Blackmagic Forum

Hello all, looking to see if I could get some info on anyone that has a system that is working or if you are building a laptop capable running D9 with linux. Coming from an all mac background I'm feeling the urge to get a work laptop that does the "work" real good. The MBP 17'' has done well so far but im tired of all the consumer BS they are thowing in each new OS. if I could get around 15'' and stay within res requirements this would be great. Did some digging but I havent found any specs on requirements for linux nor which one of the linux OS work. Any help on this from would be appreciated.


Cheers~jon

Hello!

Most latest powerful computers are compatible with Linux.
Just one thing: keep away from NVidia Optimus technology.

There is also not the best support for ATI switchable graphics cards.

Although Linux community created a solution which is the Bumblebee Project, in this regard NVidia and ATI failed. Things work but it would rather be better to pay attention to graphics cards that are listed as Linux supported. This is the main area to look at when considering Linux powered laptops.

Everything else is quite well covered and you can fallow the better specs the laptop has the better performance you will get.

Dell seems to have interest in providing Linux powered computers again. Might be worth a look at.

Also there are System76 computers
https://www.system76.com/laptops/

however keep in mind that DaVinci Resolve Linux version appears to be built using RPM packaging method. I would suspect it should work on RED Hat, Fedora and Centos Linux. But if System76 runs Ubuntu as main supported OS, there shouldn;t be problems with drivers in Red Hat kind Linux OS. The most important thing is to know what Linux OS does DaVinci Resolve support.

As you come from MAC world, you already can afford expensive hardware, knowing MAC and PC price differences usually MACs are more expensive so I think you will not have trouble getting intel core i-7, atleast 8gb ram, Nvidia Card with Cuda (Cuda would really speed up things if you run software that use Cuda)

I run Davinci Resolve 9 Lite on Windows on Dell XPS L502x with intel core i-7, 8 gigs ram, 2GB Nvidia GeForce 540m, and it is blazing fast. Pro version should be even faster.

And in Linux, most software run faster usually, so with similar spec pc you should be good to run Davinci Resolve 9.

Since Lite version is not available for Linux I can;t tell for sure, but judging from how it works on Windows, any portable workstation level laptop should do really well.

Kind regards

thank you for a very informative response. Diving into deeper... I find there are really no great NLEs that support DNxHD or Prores on Linux. This would be a deal breaker for now.


Jon

Yes, unfortunately there is a problem with such codec support.
Linux has many video editors but all of them are free and enthusiast oriented.
However you might wanna look at some less known options. Rather less advertised.

IFX Software Piranha is part video editor part FX creator and compositor.

YOu might also ask The Foundry Foundation (devs of Nuke compositor) if they have any editor available for Linux, they have Nuke for Linux,might have something more.

And if there is a possibility to wait, a revolutionary Hollywood strength video editor Lightworks is now being ported to Linux. It will be the first video editing software of such level to be compatible with all 3 major operating systems. Its pro version price is a bargain, and This NLE is really impressive and paired with DaVinci resolve you get a real kick ass combination. I now use both Da Vinci Resolve Lite and Lightworks free version at the moment and I like them two very much. In addition Lightworks has amazing color correction tools too. So doing heavy correcting in Resolve and adding some minor final touches in LW works really well and the one can achieve double satisfying results.

I would really love if Blackmagic Design and Editshare created a bridge between DaVinci Resolve and Lightworks. These two would works perfectly well.
What to mention eliminates restrictions between major platforms. True freedom of creativity with file sharing headaches between different platforms free. So if it is not an urgent situation there, you could wait till LW Linux emerges and see if you like it. You can install Linux along side Mac OS X as well as along side Windows or even inside Windows. Wonder if lets say Ububtu Wubi installation would work in Mac OS X. But anyway you should be able to test it anyway, even in a live session I think.

Kind regards,

Again great post! Not too urgent to get into Linux and will definitely look into LW for the integration. As of right now I have a system that will rattle along with the BMCC but and update will be needed sooner or later.

Thanks

If I bought a laptop from France and is in french how can I change the language?I have to reinstall windows?