FreeGameDev

I would like to know the minimum hardware specifications to run Kart on Linux Mint 17. ie: Ram; Cpu; Video card resolution and video ram. My grand kids have spotted the game and would like to "test" it. I'm not sure if my machine will cope.

my current specs are: Quad core i5 @ 3.3GHz; 8 gig ram; 32 bit Linux Mint 17; Kernel Linux 3.13.0-24-generic; my graphics card died and am using my old 128mb nvidia card.

J

Hum, the most easy way to know is simply to test the game :P. I'm afraid it seems your GPU won't be able to run the game.

The 0.9 specs are here

If it doesn't work, you can try the 0.8.1 version which requires significantly less computational power, it's available there

Thanks for replying. Yeah, I figured that the video card might be the weakest link. Look like I may have to go shopping... *sigh*

J

I don't know from which generation your i5 is, but if it is from a more recent generation, then I suspect that the integrated graphics might be better than an old 128MB Card.

Thanks Konstin,

You would probably be right, but my machine, was built without integrated video. I wanted to add my own choice of video card. But thank you for the suggestion. Much appreciated.

J

I installed the old version, 0.8.1-2, and it seems to run ok for now. But, it's only temporary, as soon as I get another card, version 0.9 is going in.

By the way, I do not mean to open a 'can-of-worms', but which type of card runs best? Nvidia, ATI or other?

J

On Linux, you get best performance per dollar spent with NVIDIA and their proprietary driver. However if you are really keen on using open source drivers AMD is the way to go, but often going to the previous generation or two of cards will yield the best results.

So it probably depends a lot on what you want, and of course how much money you're willing to spend. Since it doesn't seem like you're playing games much yourself you should go for something reasonably priced, or you may have wasted your money a bit. Though going for the very cheapest option might not be the best either.

TL;DR it's your choice obviously, but personally I prefer NVIDIA cards since I don't mind using proprietary drivers, and theirs generally work well.

However if you are really keen on using open source drivers AMD is the way to go

This is a misguided sentiment. No AMD GPU supports 3-D acceleration without proprietary firmware blobs, and it's pretty clear that none of these blobs are being liberated any time soon. As uncooperative as Nvidia is, the irony is its older cards are the only non-integrated GPUs that actually work with entirely libre software in Nouveau (but not more recent ones which require firmware to be signed by Nvidia).

Think Penguin sells such Nvidia cards. I find that they work pretty well, though I haven't tried STK 0.9 with it.

onpon4 {l Wrote}:

However if you are really keen on using open source drivers AMD is the way to go

This is a misguided sentiment. No AMD GPU supports 3-D acceleration without proprietary firmware blobs, and it's pretty clear that none of these blobs are being liberated any time soon. As uncooperative as Nvidia is, the irony is its older cards are the only non-integrated GPUs that actually work with entirely libre software in Nouveau (but not more recent ones which require firmware to be signed by Nvidia).

Think Penguin sells such Nvidia cards. I find that they work pretty well, though I haven't tried STK 0.9 with it.

Are you seriously comparing firmware to a driver? LOL

When a libre driver is useless without proprietary firmware, it's misguided to prefer a piece of hardware using that driver because you're "keen on using open source". You're still depending on proprietary software, whether it's the driver or the firmware. The proprietary code being firmware instead of a driver only makes it less inconvenient (i.e. possible to port to other systems, less likely to stop working because of a kernel upgrade).

To be clear, AMD cards are no worse than modern Nvidia cards which require signed firmware. But if you're looking to use FLOSS to run your hardware, ironic as it is, the best choice is an older Nvidia card, not an AMD card.