AMD improving nicely on Linux and the OpenGL platform

[Gregster]

NVIDIA still holds the OpenGL crown on Linux; AMD is getting better though

If you are a Linux user who prefers to use OpenGL graphics there is still a huge benefit to choosing NVIDIA over AMD. The tests Phoronix just completed show that the GTX680, 770 and 780 all perform significantly faster than the R9 290 with even the older GTX 550 Ti and 650 GPUs outperforming AMD's best in some benchmarks. That said AMD is making important improvements to their open source drivers as that is where they are lagging behind NVIDIA. The new RadeonSI Gallium3D for the HD7000 series shows significant performance improvements when paired with the new 3.13 kernel though still falling a bit behind the Catalyst driver they are now much closer to the performance of the proprietary driver. For older cards the performance increase is nowhere near as impressive but some certain benchmarks do show this Gallium3D driver to provide at least some improvements. Pity the Source engine isn't behaving properly during benchmarks which is why no tests were run on Valve's games but that should be solved in the near future.

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"In new tests conducted last week with the latest AMD and NVIDIA binary graphics drivers, the high-end AMD GPUs still really aren't proving much competition to NVIDIA's Kepler graphics cards. Here's a new 12 graphics card comparison on Ubuntu."

http://www.pcper.com/news/General-T...-OpenGL-crown-Linux-AMD-getting-better-though

Link to the bench tests here

AMD putting the time in is a good sign

 

[Gregster]

Wake me up when this actually means something Gregorio.

There is many users out there who like the idea of a free OS and happily use Ubuntu/Linux and with AMD putting the push in to this, it is becoming a viable option for both nVidia and AMD users. Microsoft are great but a free alternative is always a plus in my book.

Sorry if it bores you Matt but you could have just ignored it.

 

[Gregster]

yeah, because plants vs. zombies and an online shooter that hardly anyone plays due to bugs count as AAA

Pay no heed Andy. AMD are certainly getting their hands firmly into OpenGL, so this is only a good sign for the masses, regardless of using it or not. I can get W8 for around £80 but can get Ubuntu/SteamOS for free, so with this in mind, it could potentially give nVidia and AMD users an alternative.

I see the benefits and hope others do.

 

[Gregster]

No it doesn't bore me, but i just look around for all the AAA OpenGL games and i don't find any. Nonetheless i agree its good that AMD are improving their drivers in this area, but ill be more interested when this actually means something useful for Next Gen gaming.

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/

As you know, SteamOS is in its infancy and will take time. It will be hard to come away from Windows but for many, this is a viable choice and the millions of Linux users would agree with me.

Plenty of AAA titles coming in 2014 apparently, so I for one will ne watching SteamOS/Ubuntu with a keen eye.

 

[Gregster]

I look forward to it then, but for now there is nothing so performance improvements don't mean too much.

Like I look forward to Mantle improvements

 

[Gregster]

The thing about this for me is 'Open Standards' being the key. no D3D limitations and Microsoft being the restrictions no more. We have people keenly making this for the gamers (that I assume most of us are) and yet it is shunned straight away by some. Even I could see the benefits of Mantle being an Open Standard (if it ever is) but this is in the here and now and Mantle is still awaiting its first release....

I will certainly be giving SteamOS a chance and running alongside Windows 7 seems the best way for me. Dual booting the 2 seems fairly easy and the fact that M$ have nothing to hold SteamOS/Linux/Ubuntu back can only be of benefit, especially with both nVidia and AMD working on it.

Suddenly i have the urge to cackle wildly in an evil voice.

Greg you should have told me this in the OP and i would have jumped on you quicker than you could say Bernard Matthews.

I knew it was but thought I would wait and see the responses before anything was said and the responses from those who didn't know were what I expected in honesty...

As for the moderating comments, maybe report what you guys feel is out of order? It has worked for many years and will work for many more.

 

[Gregster]

+1

Although ideally there'd be no personal stuff in any threads.

EDIT:
I see in Steam there are nearly 500 games listed under Linux now, do all these use OpenGL or is there something else you can use for simpler games?

Considering there are about 1800 Windows games on Steam, 500 is a larger percentage than I expected. I'm guessing this has grown and will grow due to SteamOS (plus I believe Valve are giving Linux developers all their games for free). Hopefully this can also help drive OpenGL improvements and in turn create a positive version of a catch-22 where the improvments in each help drive the other.

Yer, they are all OpenGL and the list on release was 75 games iirc, so this is certainly flying along. I know that the controller isn't compatible with all of them yet but they are patching the games that are already working on Linux for SteamOS.

 

[Gregster]

'Good' not necessarily equal to being AAA.

There's a load of amazing games by smaller studios out there. You're depriving yourself of some real quality if you just stick to the monthly headline release games .

Actually, this is very true. Some AAA titles have been dire and yet some of the lesser known titles have great playability and give me far more fun than the over priced, expensive to make, games.

Antichamber/Bastion/Brother - a tale of 2 sons/FTL/Portal 1+2/Trine 1+2 to name a few that are so much fun for me.

Crysis 3 was dire, as was Crysis 2. Sim City also, Max Payne 3 was a pain to play.

 

[Gregster]

I'd definitely consider Thief a AAA game. Purely on the basis of the fan base that's been waiting a life time for a new one. Doesn't really matter if it's any good or not lol. Remember AAA game means popular, doesn't necessarily have to be any good .


It better be

Yep, AAA means a big song and dance about it (pretty much how a Block Buster movie is released)..

I am looking forward to Thief and hoping it delivers.

 

[Gregster]

SteamOS now has Windows installer, dual-boot option, AMD and Intel GPU driver support

Since SteamOS was first released in December 2013, Valve has been quick to squash bugs and add much-needed functionality. It still isn’t clear when Valve will launch the final version of SteamOS (hopefully later this year), but it took a big step forward recently by releasing an ISO version that includes an easy-to-use Windowsinstaller and dual-boot functionality. SteamOS itself is still pretty much just a customized Debian distro with Steam pre-installed.

A couple of weeks ago, back when Valve unveiled its Steam Machine hardware partners at CES 2014, SteamOS also gained support for AMD and Intel GPUs. Previously, only Nvidia graphics cards had been supported. The AMD Catalyst driver implementation is fairly preliminary at this point, with slow-than-Windows performance and some visual glitching, but it should improve over time (as long as SteamOS actually goes on to be a critical success).

The SteamOS installer looks a lot like the Debian installer
The SteamOS installer looks a lot like the Debian installer… because it is
The new ISO version of SteamOS includes a Windows installer (the standard Debian installer for Windows), official support for dual-booting, support for legacy BIOS (non-EFI) systems — and if you burn the ISO to disc, it obviously supports installation from DVD. (You can happily mount the ISO in Windows and install from there, too.) Valve says that dual-boot support has received “very little testing,” so you shouldn’t yet try it out on your main computer — unless you’re prepared to lose everything. (Read: What is EFI, the long-overdue replacement for BIOS?)

Curiously, most of the changes in this most recent build of SteamOS were borrowed from Ye Olde SteamOSe — a modified version of the SteamOS installer that was released very soon after Valve first published its code, and has been developed side-by-side since. There are still lots of features in YOS that the official SteamOS lacks, though, such as real support (including 3D acceleration) for VMware and VirtualBox. (And indeed, YOS is a much simpler way of virtualizing SteamOS than our original guide, which was really rather convoluted.)

The SteamOS desktop, in VirtualBox
The SteamOS desktop, in VirtualBox
Moving forward, there isn’t a whole lot of transparency on Valve’s plans for SteamOS. It looks like the company is just going to slowly trudge forward until everything is polished, with sporadic releases when something major occurs. SteamOS’s major features, such as in-home streaming of PC games to your living room Steam Machine, or better-than-Windows performance, are still nowhere to be seen. The incompleteness of SteamOS, combined with the recent change to the Steam Machine controller, suggest that we won’t see the final build of SteamOS (or the Steam Machines) until mid-2014 at the earliest.

It is getting there

 

[Gregster]

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse/discussions/1/648817378243644036/

Try that

 

[Gregster]

Well well, looks like there is something new coming from Valve

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/107712-left-4-dead-2-in-source-2-engine-leaks/

Source engine 2 and Half life 3 is getting mentioned quite a lot but that I am taking with a pinch of salt, as I don't want to get my hopes up

Check out this before and after screenie of L4D2

 

[Gregster]

I have never played L4D (one that slipped through the net) but if the makeover is anything to go by, I wouldn't mind giving it a play. I absolutely loved all the HL games including Blue Shift. Even now the GFX holds up pretty well for these older classics. I am just begging/pleading for HL3 to be real. When Valve leaked those games, I believe they did it on purpose to get people excited.... It worked for me anywho

 

[Gregster]

Does this only apply to standard Linux distros or will it effect OpenGL in OSX too? I'm sure all the Fisher Price owners with AMD cards would be happy with a free boost to gaming performance.

Not sure on that but will try and find out.

Streaming at 2560x1440 with Steam in home streaming. 30fps sucks but not bad.

http://instagram.com/p/jtEFzGybDq/