How to know if graphics card is supported on Unity?

Question

I am looking to purchase a computer and put Ubuntu / Unity on it. I am not a hardware expert but I do know how to navigate around Ubuntu. I am having trouble finding whether or not the computers graphic card is supported or not. I am not looking to maximize the use of the graphics card but want to make sure it will support external monitors (hopefully 2). here are the specifications on the computer:

Inspiron 15 7000 Series
16GB, DDR3L, 2 DIMM, 1600MHz
256GB Solid State Drive
**AMD Radeon R7 M270 4GB DDR3**
15.6-inch 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) Truelife LED-Backlit Touch Display with Wide Viewing Angle (IPS)
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5GHz, 2x2
MUI Documentation
Backlit Keyboard, US English
US Power Cord
BRAD15BDW1601_5208/US/CA/BTO
58WHr, 4-C (rem) [58 WHr, 4-Cell Battery (removable)]
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5GHz, 2x2 Wireless Driver

Thanks in advance

EDIT Here is the link to the computer: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cai157w8ps5208&model_id=inspiron-15-7548-laptop&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

Here is the actual model of the computer: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cai157w8ps5208&model_id=inspiron-15-7548-laptop&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04 — chadpeppers, Feb 04 '15 at 15:42
Run a LiveCD or LiveUSB and test - that's the only true way to test if the graphics card will work. — Thomas Ward, Feb 04 '15 at 15:56
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it about hardware recommendation. — user68186, Feb 04 '15 at 16:01

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 04 '15 at 17:07

4

According to this Romanian Website, you should be good!

EDIT: Model number on the laptop itself is slightly different, but the graphics card is the same model so laptop model shouldn't make any difference.

EDIT 2: So, it was clarified that this is a certified (pre-installed) rather than a certified installation, meaning there could have been modifications done the standard Ubuntu image, such as custom drivers. So, you should be okay, but as the comments on the original question indicated, it would be best to try with a LiveUSB first because one of those modifications could have been a custom driver for the graphics.

edited Feb 04 '15 at 17:07

Ashu_FalcoN

2,118

answered Feb 04 '15 at 15:59

1

No, it's different, this is a pre-installed version of Ubuntu, which means that it uses a customized Ubuntu ISO image that was provided to the OEM, for more information please refer to this FAQ. – P.-H. Lin Feb 04 '15 at 16:08
Ah, so they could have used drivers they made themselves. I see. Thanks for the clarification! – Feb 04 '15 at 16:35

svalsesia · Answer 2 · 2015-03-15T09:18:38.537

Did you try to check this link ?

http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Hardware

Sorry for my fast answer.

In your case your AMD Radeon R7 M270 4GB DDR3 (AMD Radeon™ R9 270 Series ? or AMD Radeon™ R7 260 Series ?) seems to be supported (see release note on the driver).

Linux Distributions Supported:

The latest version of the ATI Catalyst™ Linux Software Suite is designed to support the following Linux distributions:

Linux Distribution Specific Red Hat Enterprise Linux Suite 7.0 , 6.5 Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS, 14.04 LTS

source : http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMDCatalystOmegaLINReleaseNotes.aspx

I can't tell you it will works @ 100%, but all seems good (or will be fixed quite fast, because it's new).

The real problem it's when you have an old graphics card :)

How to know if graphics card is supported on Unity?

2 Answers2

Linux Distributions Supported: