Intel's Clear Linux Still Outperforming Other Distributions For Mid-2020

[Danny3]

Too bad it doesn't come with KDE Plasma.
That would be really fast.

[vladpetric]

KVM on Intel = Yes.
KVM on Zen = No

If KVM doesn't work well on Ryzen procs it's really important to know. Can you elaborate?

Also, does this apply to Threadripper as well?

[vladpetric]

Really? Gnome on Zen works fine as far as I can tell (not sure yet if that has GPU passthrough, though).

I was referring specifically to running Windows with GPU passthrough under Clear Linux with qemu/kvm (a pretty crazy thing to do, generally speaking, but I absolutely love it on my system - it works really well). I think you're referring to plain-old X11 (or wayland) Linux GUI.

[indepe]

I was referring specifically to running Windows with GPU passthrough under Clear Linux with qemu/kvm (a pretty crazy thing to do, generally speaking, but I absolutely love it on my system - it works really well). I think you're referring to plain-old X11 (or wayland) Linux GUI.

Ah, I can imagine it might be a great thing.

I wonder why it would be CPU dependent (and if so, why that might be only on CL).

[edwaleni]

If KVM doesn't work well on Ryzen procs it's really important to know. Can you elaborate?

Also, does this apply to Threadripper as well?

KVM on Clear Linux does not work on certain Zen CPU's due to the way Clear attempts to initialize the IOMMU.

Since that init fails, AMD-Vi hardware virtualization cannot be enabled, so KVM fails to start.

I opened a ticket with Intel and they said they are following what everyone does, but that isn't quite true.

All the Ubuntu spins work just fine with KVM on Zen. Same kernel level, etc.

Your results may vary.

Since Clear is a rolling release, there is the possibility they fixed it in the last 3 months since I last looked.

I used to watch the release notes on the builds pretty regularly, but when they chose to deprecate the desktop I decided there wasn't any value and have moved on.

I was kind of hoping Michael might give Clear Linux a run on his new Zen based Lenovo and see if KVM will work or not. Its not in his test script to confirm it.

[vladpetric]

KVM on Clear Linux does not work on certain Zen CPU's due to the way Clear attempts to initialize the IOMMU.

Since that init fails, AMD-Vi hardware virtualization cannot be enabled, so KVM fails to start.

I opened a ticket with Intel and they said they are following what everyone does, but that isn't quite true.

All the Ubuntu spins work just fine with KVM on Zen. Same kernel level, etc.

Your results may vary.

Since Clear is a rolling release, there is the possibility they fixed it in the last 3 months since I last looked.

I used to watch the release notes on the builds pretty regularly, but when they chose to deprecate the desktop I decided there wasn't any value and have moved on.

I was kind of hoping Michael might give Clear Linux a run on his new Zen based Lenovo and see if KVM will work or not. Its not in his test script to confirm it.

Thank you for clarifying! This is an important consideration for my next personal server build.

And I wouldn't be surprised if they don't fix it because it's an AMD-only issue.

[andyprough]

Maybe it is a bit bare bones in that regard, but I am using it as a desktop. What's missing for you?

Support from its own devs, who don't support it as a desktop or recommend it and who according to Intel's own surveys don't use it themselves. But enjoy it, no trouble for me, we should each use what we prefer. I use a minimal core system without systemd and with a minimal window manager because it's ultra fast and it works for me, but most people would not like it or would be lost trying to use it.

[indepe]

Support from its own devs, who don't support it as a desktop or recommend it and who according to Intel's own surveys don't use it themselves. But enjoy it, no trouble for me, we should each use what we prefer. I use a minimal core system without systemd and with a minimal window manager because it's ultra fast and it works for me, but most people would not like it or would be lost trying to use it.

My understanding is they plan to continue providing a basic Gnome desktop (and most likely KDE Plasma as well), and for the moment that seems enough for the way I currently use it for development. On a laptop, I'm running Ubuntu and will probably keep it that way.

[CTTY]

What is Debian Buster Testing? Debian Buster is stable since a year.

[edwaleni]

Too bad it doesn't come with KDE Plasma.
That would be really fast.

https://clearlinux.org/software/bundle/desktop-kde

Have you tried the KDE bundle?