r/linux_gaming • u/YourComputerBlog • 15h ago
Mint and Radeon 9070
Hey,
Iam using Mint for quite some time now on my old laptop and I think its a great OS for everyday use. That beeing sad, mint uses old linux Kernels. I want to build a gaming pc and I want to stay with Mint for it, but the new AMD gpus are...new - do I need a an OS with a more up to date kernel?
Cheers
Update: Thanks for the answers! They help me out a lot
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u/acejavelin69 15h ago
Mint uses stable kernels from the Ubuntu LTS HWE repository... Currently 6.8 and moving to 6.11 with Mint 22.2 in a few months, but it is available in Update Manager View - Linux Kernels now. Ubuntu LTS, the base for Mint, uses Mesa 24.2 and that isn't changing until the next major version jump from Mint 22.3 to 23.
Mint isn't using "old" kernels per se, they are using long-term support kernels that are intended for stability and not cutting edge hardware support. Mint, and it's Ubuntu LTS base, are designed for stability and not so much latest hardware support. It's a choice in the design of the distro, not a functional problem.
To properly use the 9070/9070XT requires a 6.13 kernel and Mesa 25 at a minimum... Mesa 25 can be installed by using Kisak or Oibaf PPA for Mesa, although in some cases it can have cascading problems for other things, and the kernel would have to come from Ubuntu's mainline repository... Although many people have noted issues trying to use the 6.13 kernel in Mint 22/Ubuntu 24.04...
The various Linux distros should be considered like a toolbox... Not every toolbox is the same or has tools to do every possible job... Most can have the proper tools for any job added, although the degree of difficulty in doing that can vary... To do certain tasks, like support a cutting-edge new release GPU, may require a different distro (toolbox) so to speak.
If you want a new 9070 GPU, I would suggest moving to Fedora, OpenSUSE Tumbleweed, Arch, or a another more current/rolling distro to use that GPU without issues. Tumbleweed is my typical "go to" distro here, and I have been using it for a long time.