Distro Recommendations

MilesAlex

Hi,
I've been switching between windows 10 and Linux mint 20.1 to use Bricscad to see which is best. I really want to use Linux for various reasons but I have noticed it is slightly less responsive along with graphical scaling issues and the occasional crash. I am now wondering if this could be Nvidia settings issues or maybe a different distro would be better, such as Fedora or OpenSuse.
If anyone could recommend the optimum Nvidia settings for Linux mint or a better distro that would be great. I'm really trying to leave Windows and the Linux support was one of the reasons I bought Bricscad.

Cheers

Michael Mayer

For me Linux and Mac Version are nearly equal,
maybe slightly better and stable on Linux.
But both sub par with Windows.

Bricscad on Windows feels like a true App, while the other two
feel a bit like a infinite Beta, with a limited feature set,
unfortunately.

Distro recommendations (?)
I loved Manjaro, ElementaryOS and Open Suse Tumbleweed.
Basically I prefer rolling releases, but Elementary because it is more
like Mac.
I basically lost my Manjaro, after keeping it running for 2 years,
by switching from Nvidia RTX 2070 to AMD RX 6800 - black screen
after booting. I tried a lot but I seem not to be able to fix that.
Elementary OS now VGA+ only. But a bit of hope that new driver libraries
arriving at some point.

My only survivor is Open Suse Tumbleweed.
Which is also the only Bricscad-supported Distro of the whole trio.
So I would recommend Tumbleweed.

Manjaro, as being Arch based, hasn't any Bricscad Support.
Elementary OS, although 95% Ubuntu, mostly works fine for Bricscad
but has some issues with their own Pantheon DE and by being even behind
Ubuntu, kernel wise ...

MilesAlex

That's great many thanks again Michael, I will have a look at Tumbleweed and probably try it as a VM first. But I think your right about Windows being slightly better.

Michael Mayer

I think the best for most proprietary Apps like Bricscad is
just going by standard Ubuntu.
For me, as I would miss many KDE customization features,
it would be Kubuntu.

But I don't like the need to reinstall for System Upgrades.
That didn't work for latest Elementary Upgrade for me either.
The other thing is that I think current hardware is always a problem
in Linux for at least some months.
Therefore I think, even for Linux newbies, a rolling release is better.

I started with a current PC at end of 2018 and there were issues.
they went away so I forgot that but was immedeately reminded when
I inserted a recent AMD GPU.
And I just did that because Nvidia GPUs seem to allows be risky for Linux.
e.g. Tumbleweed often brought a new kernel but updated necessary Nvidia
drivers 2-3 weeks later. Blank Screen - boot from older Version.
At least on Tumbleweed, now with AMD I am able for the first time to start
with Wayland.

Tumblewed/open Suse is a bit clunky (Yast Settings) and I didn't like it at all
as a beginner, I wasn't even able to update it. And it looks a bit old fashioned.
Try it on a VM first if it works for you.

MilesAlex

Very interesting, thanks!
I will have a look at both Ubuntu and Tumbleweed on a VM. I'm still fairly new to Linux but very keen to learn more and like trying out new stuff.

MilesAlex

Just a quick update, I tried Kubuntu on a VM and found that Bricscad performs exactly the same as on Mint. So no point really trying any other.
I must admit Kubuntu is very nice, and very customisable.

Michael Mayer

but I have noticed it is slightly less responsive along with graphical scaling issues and the occasional crash.

Which GPU driver are you using ?
As long as I had a Nvidia GPU I used Nvidias proprietary driver
and haven't seen lagging vs PC. Crashes more than Windows yes of course,
but for Mac.

But it looks like many distros go from Nvidias proprietary driver to Nouveau
open? driver. Manjaro wrote about that lately and AFAIK Tumbleweed
already had switched before. And I think that was the reason why Tumbleweed
survived my GPU switch to AMD, while Majaro did not and Elementary still
offers Nvida driver Updates to me.

MilesAlex

Driver-460 which is shown as the recommended one, with a Quadro P4000 GPU.
Will probably get an AMD next though.

MilesAlex

Oops, double tap

minimalex

I like my PopOS on a system76 machine. Not that I don't like to tinker, but I want my work machine to be reliable. PopOS is fun and looks nice - a little better than stock ubuntu, but it basically has the same support and specs. BricsCAD runs well.

Although I am having a crash issue right now around creating sheet sets. Can't win, but at least I am working and not on windows or @utodesk.

MilesAlex

@minimalex said:
I like my PopOS on a system76 machine. Not that I don't like to tinker, but I want my work machine to be reliable. PopOS is fun and looks nice - a little better than stock ubuntu, but it basically has the same support and specs. BricsCAD runs well.

Although I am having a crash issue right now around creating sheet sets. Can't win, but at least I am working and not on windows or @utodesk.

That's interesting, I've been reading about the system76 machines and they look great for Linux. I will be upgrading my laptop soon which is currently dual booting windows. I've not looked into PopOS yet, though I have heard its good for gaming.
For now I'm sticking with Mint Cinnamon, only problems I'm having at the moment with Bricscad is the toolbars and panels seem to go haywire when I change workspaces, even with the save workspace ticked, I'm forever rearranging everything.....

Michael Mayer

only problems I'm having at the moment with Bricscad is the toolbars and panels seem to go haywire when I change workspaces, even with the save workspace ticked, I'm forever rearranging everything.....

Isn't that standard behavior since years - on Bricscad Mac and Linux versions ?
(At least when you did some or too many customizations)

MilesAlex

@Michael Mayer said:
Isn't that standard behavior since years - on Bricscad Mac and Linux versions ?
(At least when you did some or too many customizations)

So I'm not the only one then, thanks Michael. I'm at the point now of just using default workspaces, frustrating.
I might produce a support request and see if a fix is in the pipeline...

Michael Mayer

There were some improvements over the years,
but especially the GUI stuff is where user experience differs
between the Windows vs non Windows releases of Bricscad.

If you have some good demo files or step by step ....
Thanks for filing your SR.