Question Any linux-friendly GPU option in 2025 with a sane price ?

[Darryl_Fallon_222]

I thought AMD's RDNA was supposed to fix at least some usual extortion on the market, but RX9xxx markups are just as bad.
BTW, why are EU preces especially atrocious ?
EU is in no tariff war with the globe AFAIK.

So, what other options are available ?
Since I'm looking for open-source friendly option, nVidia is out of the question.

RDNA3/2 prices are even more preposterous.

Intel's Battleimage looks nice, but it's too small - there is no B770.

I don't care _that_ much about gaming. I want decent performance for CUDA and CAD, decent en/de/coders etc.
Gaming oomph totally secondary for me. I like to game now and then, but I look for content, not visual bling, nor do I chase FPS.
16GB RAM would be very nice, but I could do with 12GB.

So, with that in mind, what other option is left?

Do I wait for a few months for RDNA4 prices to stabilize ?
Do I go for B580, even though it has only 20CU ?
Or maybe A770 is golden option, since it has 32CU and 16GB 256-bit bus version ?

If I should wait, wait for what ? For prices to drop, for B770/780 to come out or maybe for 9060/XT ?

 

[COLGeek]

What GPU are you currently using? What are the specs for the rest of your system?

Unfortunately, every new GPU released seems to be with limited availability these days. Mark-up by scalpers is seriously bad as well. This has largely been true since 2020.

 

[Math Geek]

nvidia is not 100% out of the question. true AMD tends to work a bit better, but nvidia gpu's run fine on linux.

i run linux as my daily driver and it's powered by a 1650 super i had on hand. never had an issue with it. nothing super taxing but some gameplay is part of its normal use.

i'd look specifically at the programs you want to run and check on how well nvidia on linux works for that use. not saying i know for a fact it'll run spectacularly, but i've never read anything that would rule out using an nvidia gpu on a linux system.

it at least widens the options you have available to you.

 

[Darryl_Fallon_222]

nvidia is not 100% out of the question. true AMD tends to work a bit better, but nvidia gpu's run fine on linux.

nVIdia doesn't have open-source driver stack, which is an issue for me.
Nouveau sucks.

 

[COLGeek]

The RX 7800 XT is still reasonably priced and performs well with modern Linux distros. I use one in my Mint LLM rig.

 

[anonsky]

when it comes to sane pricing wouldn't AMD be a better choice? i got my 6650xt for like 200$

 

[QyInvoLing]

My experience about Linux+GPU stays at many years ago when Linus said the famous sentence "So, NVIDIA, ******".
It seems that NVIDIA has contributed a lot to its Linux driver, after the popularity of AI?

 

[Math Geek]

when it comes to sane pricing wouldn't AMD be a better choice? i got my 6650xt for like 200$

Most certainly true. I was just saying not to rule out Nvidia 100% until you know for sure it won't work for your application.

I got the 1650 super pre COVID at retail price. If I was buying now, AMD is def the better buy due to the outrageous scalping prices for anything Nvidia. Heck, the retail price is stupid high to begin with....