Graphics Cards ============== .. contents:: Table of Contents Linux Support ------------- Here are various rankings for each major graphics cards vendor on Linux. Ease of driver installation and updates: 1. AMD and Intel 2. NVIDIA Stable driver in gameplay: 1. AMD 2. NVIDIA 3. Intel Linux performance: 1. AMD 2. NVIDIA 3. Intel Open source and native Linux support: 1. AMD 2. Intel 3. NVIDIA Hybrid graphics support on laptops: 1. NVIDIA 2. AMD 3. Intel Day 1 Linux support for new hardware: 1. AMD 2. Intel 3. NVIDIA Machine learning support: 1. NVIDIA 2. Intel 3. AMD Recommended VRAM Size --------------------- Depending on the use case, these are the recommended minimum size of VRAM to have on the graphics card. Gaming [1][2]: .. csv-table:: :header: Game Resolution, VRAM (GB) :widths: 20, 20 720p, 2 1080p, 4 1440p, 6 4K, 8 Video editing [2][3]: .. csv-table:: :header: Video Resolution, VRAM (GB) :widths: 20, 20 1080p, 4 4K, 6 6K, 8 8K, 10 Machine learning (ML) [4][5]: .. csv-table:: :header: ML Workload, VRAM (GB) :widths: 20, 20 Minimum, 8 Recommended, 24 Maximum, 48 - The amount of VRAM differs based on the type of ML model. Language models use the most amount of VRAM compared to image models which are more CPU-bound rather than GPU-bound. [5] Integrated GPUs (iGPUs) can use up to half of the available system RAM. [6] Since RAM is slower than VRAM, it is recommended to use the fastest RAM available. [7] Best Graphics Cards ------------------- Legacy 32-bit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 32-bit operating systems, such as Windows XP, only support graphics cards with 3 GB of VRAM. There are sometimes driver limitations, too. [8] Windows XP: - Best performance = NVIDIA GTX 780 Ti [9] - Best NVIDIA card for the era = NVIDIA 8800 GT [9] - Best AMD cards = AMD Radeon 7970 [10][11] and AMD Radeon R9 280X [12] Ray Tracing ~~~~~~~~~~~ These are the best discrete graphics card vendors for ray traced graphics [27]: 1. NVIDIA 2. Intel 3. AMD Best Supported ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Based on popular hardware that uses a specific GPU architecture, PC graphics cards based on those same architectures should, in theory, have the most stable drivers. AMD: 1. Radeon DNA (RDNA) 2 = PlayStation 5 [28], Steam Deck [29], and Xbox Series X|S [30]. 2. Graphics Core Next (GCN) 2 = PlayStation 4 Pro [31] and Xbox One X|S [32]. 3. Graphics Core Next (GCN) 1 = PlayStation 4 [38][39] and Xbox One. [40] NVIDIA: 1. Ada Lovelace = GeForce NOW servers in 2023. [33][34] 2. Turing = GeForce NOW servers in 2019. [35][36] 3. Maxwell = Nintendo Switch. [37] Power Cables ------------ Introduction ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Graphics cards have a specific wattage requirement. They draw power from the PCIe slot and often require more power. That can be supplied through additional cables from the power supply. .. csv-table:: :header: Power Source, Wattage :widths: 20, 20 PCIe x1 slot, 10 PCIe x4 slot, 25 PCIe x8 slot, 25 [13] PCIe x16 slot, 75 6-pin PCIe cable, 75 8-pin PCIe cable, 150 [14] 12VHPWR PCIe cable, 600 [15] All versions of PCIe (currently 1.0 through 5.0) support the same wattage output. [14][16] It is not recommended to use a single SATA to 6-pin adapter due to the fire hazard risk if the GPU draws excessive power. [17] SATA power cables only provide 54 watts. [18][20] Molex power cables provide 156 watts. [21] For 75 watts, use one Molex or two SATA cables to convert to one 6-pin. [19] For 150 watts, use one Molex or three SATA cables to convert to one 8-pin adapter. [20] PCIe Power Only ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These are the best graphics cards that are (1) low-profile and (2) do not require a 6-pin or 8-pin power PCIe power cable. They can be fully powered by the PCIe slot and are suitable for desktops with limited space and/or power supplies that have a low wattage. - AMD: - 1. AMD Radeon RX 6400 [22] - 2. AMD Radeon RX 560 [23] - Intel: - 1. Intel Arc Pro A50 [26] - NVIDIA: - 1. NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation - This is a 2-slot card. - The performance of this card is similar to the 3070 but it is as fast as the 3090 Ti in some scenarios. [25] - 2. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 - 3. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti [23][24] History ------- - `Latest `__ Bibliography ------------ 1. "How Much VRAM Do You Need For Gaming?" GPU Mag. November 2, 2021. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://www.gpumag.com/how-much-vram-gaming/ 2. "How much VRAM do you need? Professional and Gaming Workloads explored." CG Director. May 9, 2022. 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