# Help me choose a GPU for Linux > Source: > Published: 2026-08-18 10:14:41+00:00 I have a couple of machines that need GPU upgrades, one at work and one at home. Right now: - one has an RX580 4GB that I got second-hand a long time ago and was probably mined on. The system itself is on 24/7 and once every month or two it hangs. Could be the GPU or something else, as it’s an old system and it does a lot (virtualization with passthrough being the main suspect). Since it can’t even decode youtube I figured it’s time for a lower-power upgrade and eliminate one possible cause for the hangs. - the other has an ancient AMD souncard-looking thing (about half the size of an AWE32, hehe remeber the good old times?), with 1 GB and one DP and one DVI outputs. Definitely time for something newer. Requirements and what they won’t need to do: - NO games whatsoever - NO AI - NO need to behave well with passthrough and No need for virtual functions - work well in linux, Debian 13 to be specific - have a modern media engine able to decode the newer codecs (AV1 and such). No encode capabilities needed. - have at least 3 (preffered 4) outputs, most of them being DP. If one of them is HDMI, it’s fine. - be able to handle at least 1440p resolutions at higher than 60Hz refresh (144/165) - have decently low idle power in multi-monitor linux setups - no monster cards with 3x8pin. 1x6/8pin preffered but I think I can supply 2x6/8pin if necessary. They also need to fit in old-ish tower cases (with drive bays at the front) so no super-long cards. - resonably quiet fans with no agressive ramp-ups. Doesn’t need to have zero-rpm mode, just no under-sized fans for the TDP - since the requirements are not that high, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for a low price, current shortages considered - oh, and it‘d better not have that green eye of envy logo. I prefer AMD but am not against Intel if it is well supported in linux, I just don’t have any experience with them. So what would you recommend me? What have you used and worked well for you? Intel Arc is reasonably well supported for Linux AFAIK. 1 Like Even the previous gen, the A-series? Wendell made several video’s on Linux support for Intel GPU’s, have a browse on YT or Floatplane. [thro](https://forum.level1techs.com/u/thro) 5 Given no games and no ai maybe a fanless intel arc B series? 1 Like Last time I used my arc b580, VRR didn’t work (DP). But since you’re not gaming, I guess it’s OK. As for the drivers, ironically it was better than AMD. At least I didn’t have the occasional instability (screen going dark every time a window refresh?) right after waking from sleep. Or maybe it’s my setup (DP+KVM), but intel was much more stable in that aspect. I reverted to my 6800xt due to needing more horsepower when gaming, but 10/10 will use it if I didn’t need to. I bought the reference version (i.e. everything intel) since it was quite cheap, and the fans were fine. It stops when not needed, I couldn’t notice fan ramp. Basically my case fans were louder. (yes, I have a bad case) edit: … And I think my 6800xt’s driver is having some sort of memory leak ([this bug](https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/memory-leak-in-the-kernels-amd-gpu-gtt/155953)). It’s hogging around 30GB of ram, but not showing anywhere. Time to get back to intel, I guess. OS: Fedora 43 KDE edit2: added link to memory leak bug 1 Like I run both an A310 and a B50 Pro in my server and It works pretty well. [dcx86](https://forum.level1techs.com/u/dcx86) 8 I’m mostly experienced with AMD GPUs (and biased, FYI) so I would say 6600 is the cheapest one that meets all your requirements. That’s the lowest tier SKU of the first generation that supports AV1 decoding. I had similar requirements as you do for my Linux workstation GPU. I don’t really do any GPU processing workloads on my workstation. Video decode hardware for modern formats was a plus. I still needed to be able to use all three of my screens. I also didn’t want to go with an architecture that was solidly “previous gen”. Based on this I was determined to find a cheap low power GPU. I wound up with a Radeon RX 7600. (not XT). It was the lowest end current gen (this was right before the RX 9000 launch) out there. It was a little disappointing that there wasn’t anything lower end, I got it used on eBay from someone selling hundreds of the same Lenovo branded RX7600. I’m pretty sure they were pulls from low end “gaming PC’s” that were being upgraded with faster GPU’s and flipped. It has done just fine. It seems to work perfectly in both Xorg and Wayland with the open source amdgpu driver (which is to be expected these days). But honestly I could have gotten away with something much lower end if it existed. It’s a real shame that truly low end low power current gen architecture GPU’s just don’t seem to exist anymore. [dcx86](https://forum.level1techs.com/u/dcx86) 10 FWIW the 6600/7600/9060 GPUs yield some of the highest perf:watt ratios when limited to half their normal power For your requirements, I would go with Intel. As far as I can tell, you generally get a better experience, except for gaming. If your budget can stretch to $250, I would consider this: [ASRock Challenger Arc B570 Graphics Card B570 CL 10GO - Newegg.com](https://www.newegg.com/asrock-challenger-b570-cl-10go-arc-b570-10gb-graphics-card-double-fans/p/N82E16814930134) The Battlemage GPUs use the new Xe KMD driver, as opposed to the previous gen i915 GPU driver that is used for Alchemist and older. Probably not a big deal in practice, but if I was buying, I would want the newer architecture. If budget is tight, $140 gets you this: [ASRock Challenger Arc A380 Video Card A380 CLI 6G OC - Newegg.com](https://www.newegg.com/asrock-challenger-a380-cli-6g-oc-arc-a380-6gb-graphics-card-single-fan/p/N82E16814930076) Previous-gen GPU and driver architecture, but should do well for media and display purposes. One catch with these is your system needs Resizable BAR support for optimal performance, though it probably doesn’t make a big difference for your use case. Another vote for Arc primarily, although a 9060 XT will last a bit longer than those cards so better bang for buck. I want to thank everyone for the suggestions. I should update with my purchase since then. I managed to find an Asrock Challenger ITX A380 for 166 Eur shipped. I would say it’s quite a bargain and although I was reluctant to get an Intel card as I had zero experience with them, I thought I’ll just buy one as it’s cheap and if I’m not satisfied, for the second one I’ll get an AMD. At least I would have gained some experience. But I’m completely satisfied. I’ve used it for more than a month now and I can’t hear it. AV1 Youtube barely spikes its media engine and the CPU only bumps a little. Still have to check full-system power consumption but I doubt it’s anything to worry about. Now for the other system, as [@BlackCat](/u/blackcat) pointed out and I have done more reading into the Intels, they are designed to be used with PCIE 4.0 and resizable BAR. The system I use the A380 in does have both. But the other one does not as it’s an old H170 board. Or at least that’s what I thought. Looking at the RX580 device info with amdgpu_top to my surprise it says “ResizableBAR Enabled”. After some googling it seems Intel has enabled Resizable BAR on older motherboards at some point and even though Polaris was not supposed to have that capability, newer kernels enable it. There’s nothing I can do about the PCI-E generation though. So my question for you is: do I go with another Intel card for my second system and use it with PCI-E 3.0 or go for a more expensive AMD? (prices have gone up some 20% in the past couple of months here) [lambda](https://forum.level1techs.com/u/lambda) 14 You can consider used AMD Radeon Pro GPUs.