Jun 14, 07 | Linux, AMD64, and ATI

So as I alluded to previously, upon receiving my new computer from Dell I decided to install Linux on a separate partition, in order to dual boot both Linux and Vista. At first I wasn’t sure which Linux distribution was the best, so at random I chose Ubuntu. Naturally I chose the 64-bit edition, since I had a 64 -bit processor. Installation was fairly painless, despite having to specify “noapic” in the boot line, and I felt like I was up and running. However, things looked a bit stretched out. I checked my screen resolution, and it appeared that 1400×1050 was the maximum allowed. I tried just editing xorg.conf to include the 1680×1050 my widescreen monitor requires, but soon realized that it was my video card which was the problem. And so it began…

I have an ATI X1300 PRO 256mb. So clearly, my initial instinct is to go to the ATI website and download the proper drivers for my card. I install the drivers, and BLAM, “Segmentation Error”. So I google the error, get some advice, and try again. Same thing. I continue my search until I learn that I have to exit the X-server in order for the drivers to properly install. So I do, things seem to go alright, then when I restart I get a black screen, and the kernel freezes. As you can imagine I am frustrated at this point.

Luckily I am dual-booting, so I reinstall the Windows Vista MBR, and try to see if someone else has had the same problem. Another google search and then I discover something scary: practically every person that has an ATI graphics card has had the same problem, similar problems, and entirely different problems.

I could go on, but by now it is apparent that ATI does not like Linux (or just doesn’t care about it). Check it out.

I go through tutorial after tutorial. I get rid of Ubuntu, and try Fedora Core 6, Kubuntu, Gentoo, OpenSuse. Finally I realize the trend. ATI+Linux+64bit does not work. It is broken in every sense of the word. Why doens’t ATI fix this? Who knows. They don’t care. Anyways, I finally decide to try the 32-bit version of Ubuntu Dapper, follow this tutorial for using the open source drivers, and magically everything works. I have 3D rendering, I have fglrx, and glxgears gives me a whopping 4000fps (whether this is totally accurate is uncertain, but it’s still a good sign).

So moral of the story is this. If you have an ATI graphics card and a 64-bit processor, give up on using 64-bit Linux. You don’t need it. It’s not worth it. Grab Ubuntu 32-bit. Installation took all of 30 minutes, including downloading and installing updates.

If you have any further questions, the Phoronix forums is a great resource, even though it seems to slightly favor ATI.