AMD 6900 XT on Solus

littlej0e

Hi folks,

I'm hoping the community can help here. I was fortunate enough to snag a 6900 XT and I'm trying to get it running on Solus (upgrading from Vega 64) and it's not going very well. Below is a summary of the errors.

Existing Install: stuck at "no IRC handler". It would throw the same error with my old graphics card (Vega 64), but it would eventually boot to the login screen without a problem. Not so with the 6900 XT. Just sits there and does nothing no matter how long I wait. I would really like to save this installation if possible...
Fresh Install: Bootable USB throws error of "hardware not found". I presume this is a driver or dependancy issue of some sort.

Early-adopter tax in full effect I suppose. Alternatively, I may bite the bullet and game on Windows for a couple of weeks (shudder) until baked-in support appears. Does anyone know how to get this card up and running on Solus?

Posted on Reddit as well:

kaktuspalme

Firstly, you are very lucky to get one 😀

Question, for your existing install, is it up to date on Kernel 5.10?

littlej0e

kaktuspalme yep, you are absolutely right - I am quite lucky :-)

Kernel version on existing install is 5.10.1-162 (verified by running "uname - r" from the command line before swapping out the Vega 64).

kaktuspalme

littlej0e Hmm, then I have no idea unfortunately. I should get a 6800 maybe this or next week and will probably have the same problems. But maybe I can help then. Maybe some kernel parameters are needed but I don't know. Firmware could also be a problem.

littlej0e

kaktuspalme I think all of the above are likely. Regardless, I really appreciate you taking the time to help! Let me know if I can do anything for you when your 6800 arrives!

kaktuspalme

Got a 6800 today, same problem. So the fun begins 🙂
Will report if I find anything.

Edit: Haven't had luck until now. Tried manually updating linux-firmware, kernel 5.10.2, mesa 20.2.6. But after updating linux-firmware my system crashes instantly when I start X Server. Maybe newer llvm version is needed as well or xorg-server. But I don't know.

Edit2: @littlej0e I tested out another OS (Ubuntu 20.10) to rule out that it's a hardware problem. If you don't want to play on Windows that would be another option. It's relatively easy in Ubuntu to get it working.

littlej0e

kaktuspalme

First...gratz on picking up a 6800! Second, thanks for the info, research, and advice. I will indeed try using Ubuntu 20.10 (or Pop!_OS running 20.10) for a while until Solus can run the 6000 series cards. Windows - eeewwww.

Edit: @kaktuspalme you were absolutely right - getting the 6900 XT up and running on Pop!_OS/20.10 was pretty easy. Thanks again for the recommendation!

purpleferret

Thumps up! I also ran into this issue. Also using Pop!_OS 20.10 meanwhile. Would love to run this hardware with Solus.

purpleferret

I found a nice description of installing the amd drivers needed to get vulkan support Maybe this helps to tackle down the missing parts https://forum.level1techs.com/t/ubuntu-20-10-rx-6800-xt-how-to-steam-vulkan-up-and-runing-guide-wip/164137

JoshStrobl

purpleferret

AMDGPU Pro doesn't support newer X11 servers
Our kernel is too new and we don't support DKMS.
Vulkan support is primarily provided via mesalib.

purpleferret

JoshStrobl
The description is not about the AMDGPU Pro. Just the archive contains both Pro and non Pro.
The removal of the unsupported DKMS packages is part of this description
I'm running this driver on kernel 5.10.7 works perfectly fine. This is the newest stable kernel available.

kaktuspalme

I got my 6800 running locally by updating to llvm 11 and recompiling mesalib with it. But for official support you have to wait until Solus ships newer llvm versions. I won't provide my changed files.

joebonrichie

w.r.t llvm11 i am just waiting for a new release of llvmlite (0.36.0) that's the main blocker. The rest of it is rebuilt and ready.

romulous75

I too can confirm Solus does not run on 6000 series Radeon cards. (6800XT here). I look forward to a package update and a new 4.3 ISO with support build in.

FYI, llvmlite 0.36.0 is out.

Lucien_Lachance

romulous75 is it just the iso that doesent work, or will it work if the 6000 series is plugged in on a already installed solus ?

kaktuspalme

Lucien_Lachance It surely works on an already installed Solus. As I use it almost daily. I have a 6800 myself, but that shouldn't make a difference.

romulous75

Lucien_Lachance Does not work on existing installs that are up to date (at the time of my first message). Have not tried recently.

littlej0e

Quick update: The 6900XT works great on Pop!_OS 20.11 as of April 1st, 2021. Seems like all the 6000 series AMD cards will have baked in support in the next Solus ISO (4.3?).

littlej0e

romulous75 Spot on. I had the exact same experience approx. 6 months ago when I first purchased the 6900 XT.

h4v0c

I just purchased a 6800xt over the weekend, and my existing Solus install works great without any changes, just the regular updates in Software Center.

kaktuspalme

h4v0c As far as I know it needs llvm 11 which isn't on the 4.2 ISO.

romulous75

h4v0c Did you previously have an AMD video card installed ?