Hi! I don’t know if this is the right place to ask (if you know somewhere better, let me know), but I want to build a Linux PC, mostly for CG stuff.
I’m a Blender user since years ago (you can see most of what I do here: https://www.artstation.com/andycuccaro), but I’m mostly focused on simple modeling and animation at the moment due to my computer limitations (Thinkpad T430, i5 3210M @3.100gHz, 4Gb RAM, integrated Intel GPU). I would like to render more stuff and edit longer videos, record my screen when working too (also sculpt something from time to time), but I can’t really doing it without the computer running out of memory or reeeally struggling.
My plan would be to install Fedora on it, Blender, Maya, Da Vinci Resolve and a VM with Windows for some programs that don’t run in Linux.
My question is: what processor and video cards would be recommended for better Linux and Blender compatibility? I’ve read (maybe I’m wrong though) that Linux plays better with AMD and doesn’t like Nvidia, but Blender works better with Intel and Nvidia GPUs. My budget is around $700-800, so I know I’m quite limited there too. I found a build in /r/pcmasterrace that it’s less that $700 but I don’t know how well this build would play with Linux.
Here are some links with some Blender requirements, recommendations and benchmarks that I’ve found, but that showed me how little I know about all this stuff:
There are no problems with NVIDIA GPUs under Linux. You need the proprietary drivers. But that’s all. I myself am running two 2070s and everything works flawlessly. Even Optix. Personally I am favouring AMD CPU but either will do fine.
Be aware, that you might run into trouble with graphical installers if your card is too new. Have you checked the situation for running DVR in Fedora?
Edit: Not the worst build for that money. But I’d really recommend to see and get a RTX card. The speedup is amazing.
I wouldn’t do Fedora if I were you, I used it for many years. The problem I had was that Fedora was too bleeding edge and I had all sorts of issues getting some software to work. I also didn’t like how they standardized on Gnome Shell, which I don’t like at all.
I use Linux Mint now (with Cinnamon) and haven’t had hardly any issues with software I want to run, etc. Most everything just works, which is nice.
I’ve always recommended and loved the Bodhi distro - www.bodhilinux.com for it’s combination of looks and smarts - to wit, it’s awesome UI and low footprint Why don’t you try it on your EXISTING machine, it’s WELL over the min req. …? …Ubuntu “based”, which means you can install Ubuntu software…
I like Fedora (and its update cycle) over the rest, but I could live using a *buntu if it were the better option. One of the main reasons to use Fedora was to install Maya on it, since it’s officially supported for CentOS and RHEL.
I am currently running a 12 core XEON (Dell t5500) that works pretty well (running Manjaro, but I was previously using CentOS). I purchased my machine used on ebay for about $350 and then added a GPU (it was a 1050ti back then) for $150 and an SSD for another $100. Eventually I added more RAM which bumped me up to 48GB for about another $100.
So that adds up to $600 for a fairly decent machine (GPU isn’t the greatest but I spend most of my time using graphics software that is CPU dependent so that was my priority).
The upshot is that perhaps you could consider getting a used machine. As long as you can afford the electricity (my machine is a hog so I spend most of my “normal” time on an old laptop and only use it when I am doing real work), getting a used system and then upgrading it can often be much more cost effective.
I would not recommend a system exactly like mine for your needs though. I need as many cores as I can afford. But if you buy an older multi-core system you will pay the price in terms of single core performance. Unless you are doing large scale renders (or animations) that will not run on the GPU, you should prioritize single core performance somewhat (i.e. find a balance between number of cores and single core performance). Last generation Ryzen chips might be a sweet spot for you.
As to which Linux distro to use, I would recommend either Ubuntu (or its close relative Mint) or CentOS depending on your familiarity with Linux. If you are new, Ubuntu and Mint offer large communities and most software outside of commercial graphics packages will run on it.
If you want to use commercial graphics software, you will either have to use CentOS (for things like Maya, Clarisse, Nuke, etc.) or learn how to manipulate the LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable and load your own libraries. (That’s what I do on Manjaro - I run all of my commercial software there, but it takes a bit of knowledge to set up).
I’ve ben using Linux for years now (started with Kubuntu, switched to Mint Xfce, and now using Fedora Xfce), but I’m not sure if I’m familiar enough to manipulate variables I’ll probably end up just using CentOS.
The thing with used computers is that you never know its exact conditions, and I’m not sure if I’m willing to take the risk.
Of course. It was a bit of a risk for me as well (It was generally fine except that one of the front USB ports was busted). I needed a multi-core system for a job* and was willing to risk the $350 vs. about $900 for a new one. But getting used systems does of course come with that risk. The other possibility is either University sales where you can touch and try out the system yourself first (if you live near one, sometimes they retire older machines - though these are generally pretty crappy ones) or craigslist where, presumably, you could do the same. But no doubt both of these come with risk.
We use CentOS at work and it is super stable (they are very conservative when it comes to updates). But if you are familiar with Fedora, that would probably also be fine.
*A job I was stiffed on vis-a-vis payment so… I’m glad I didn’t spend a lot.
If you really will go with CentOS, then be aware, that it’s installer won’t load on RTX cards (if you should get one). If you are familiar with bootstrapping a distro from a live CLI environment, then that is no problem. If not, you can learn it ofc, depending on your willingness and tolerance to frustration. For a longer time Linux user it shouldn’t be too hard.
Sry to disagree, the nouveau drivers are excellent for what they are. They just lack the compute capability we Blender users( amongst others) need. It’d be much appreciated if NVIDIA would open up more towards free software. Yet they, at least, cater a functional driver.
However, the nouveau team is doing a great job for everyone whitout this specific needs.
I don’t doubt that my machine is a clunker by current standards, but a few clarifications:
I purchased my system about 4 years ago, roughly one year before Ryzen was even released. Back then the only competition for a XEON processor was the i7, and it was severely limited in concurrent threads. I believe it maxxed out at about 8 threads which is not nearly enough for my work.
My system has 12 cores and 24 threads. It currently benches on cinebench at roughly twice as fast as the R5 you mention. If fact (if you want to stick with AMD), you need to go to a first generation 12 core Threadripper to beat its performance today. Or if you are willing to go with Intel, you need an i9-9900K. Not too bad for such a cheap machine, even today.
My $350 also included not just the 24 threads of CPU processing, but also the case, motherboard, power supply, 16 GB of RAM, hard drive, DVD drive (which is kind of useless, but I occasionally still find something to do with it), and (extremely) basic graphics card.
I’m still happy with its performance, especially since most of my work is limited by CPU threads almost more than anything else.
Would I like a brand new 32 core Threadripper? Of course! But spending $0 to keep on using my system which still breaks 2000 on Cinebench seems like a much better idea.
I would not recommend anyone buy one of these today. But personally I am still very much on board with the idea of buying used. $350 for a completely functional 12 core, 24 thread system in mid 2015 was an absolute steal. I would happily try something along those lines again when I next need to upgrade.
this is so true ive been experienced this,installing maya on ubuntu is pure nightmare lol u gotta alien this and alien that .Maya installer is only avaiable in *.rpm and substance painter does the same
btw back to topic,As for Proccessor go for AMD, graphic card Nvidia(because nvidia is better for compatibility while radeon card is Auououououououo).
If you say so. None of the dual X5670/5 I checked breaks the 1500 CB points MT.
At least not overclocked to the sky which is pretty much a no go for a workstation which I pretty much doubt on a Dell mobo.
And trust me on this. You paid it over and over the difference in electricity consumption. Even more if you overclocked it to achieve 2000 CB points MT.
If I trust you on your 2K CB points the R7 2700X already managed to score 1800 CB points. The $550 12C R7 3900X does 3200 CB points. Again, if you’re going to be cheap, your machine is likely to be at three times the power any of those chips consume.
You’re likely to lose money putting that thing to work. Why do you think the previous owner retired it?
I have lots of trouble with the GPUs on Ubuntu.
I have two GPUs. One 1070 and one 2070.
And three monitors.
I want to have one monitor connected to the 2070 and two monitors to the 1070.
This is apparently not possible. The monitor connected to the 2070 allways displays black and when I move to it with the mouse the cursor changes to some weird cross. Otherwise I can not do anything on the monitor. If I connect all three to the 1070 everything works fine.
Second problem is that one of the monitors is a 4k monitor while the other two are FullHD. I scale them in the display settings so that text and icons are readable on both types of monitors but when I reboot Ubuntu in forgets theses settings, so I have to reconfigure this every time I boot which is pretty annoying. It makes no difference If I set this in the system display settings or the nvidia driver settings. It allways forgets.
These annoaynces are acceptable, though because of the performance boost.
Ah, yes. Your first problem is that Ubuntu starts two different X-servers. One on each card. The one with the cross is a pure X11 whitout a windowanager/DE. That’s a weird standard setting of Ubuntu. You will want to familiarise yourself with xrandr and/or Xinerama to get the two servers act as a whole.
Point two: Indeed the Ubuntu system settings are in conflict with NVIDIA settings by overruling them. The way to go is either via Xauthority or make Xinit start another config.
In fact such problems are what drove me away from *buntu style systems. They are fine for ‘converters’ from another OS since they are easy to get running. But they’ll make you pull your hair out, when trying to build some more elaborate configurations.
You want to just connect your monitors to your 1070, if you connect monitors to your 2070 you will lose some performance and vram. It’s better to leave the 2070 headless so you can use it’s full vram and compute power.
This is how my system is setup, I have a 980 that runs my monitors and my 2070 is just used for rendering. If I need to I can add in the 980, but I usually do not.
I’ll probably end up just using CentOS.
.Maya installer is only avaiable in *.rpm and substance painter does the same