice that I'm bouncing off the rev-limiter on the GPU.  In order to
> get a reasonable frame rate and sort-of-smooth background panning I
> had to dial-down or turn off all the configurable graphics features
> (anti-aliasing, smoke, reflections, etc.).  Even with all of the fancy
> stuff turned off, it still sometimes struggles and the frame rate
> drops to below 20.
>
> I thought about buying a video card.  A $40-50 Radeon or NVidia card
> would be more than enough GPU. In the past I've been burned by ATI
> cards being abandoned within a year or two of purcase. Is AMD any
> better about support?  Of course, dealing with closed-source NVidia
> drivers is also annoying.
>
> Also, the motherboard/CPU are almost 8 years old.  Maybe it's time for
> a new AMD Ryzen with an integrated GPU.  Even the low-end sub-$100
> Ryzen 3 with Vega 8 GPU would be a big jump in performance from the
> current Intel HD 2500.  For another $40, a Ryzen 5 with Vega 11 GPU
> would completely outclass what I have now.
>
> How are the AMD "Wraith Stealth" fans?  I've been using the fan that
> came with the old Core-i3, and it gets a little annoying when it's
> time to compile chromium (or when flying planes/helicopters).
>
> Any issues with Gentoo and Xorg on AMD integrated Vega 8/11 GPUs?
>
> AFAICT, the drivers are all open source, and it ought to "just work"
> with recent kernels.
>
> Unfortunately, the capaciters on the existing motherboard are all
> solid and probably aren't going to pop any time soon.

I don't know if they still available but I have a Cooler Master HAF-932
case that has those large fans.  I also bought a much larger CPU cooler
than the tiny little toy that comes with CPUs.  It has a 140MM fan. 
When I'm doing updates, I can't hear any of the fans even in a quiet
room with me sitting right beside it. 

There may be other cases that have similar setups by now.  Those large
fans are very quiet but move a lot of air. Right now while the CPU is
idle, the CPU fan is running at about 1,000RPM.  The rear fan is also a
140mm running at 600RPMs.  The large fans are running at around 700RPMs
each.  I think the best idea is the top fan.  As we know, heat rises. 
That top fan really pulls out some heat.  The side fan doesn't have a
RPM monitor but it appears to turn at about the same speed as the front
and top.  BTW, the front fans blows air across the hard drives.

At idle, CPU temp is about 100F.  Ambient in the case is about 85F. 
Room temp is about 71F.  I'm guessing something warm is close to the
temp sensor on the mobo.  When I'm compiling and maxing out the CPUs, it
tends to run at about 124F.  If it hits 125F or so, I get my air blower
and blow out the dust.  While the fans do speed up, I still can't hear
anything.

This case supports water cooling systems but since I always buy large
CPU coolers and cases with a lot of fans, I've never seen the point of
water cooling.

I might add, other than systems someone gave me, I've never had a Intel
based system.  I always build systems with AMD CPUs.  So far, I've
always bought AMD video cards too.  I've read where some say ATI has
better support but I don't know myself.  Of course, I always buy older
cards so it doesn't matter much.  As with most anything, most problems
are with very new stuff that doesn't have good stable Linux drivers
yet.  One reason I try to get parts that are based on older tech.  Of
course, I don't play heavy duty games either. 

I have a cousin that used to build a new system every couple years for
gaming.  Several years ago, they just started buying game boxes.  They
use their computer for email etc and use the game boxes for playing
games.  When needed, they buy new game boxes.  They say it makes things
a lot easier on them.  Tends to be cheaper too.

Just some thoughts you might want to ponder on. 

Dale

:-)  :-)