[SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

themakabrapl · 2023-11-26 00:08:18

I want to use arch on school computers (some have intel cpu's and some have amd cpu's) and on my computer for some configuration (i have an nvidia gpu)

Is it possible to use on each of them a diffrent driver without constant uninstalling and reinstalling a diffrent one each time i switch computers?

Last edited by themakabrapl (2023-11-26 09:16:38)

Xyne · 2023-11-26 00:57:31

If you mean that you want to install Arch Linux on 3 different machines, then you typically configure the system during installation and the installations are independent of each other. You don't need to change anything when you switch between computers.

If you mean that you want to install Arch Linux on a live medium such as a USB stick and then boot 3 different systems from it, please consult the wiki page to learn how to configure your medium.

In both cases, if the school computers are shared computers then you will likely need to get permission before doing either of these things.

themakabrapl · 2023-11-26 08:17:12

Sorry i should have specified

I have arch installed on a usb so i would want to make it that if i boot it on a computer with amd the correct driver launches and so on

seth · 2023-11-26 08:58:20

What drivers do you plan to install and uninstall?
What drivers do you install on the arch install iso before using it on a specific system?
This is a purely imagined problem, the kernel will load the modules matching the present HW and ignore all other installed ones (you probably don't use 98% of all "drivers" you've installed anyway).

The only thing you might want to install is the nvidia blob and wrt the initramfs you probably want to remove the kms hook and either add all or none of the GPU modules you plan to use into the MODULES array (too faster init the GPU if you plan to automatically start a display server)

Other than that you absolutely need to read the link Xyne posted and heed his other advice, too - though I imagine booting from USB will simply be prohibited on the school computers or your school soon gets a new IT service.

themakabrapl · 2023-11-26 09:14:18

the wiki page to learn how to configure your medium. Now that i have gone throught it a 3rd time i finally saw section 3.1.5 which just makes this post absollutely obsolete I sorry

But still thanks Xyne and seth (for provideing more knowledge)

seth · 2023-11-26 09:28:59

None of those X11 drivers is technically required - the modesetting driver will work on the GPU kernel module fine.

xf86-video-vesa & xf86-video-fbdev : you don't want to use these drivers, they're basically for drm/kms incapable hardware what means your school computers are REALLY old and using a GUI will suck massively.

xf86-video-ati, xf86-video-intel, xf86-video-amdgpu, xf86-video-nouveau MIGHT! perform slightly better than the modesetting driver, esp. on older (10y+) HW but especially xf86-video-intel has recently shown heaps of problems on newer generations of intel HW (thus the link in the wiki) so you probably rather don't want that either (and afaict it mandates mesa-amber for hw acceleration through i965, see below)

tl;dr: don't install any of them until you run into actual problems with a used system.

A bigger problem you might be dealing with here is the split between mesa and mesa-amber, https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/OpenGL#Installation

Arch Linux

#1 2023-11-26 00:08:18

[SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

#2 2023-11-26 00:57:31

Re: [SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

#3 2023-11-26 08:17:12

Re: [SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

#4 2023-11-26 08:58:20

Re: [SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

#5 2023-11-26 09:14:18

Re: [SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

#6 2023-11-26 09:28:59

Re: [SOLVED] 3 diffrent graphics drivers on 3 diffrent pc's?

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