KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration • Hacker News Board

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#21

Post by sofixa » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:37 PM UTC

nu11ptr wrote: post #18

jjtheblunt wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm using it as a daily driver for a couple months easily, but my daily driving happens to not require the not-quite-perfect device drivers. i shutdown for sleep, for instance, which works just fine, since boot and login is super fast and restores everything.

Possibly stupid q: Why buy a mac if you are just going to run Linux on it? I suspect any comparable PC would be more economical (w/ exception of power draw).

The hardware is pretty good. Utterly unmaintainable, unserviceable and unapgradeable, extremely overpriced tiering (e.g. adding storage or RAM which you have to do at purchase time), with limited options (e.g. i cannot stand glossy screens with shitty reflections everywhere causing eye strain), but still very good. However the software (macOS) is pretty shit and IMO hard to adapt to coming from any other OS.

Raw performance per watt, and per weight/dimensions is best in class. For pure performance (e.g. an Asus ROG Zephyrus) or lightness (e.g. LG Gram) there are better options, but if you want all three it's hard to beat.

I personally think the hardware is so good, even with the caveats, but the software so bad that I'm honestly tempted to get an Air for portability or a Pro as a daily driver when Asahi Linux is good enough for me and the prices are right (so some sale or something, sticker prices are ridiculous if you max everything, and you kind of have to due to the impossibility of upgrades).

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#22

Post by sofixa » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:38 PM UTC

yes_but_no wrote: post #19

Some ppl have been saying reason macs doesn't support 4k 120hz using thunderbolt to hdmi 2.1 cables is a software limitation, I wonder if linux on macbook solves that

Same with Macs not supporting display port daisy chaining over USB C (not Thunderbolt), it's purely a software limitation.

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#23

Post by callesgg » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:46 PM UTC

nu11ptr wrote: post #18

jjtheblunt wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm using it as a daily driver for a couple months easily, but my daily driving happens to not require the not-quite-perfect device drivers. i shutdown for sleep, for instance, which works just fine, since boot and login is super fast and restores everything.

Possibly stupid q: Why buy a mac if you are just going to run Linux on it? I suspect any comparable PC would be more economical (w/ exception of power draw).

Not that I would buy a new Mac and install linux on it...

But if I did, it would be cause apple has unmatched hardware build quality. (But also the battery time would as you mention also be a nice thing)

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#24

Post by recuter » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:50 PM UTC

nu11ptr wrote: post #18

jjtheblunt wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm using it as a daily driver for a couple months easily, but my daily driving happens to not require the not-quite-perfect device drivers. i shutdown for sleep, for instance, which works just fine, since boot and login is super fast and restores everything.

Possibly stupid q: Why buy a mac if you are just going to run Linux on it? I suspect any comparable PC would be more economical (w/ exception of power draw).

I get 12+ hours of battery life on my M1 Air, no longer bother with cables and outlets at coffee shops.

What else I could buy of similar weight/size/battery/quality?

Even if knew of an alternative, there are other unexpected perks to going with Apple: travel constantly, occasionally selling my old one and switching to a new machine is easy whereas with other brands would be impossible. Amortized cost is less than $1/day.

If this Asahi thing pans out (I'm guessing maybe in a year or two it won't use twice the battery) I'll immediately dual boot and spend the majority of my time in it. :)

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#25

Post by rowanG077 » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:50 PM UTC

nu11ptr wrote: post #18

jjtheblunt wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm using it as a daily driver for a couple months easily, but my daily driving happens to not require the not-quite-perfect device drivers. i shutdown for sleep, for instance, which works just fine, since boot and login is super fast and restores everything.

Possibly stupid q: Why buy a mac if you are just going to run Linux on it? I suspect any comparable PC would be more economical (w/ exception of power draw).

Linux is more user friendly for some developers. Linux support with Asahi is also markedly better then any comparable PC. Hardware wise it beats all windows laptops.

Essentially it comes down to that macs have great hardware but shitty software. The later which asahi fixes.

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#26

Post by my123 » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:53 PM UTC

moondev wrote: post #20

Can anyone confirm if nested virtualization is available when running asahi on m1/m2 ?

M1 doesn't have nested virt in hardware. M2 does but nested virt on arm64 isn't quite in upstream Linux yet.

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#27

Post by kitsunesoba » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 8:55 PM UTC

sofixa wrote: post #21

nu11ptr wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly stupid q: Why buy a mac if you are just going to run Linux on it? I suspect any comparable PC would be more economical (w/ exception of power draw).

The hardware is pretty good. Utterly unmaintainable, unserviceable and unapgradeable, extremely overpriced tiering (e.g. adding storage or RAM which you have to do at purchase time), with limited options (e.g. i cannot stand glossy screens with shitty reflections everywhere causing eye strain), but still very good. However the software (macOS) is pretty shit and IMO hard to adapt to coming from any other OS. Raw perf…

Serviceability is improved (though still not amazing) in all the machines with chassises redesigned during the "M" era — the "notched" MBP 14/16 and Air have easily accessible bottom screws (no need to remove rubber feet first) and don't have batteries glued in. Keyboards can be changed independently from the top case too. Notably, many Windows laptops fail on both of those counts (like the LG Gram which hides screws under adhesive-attached feet).

But yes, it's difficult to find laptops as well-rounded as MacBooks are. Generally laptops will require you to make significant sacrifices in multiple categories to be good at one or two things, which is less true of MacBooks (particularly the 14"/16" Pro models), especially if you want good performance without the laptop being huge and bulky and/or have horrible battery life with constantly-screaming fans. The 14"/16" models get you performance in the ballpark of a desktop Ryzen 5800X while unplugged and still getting great battery life while also being silent and still reasonably portable, along with a killer screen, great speakers, decent keyboard and great trackpad.

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#28

Post by alin23 » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 9:01 PM UTC

yes_but_no wrote: post #19

Some ppl have been saying reason macs doesn't support 4k 120hz using thunderbolt to hdmi 2.1 cables is a software limitation, I wonder if linux on macbook solves that

Most often it's a hardware limitation because the cables/adapters use the MCDP2900 converter chip inside, even when they advertise HDMI2.1 support. That's the same chip inside the built-in HDMI port of the new MacBook Pro and its datasheet [0] says it only supports up to 60hz

That chip is also the reason for a lot of support emails I'm getting on Lunar (https://lunar.fyi/) because it seems to break DDC/CI and hardware brightness control stops working through cables and ports that use it.

[0] https://media.digikey.com/pdf/Data%20Sheets/MegaChips%20PDFs...

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#29

Post by emmo » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 9:11 PM UTC

nu11ptr wrote: post #18

jjtheblunt wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i'm using it as a daily driver for a couple months easily, but my daily driving happens to not require the not-quite-perfect device drivers. i shutdown for sleep, for instance, which works just fine, since boot and login is super fast and restores everything.

Possibly stupid q: Why buy a mac if you are just going to run Linux on it? I suspect any comparable PC would be more economical (w/ exception of power draw).

The Mac Mini is actually a pretty nice little unit, and not priced too terribly.

Re: KDE runs on the Apple M2 with full GPU acceleration

#30

Post by jbverschoor » Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 9:11 PM UTC

ultrarunner wrote: post #12

CameronNemo wrote: post #3

Question for those in the know: are there any substantial changes from M1 to M2? I'm sure lots of tuning took place, but is there any major component that was completely overhauled?

Another question for those in the know: there are what seem to be tons of weird GPU problems on macOS under M1— weird cursor tails, choppy scrolling, and very occasional panics that derive from GPU drivers. Are there any workarounds for unstable GPU behavior that were discovered during the RE & driver implementation? Edit: I've directly observed these on my machine, and it doesn't look to be an isolated incident. The…

Are you sure you're not using any displaylink cable/drivers?

I had a choppy mouse at a certain point, but that was only with a bluetooth mouse. Bluetooth runs at a slower rate in any case, but I think it might have had to do with some interference.