Linux on a laptop and Da Vinci Resolve 15 - questions

Hi everyone,

I am about to get a new laptop that I'll use for editing on Resolve.

I'd love to get back to Linux again but I am wondering if the audio will work in Resolve 15 without a Decklink card (It was not before if I am not wrong). Is there any other limitation compared to the Windows version of Resolve ?
I already have a dongle (not linux originally but the old 800€ dongle before the price drop) and a serial number (that is supposed to work on two different machines). Will it work with the Studio version ?

Beside CentOS, what would be the most appropriate linux distros (I have run Ubuntu, Fedora and Opensuse in the past so I am pretty open to all the library install process if needed).

Last but not least, I am hesitating between two laptops :
- A Clevo laptop : i7 8750H, 16Go Ram, GTX1060 - 6Gb, 512 M.2 PCie SSD
- A Dell XPS 15 : i7 8750H, 16Go Ram, GTX1050 Ti - 4Gb, 512 M.2 PCie SSD
Any advice on that side ? Big difference between these two graphic cards ?

Thanks a lot in advance !

Hi.

I'm not convinced a laptop is ideal for Resolve. And in the DaVinci Resolve 15 Configuration Guide:

http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/D ... _Guide.pdf

On the lower parts of page 19 is written about laptops. Under both HP and DELL is written, but it is valid for all laptops: 'While performance for many applications and UHD resolutions will be limited'.

So I wonder if it is for Full HD resolution at 1920 x 1080 only?
In Resolve is CPU is used to run the app, disk I/O and compression and decompression of codecs.
Resolve does all its image processing in the GPU on the graphics card. So I wonder if I shall recommend you to choose a faster Graphics Card.


In Laptops the Manufacters normally must turn down the performance of both the CPU and GPU due to problems to get rid of the heat they produce and that the Laptop must be able to be run on batteries. I don't know of a CUDA Benchmark for Laptops, but here is a CUDA Benchmark for Desktops:

GeForce GTX 1060 6GB: 138022

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti: 91937

Compared to:

GeForce GTX 1070: 181237

From:

https://browser.geekbench.com/cuda-benchmarks


You don't write model numbers. But normally can't I recommend Clevo. In all or nearly all models they use Desktop CPU and GPU's as they are cheaper, but also produce more heat. So the FANS are HEAVIER and run all time at MAX SPEED. They are very LOUD?

So I have to ask you, if you ever have seen a Clevo, or you just choose it from information on the Internet?

On my favorite Laptop review site Notebookcheck.net they know that they have a problem. They don't count the HEAVY NOISE into their rating. So that is the reason that the Clevos got quite good ratings. But don't buy it.


You don't write model numbers on the Dell XPS 15 either. I don't know if you intend to use the Thunderbolt 3 port. But on some of the previous models was the TB3 models only connected to 2 x PCIe lanes and is slow. I have seen at least one where it now is connected to 4 x PCIe lanes. I can only recommend some laptps with 4 x PCIe lanes.


I am not a Linux expert, so I hope other will answer your Linux questens?

Regards Carsten.

Hi Carsten,

Thanks for your reply !

I know Resolve is not meant for laptops, but I want to have the possibility to do minor work on remote sometimes, beside productivity work.

I only have experienced Clevo with a friend's computer, who indeed talked about the fan noise but it seems to be solved with the latest Bios regarding the Notebookreview forum. Not sure why the CPU and GPU would be cheaper with Clevo than other manufacturer though.

The reference is this one :
Clevo Here : https://www.pcspecialist.fr/ordinateurs-portables/defianceXS-II-15/
Based on the P950ER chassis (the older model was reviewed there (https://www.notebookcheck.net/Guru-Fire-KS-Clevo-P950HP6-Laptop-Review.257730.0.html)
What concern me the most is the battery life...short. But the pros are : 4K screen, second 2,5" HDD, and better GPU...

The reference of the xps is the 9570 (here : https://www.dell.com/fr-fr/shop/ordinateurs-portables-dell/ordinateur-portable-xps-15/spd/xps-15-9570-laptop) which clearly says 4 Pcie lanes for the thunderbolt 3...so I guess it is. Pros : better battery life, better design...

Regarding the sound on Linux, it seems that, regarding the Resolve 15 new feature guide :

Support for Native Audio on Linux
DaVinci Resolve on Linux now supports using your workstation’s system audio on Linux, instead
of only supporting Decklink audio, as with previous systems. This means that DaVinci Resolve
can use your Linux workstation’s on
‑board audio, or any Advanced Linux Sound Architecture
(ALSA)
‑supported third party audio interface.
Record Monitoring Using the Native Audio Engine
The native audio of your workstation’s operating system can now be used for record
monitoring. This makes it possible to set up recording sessions where your audio input is
patched via a third party interface, and the audio output you’re monitoring can be patched via
your computer’s native audio.

Which is awesome !

Hope the dongle/serial number will work with the linux version also !

Hi.

Since I wrote my previous answer I looked at Notebookcheck.net and read that 'The XPS 15 9570 with i7-8750H CPU is almost twice as fast as its predecessor'

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-XPS-1 ... 578.0.html

And I am looking forward to do this:
'Stay tuned in the coming weeks for our full review of the i7 configuration of the XPS 15 9570.'

But I agree with DX that wrote in the comments '1050Ti was put in to lower throttling on the CPU I'd bet':

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Dell- ... 972.0.html


You Write:
'who indeed talked about the fan noise but it seems to be solved with the latest Bios regarding the Notebookreview forum. Can you please send us a link. I have read reviews on Clevos for several years and it is still my understanding that the reason for the heavy noise is their idea to use Desktop components instead of low power laptops components. And Clevos therefore generate more heat.
But future reviews and forums updates will soon tell.

But several times in your link for the old Clevo Review they compared it to MSI gs63vr 7rf. It is also an old Version, but I checked the price, as I se it is it then the same price range. Have you ever considered it. I don't know the company. Here is a link:

https://www.priceminister.com/offer/buy ... 3747349497

Regards Carsten.

I'd love to get back to Linux again but I am wondering if the audio will work in Resolve 15 without a Decklink card

Regarding audio in Linux, Resolve 15 now supports the system audio, so you shouldn't need a Decklink card. I am running Resolve 15 on my CentOS desktop, and although I already have the Decklink card, I don't need to use it to get audio with Resolve 15.

Is there any other limitation compared to the Windows version of Resolve ?

As for limitations in comparison with the Windows version, with my workflow, the only limitation I have noticed is that there are some codecs and file formats that don't work on the Linux version, but works on Windows. As far as I remember, there was a comparison between the three versions, but I can't seem to find it now. Maybe I am misremembering.

Beside CentOS, what would be the most appropriate linux distros (I have run Ubuntu, Fedora and Opensuse in the past so I am pretty open to all the library install process if needed).

As I am sure you know, Resolve is officially supported on CentOS only. However, a lot of Linux users have tried running it on different distros with varying degrees of success. I have personally tried it on Linux Mint, and it was generally working fine after some linking work to do. But that was back with Resolve 12.5. Not sure how well it works now, since I have been on CentOs for a while.

For more information on what other distros have been tested by the community, you can always check this thread. You will have to do some digging work, though, because it is a massive one.

Can't add a lot more than what have been said already regarding the laptop situation.

Hope this helps.

I have read reviews on Clevos for several years and it is still my understanding that the reason for the heavy noise is their idea to use Desktop components instead of low power laptops components. And Clevos therefore generate more heat.
But future reviews and forums updates will soon tell.

But several times in your link for the old Clevo Review they compared it to MSI gs63vr 7rf. It is also an old Version, but I checked the price, as I se it is it then the same price range. Have you ever considered it.

If you dig on this thread you'll find a lot of infos on the 7th gen Clevo P950 :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-clevo-p950hp6-sager-np8950-owners-lounge.804747/

There is a lot of users feedbacks on the website. From all the reviews, the noise and the temps doesn't seems so important (even though there are higher than with the xps), and the i7 specified is indeed a laptop CPU. The 8th gen CPU version of the MSI is way to expensive for me (the GS65 is more around 2200 euros than 1600).

I like the fact that you can order the laptop without any windows license, and that you can easily upgrade it later, but I agree that I have some hesitations regarding the build quality overall. You can check this also, as a fairly positive review :

Same chassis but older CPU version.

Thanks Abdelrahman for your answer.

I am running Resolve 15 on my CentOS desktop, and although I already have the Decklink card, I don't need to use it to get audio with Resolve 15.

I am ready to install CentOS if possible. Is that ok as a productivity task distro also ? I mean, can I install Gnome 3 and all the apps that I would have on any other distro easily ? (like Gimp, Geary or Thunderbird, Firefox Libreoffice, maybe Scribus and all that stuff ?...). Is that a classical .rpm apps distro with a repository ?

I'll check for this codec thing !

Thx !!!
A

Hi.

First I will like to show you and other reading this thread Intels prices on the 6 core mobile i7 8750H:

https://ark.intel.com/products/134906/I ... o-4_10-GHz

The Recommended Customer Price for i7 8750H is $395.00

When I compare it with the very popular previus 4 core i7-7700HQ:

https://ark.intel.com/products/97185/In ... o-3_80-GHz

Who have a Recommended Customer Price of $378.00

The price difference is only 17$. They share the same FCBGA1440 socket so actually the manufacturers can just swap the CPU and a few others components and sell the previous model of their laptop as a new 6 core model. But they have one problem. The 6 core cpu's produce more heat. so most of them must rethink the heat dissipation.

The new model should only cost around 20$ more to produce. May be a little more in the shops.
But i know it is not the way it works. It is called marketing. The want to take price the customers accept to pay.


I don't know when you need your new laptop? If you can wait a little longer. Wait for the full review of the i7 configuration of the XPS 15 9570 on notebookcheck.net and more feed back on the new Clevo BIOS from the official-clevo-p950hp6 thread in the forum.notebookreview.com. I read the last 6 pages and se a lot about undervolting to lower the temperatures. I will read the rest the coming days. But I expect that is a bad idea to undervolt a laptop for Resolve work.


While I was watching the word cup in football/soccer yesterday night did I try to google for laptops with i7 8750H and a GTX 1060 6GB to a price around 1600 Euro.

and found this 3 I will like to show you. The first is a Dell to EUR 1399:

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07D6K19X5?m=A ... Zkg51qt7Nw

But I also found this customer review:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-G5587-7866B ... ll_reviews

I expect they are all writting by Windows 10 users, but I also included the links to show you what laptops and prices to expect in the coming months.

MSI have several different models and it is 3-4 months since I last looked at some of them. As I remember has MSI GE much better cooling than the MSI GP. So I choosed
a couple of MSI GE's. Here is a link to a MSI GE63 8RE with free dos to 1584 €:

https://shop.hardware.fr/fiche/AR201803 ... pping-flux

And a MSI GE73 8RE to 1599 €:

https://www.laredoute.fr/ppdp/prod-5168 ... 00080861FR

Dimensions are l x h x p 41.9 x 3.1 x 28.7 cm and Poids (kg) 2.900. It will have space inside for better cooling, but from you own links can I see that you are looking for a smaller laptop?

So, I will say they your project is possible within your budget and if you can wait a little longer will you have many more possibilities.

Regards Carsten.

I am ready to install CentOS if possible. Is that ok as a productivity task distro also ? I mean, can I install Gnome 3 and all the apps that I would have on any other distro easily ? (like Gimp, Geary or Thunderbird, Firefox Libreoffice, maybe Scribus and all that stuff ?...). Is that a classical .rpm apps distro with a repository ?

CentOS comes with Gnome 3 installed already.. it will probably be an older version that what you can install on other distros such as Fedora and Ubuntu, but it is Gnome 3.. And depending on what you choose during the installation process, apps like Gimp, LibreOffice, Firefox, and others will also come pre-installed.

And yeah, CentOS is a classic .rpm apps distro.. it uses Yum package manager to manage installation and removal of the packages.

Hi.

I checked the first half of your link and here is my notes. And then my conclution. Here is your link again:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads ... ge.804747/

#35 - the P65 / P67 have superior cooling compared to the P950 so at the moment we're still evaluating and modifying the chassis until we are happy with branding it as an "XMG" product
#75 - Thinner and lighter machines will get hot when doing a task like rendering yes. If you want to do consistent tasks like that then the larger series machines will suit you better.
#92 - In case you want to see the temps and performance of the P950HP6, checkout HTWingNut's review.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads ... ut.805339/
#95 - The 4K UHD (3840x2160) is Samsung LTN156FL02-101
The 120Hz~5ms Full HD (1920x1080) is AUO B156HTN05.2
The IPS Full HD (1920x1080) is LG 156WF6-SPB1
#105 - both of them had very audible coil whine.
the Fans, they get very loud under heavy load.
#146 - Jul 16, 2017: A) Get a P950 and wait for a EC Firmware (maybe it already exists, i dont know since i dont sell that model)
#151 - That is true, and the P650 probably has a larger fin area than the P950. I just don't want people to get the wrong idea about the P950 model and think that it is a butchered version of the P650.
There are trade offs to be made here and it comes down to what the buyer values the most, thinner and lighter or heavier and thicker but with better thermals?
#152 - However, with the lack of a prema bios and a fan curve that potentially isn't going to be fixed in the next couple of months, it was enough to push me away.
#164 - Fan issue is not sorted out. CPU fan is on when doing general productivity tasks, browsing web, etc.
#172 - So you are saying I'm running the latest EC there is. How do I make myself aware as to when these new EC's come out?
#173 - Bruno@INPHTECH: Clevo is difficult, you have to ask where you bought yours, or come here to check or ask. There's a unofficial repository site but it's often out of date:
https://repo.palkeo.com/clevo-mirror/
#175 - What a shame about the fan noise on this model.
#190 - Meaker@Sager: We always make the latest BIOS files available to our buyers on request so we can make sure they flash the correct file. So any updates and you are covered.
#199 - I appreciate the aesthetics but the fan curve is just absurd.
#201 - Eurocom Q5 - Detailed thermals inside - Fan setting can be reduced to 55% to achieve subjective "Max Q noise standard".
#205 - Unfortunately, it looks like the design is throwing most of the surface heat towards the WSAD keys. Above 50 celsius surface Temps is where I draw the line.
#210 - I agree fan curve is "not prefect", but after some options changes in Clevo COntrol Center, usage of this laptop become enjoyable (custom fan speed, turn on fan at 55 celsius degrees,
turn off at 43 degrees and max fan speed at 80%), laptop is undervolted with throttlestop about -100mV.
#211 - I have tried changing to a custom fan profile to start at 65, and stop at 60 but these settings never seem to work. The fan will start at 50 regardless.
#215 - Bios version: 1.05.07 - EC version: 1.05.08
#225 - Cooling will be better in P650, laptop is thicker, so fans and radiators are thicker too, larger area better efficiency.
#231 - but up to 56°C on top and 61°C on the bottom (according notebookcheck) kinda sucks.
#240 - There is no fan issue, fans are noisy, this laptop is so thin, then fans have to work with more RPMs, but after last bios update I think is a bit better,
also if you do some undervolting and properly adjust custom fan profile
#251 - They got a new BIOS / EC (08/09 instead of 07/08). The fans get better, max idle from 44db down to 37db. But still throttling and no better score.
#253 - What I find strange is heat problems appearing in the 1060 model and not in the 1070 MQ one.
#260 - which reseller did you buy from?
#261 - Where do we get the new BIOS update? The fan control on this laptop is ridiculously bad...zzz.
#262 - SnaakSystems
#263 - You need to contact your reseller for the BIOS update, hopefully he does BIOS updates.
#264 - I contacted my reseller HIDevolution and they walked me through the BIOS update. Apparently, My EC got updated to 1.05.08
#265 - On default Control Center config fans are working all the time, but as I wrote few posta back on custom settings with a little higher
values (turn on at 55 celsius degrees, turn of at 43 degrees) laptop turning fans on only from time to time.
#293 - John@OBSIDIAN-PC: Just to make this clear, BIOS updates do nothing for the fan control, it´s the EC Firmware that matters, the latest is the 09.
This unit with latest EC and a good undervolt actually seems nice. We also disabled the BIOS XTU Service which seems to help.
#305 - Just joined the P950HR family. Runs great, but I gotta say,the fans are a bit loud. Is there no way to run the fans at 20%? It seems like mine are either off or full blast.


Yes I can confirm that Clevos have FAN problems. And I don't expect them to solve it for all. May be just for a few.

For others following this thread is Clevo a Computer Manufacturer from Taiwan that sell their PC via a network of resellers, that all use their own Brands. Here is a link to Clevo:

http://www.clevo.com.tw/clevo_prodetail ... 43&lang=en

Under Services, Downloads, The model number and All, and then Go
I can find all drivers for Model P95xHPx. Driver Type : ALL

But not Any BIOS / EC, Fan curves etc. According to above post #173 - Bruno@INPHTECH: Clevo is difficult, you have to ask where you bought yours, or come here to check or ask.
And #190 - Meaker@Sager: We always make the latest BIOS files available to our buyers on request so we can make sure they flash the correct file.

I am sorry. But I read it as BIOS / EC, Fan curves etc. only come direct from resellers on request. And you can't be sure if one reseller improve the FANs etc, that other resellers will know it and then can share it with ther own customers.

I know that keyboards in Germany have a QWERTZ layout. Do you use the same in keyboards France?
For can you only expect a better FAN Control if you buy Clevo Laptops from certain resellers with the right knowledge. I don't know who they are or, if they sell laptops with your keyboard layout?

But else #35 - the P65 / P67 have superior cooling compared to the P950; Yes the P65 / P67 will be a better choice for Resolve than the P950. But I can't recommend that either.

And #75 - Thinner and lighter machines will get hot when doing a task like rendering; I see in you links that, you look at Ultrabooks. But to run Resolve on a laptop you will need a medium to large sized laptop to get rid of the generated heat.

And an another thing. Have you checked if you can get the Clevo Control Center software for Linux?

Regards Carsten.