I recently built a new PC with an RX 6650 XT and have been tinkering with different Linux distributions like Nobara and openSUSE Tumbleweed. I want an operating system that just works without constant crashes since gaming is only a part of what I do. I love KDE Plasma, but I know it can be pretty buggy, especially in its latest versions. With the new Debian 13 and MX 25 out, I'm tempted to try MX Linux with KDE because it includes AHS repos for newer drivers. My main question is: Am I missing out on anything by not choosing a rolling release distro given my RX 6650 XT? It's not super cutting edge, but it is relatively new for Linux. Cheers!
4 Answers
My RX 7600 XT has performed flawlessly on various distributions, including Debian 12 and Fedora 41. If you’re looking for compatibility, it might be good to check the documentation for any additional requirements or recommendations.
You'll probably want to use the 6.17 kernel for full support with the RX 6650 XT, but Debian 13 ships with the 6.12 kernel. You might consider switching to Kubuntu 25.10 as it has the latest kernel and mesa libraries, plus it's still based on Debian. That should give you better compatibility with your card.
The RX 6000 series has been supported since the 5.9.12 kernel, so 6.12 should be sufficient for your RX 6650 XT. I don't think you'll need 6.17; it mainly includes fixes for the newer 9000 series. Any 6.x kernel should work fine with your card.
You may need a kernel upgrade, but the best way to find out if your RX 6650 XT works well with Debian 13 is to try it out yourself. Good luck!
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