Ubuntu on Helios 500 with nvidia 1070 - any issues ?

platinum_ultra

Hi,

I'm planning to buy :

Acer Predator Helios 500 17,3" FHD matt
G-SYNC,144Hz,GeForce GTX1070,Core i7-8750H,16GB RAM,256GB PCIe SSD,1TB HDD,W10H 

NH.Q3NED.004

Are there any issues I should know about ? ( is there a guide similar to this one for predator 300 )

https://marclandolt.ch/ml_buzzernet/2018/07/04/installation-ubuntu-auf-acer-predator-helios-300-nh-q3eez-001-ph317-52-7919/

( I have also read about  Screen Tearing issues for Helios 300, and tweak/work around with external monitor )

Most important for me is being able to work with nvidia 1070 / Cuda => tensorflow

Acer download/driver/Manual support has very little to offer on

• drivers targeted for linux
• detailed hardware information
   

Red-Sand

platinum_ultra said:

Red-Sand said:

Its still a bit early in the Helios 500's release to find an answer to this question quite yet.

I would recommend creating a bootable USB drive with the Linux version youd like to use and boot from it.

That should give you an idea of what's working and what's not.

Thanks for fats reply, but it is quite expensive test ;-)  since I have almost no interest to run windows ( and my guess is I cant return it to the store after opening it )

I don't expect everything to work flawless, but at least a desktop and being able to work with 1070 cuda etc

Ohhhh my bad, didn't see the "planning to buy".
Shoot me the linux ISO you wanna use and ill see if I can't boot into it on my 500 and pass along the info. 👍

vanadium

Running Ubuntu 18.04LTS on Helios 500 flawlessly. GTX 1070 is fully recognized and running at low temps (45°C) on the desktop.

EDIT: published a full article explaining all the tweaks and mods i've made to the Helios 500:

https://octoperf.com/blog/2018/09/02/acer-predator-helios-500-mods/

Including how to install Ubuntu 18.04LTS along with drivers on it.

Red-Sand

Its still a bit early in the Helios 500's release to find an answer to this question quite yet.

I would recommend creating a bootable USB drive with the Linux version youd like to use and boot from it.

That should give you an idea of what's working and what's not.

platinum_ultra

Red-Sand said:

Its still a bit early in the Helios 500's release to find an answer to this question quite yet.

I would recommend creating a bootable USB drive with the Linux version youd like to use and boot from it.

That should give you an idea of what's working and what's not.

Thanks for fats reply, but it is quite expensive test ;-)  since I have almost no interest to run windows ( and my guess is I cant return it to the store after opening it )

I don't expect everything to work flawless, but at least a desktop and being able to work with 1070 cuda etc

Red-Sand

platinum_ultra said:

Red-Sand said:

Its still a bit early in the Helios 500's release to find an answer to this question quite yet.

I would recommend creating a bootable USB drive with the Linux version youd like to use and boot from it.

That should give you an idea of what's working and what's not.

Thanks for fats reply, but it is quite expensive test ;-)  since I have almost no interest to run windows ( and my guess is I cant return it to the store after opening it )

I don't expect everything to work flawless, but at least a desktop and being able to work with 1070 cuda etc

Ohhhh my bad, didn't see the "planning to buy".
Shoot me the linux ISO you wanna use and ill see if I can't boot into it on my 500 and pass along the info. 👍

vanadium

Running Ubuntu 18.04LTS on Helios 500 flawlessly. GTX 1070 is fully recognized and running at low temps (45°C) on the desktop.

EDIT: published a full article explaining all the tweaks and mods i've made to the Helios 500:

https://octoperf.com/blog/2018/09/02/acer-predator-helios-500-mods/

Including how to install Ubuntu 18.04LTS along with drivers on it.

platinum_ultra

vanadium, THANKS a LOT !

One of the most comprehensive guides I've seen, really love all the details and thoughts put in to this  !

( I need to take a closer look at some parts which is a new territory for me )

This means I'll follow in your foot steps and buy one.....

So far I have just one very simple ( almost ashamed to ask question ), can you see any trouble booting from USB3

( the reason for asking is because I have had troubles on older machines, where I have reverted to USB2 .. but Helios has no USB 2 )

vanadium

Let me know if something is missing, i'll update the article. Ubuntu isn't completely working out of the box. But, with minor tweaks and driver installation, most important things like Wifi, Nvidia graphic acceleration and sound are operational. I think it will possibly improve in the future with new kernel versions. Helios 500 hardware is pretty new, so I can understand that the linux community hasn't catch up yet.

Regarding USB3, I can't help since I haven't any USB3 device.

PredatorHelios500

Which wireless card did you get? If you have Killer 1550i wireless, I believe it needs linux kernel 4.17+ to operate. Ubuntu 18.10 should have kernel 4.17. I've been wanting to try it on live USB but haven't had chance yet.

vanadium

It works on Ubuntu 18.04LTS too by installing backport wifi drivers: https://octoperf.com/blog/2018/09/02/acer-predator-helios-500-mods/#intel-ac-9260-wi-fi-driver

I've tried Kernel 4.17 on Ubuntu 18.04LTS without success. It works only with the mentioned procedure above.

PredatorHelios500

vanadium said:

I've tried Kernel 4.17 on Ubuntu 18.04LTS without success. It works only with the mentioned procedure above.

Good to know. I'll post here if and when I try 18.10. I am personally waiting for Debian Buster, which is scheduled to have 4.17, so if 1550i doesn't actually work nativity on 4.17 I'm am very said. I still tinker with Ubuntu but I try to stay away from backports as much as possible to prevent Franken-systems which can end up causing headaches.

Thank you for the reply.

vanadium

You can install any kernel on Ubuntu using Ukuu: https://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/ubuntu_kernel_upgrade_utility

I don't use the wifi so often since I have a gigabit ethernet connection at home. (and at work too)