My Journey with the Dell Inspiron 5680 and Ubuntu 24.04.1
In 2018, I purchased a Dell Inspiron 5680 from Best Buy and immediately installed Manjaro, which proved to be the ideal distribution for running Blender and handling web design tasks. The NVIDIA GTX 1070 GPU was a substantial upgrade from my previous MSI laptop, significantly accelerating Blender’s render times. Fast forward six years, and the Dell Inspiron 5680 continues to be a Linux powerhouse.
While I no longer require demanding Blender renders due to access to more powerful hardware, the 8GB of VRAM on the NVIDIA GTX 1070 still prove invaluable for using LMStudio and Llama3.1 8B in conjunction with Firefox for web development.
Dell Inspiron 5680 Specs:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB VRAM
- Storage:500GB NVME SSD
- All other components are stock
Installing Ubuntu: A Seamless Experience
Today, I installed Ubuntu on my Dell Inspiron 5680. I was particularly impressed to find that Ubuntu configured my aging HP LaserJet printer effortlessly—a feat that many well-known distributions often struggle with.
August 31, 2024 Update
Due to display issues when running virtual machines in VirtualBox, I have since switched to CachyOS. This change resolved the issue, likely due to Arch’s inclusion of newer packages.
Blender and LMStudio: A Perfect Pairing
I began by testing Blender and was thrilled with the results. Ubuntu recognized the NVIDIA card seamlessly, ready to tackle demanding tasks—a level of compatibility not always achieved by other Linux distributions.
Next, I installed LMStudio using the AppImage from the official website. I was impressed by the UI, which displayed all icons correctly rather than empty placeholders. After loading the new Llama3.1 8B LLM and setting the VRAM configuration to “maximum,” I was struck by the rapid inference speed—answers appeared faster than I could read them.
A Specific Task, A Specific Setup
Aside from VirtualBox, I do not plan to install additional software on this PC. I prefer to set up my computers for specific tasks where they excel. In this case, the Dell Inspiron 5680 is dedicated to running virtual machines, Python programming, and web design.
The Road Ahead: Testing and Evaluation
In the coming days, I will conduct various tests, including wake-up from suspend and running VirtualBox with a few virtual machines. Should any issues arise, I may move to CachyOS, as it left a strong impression on me during its use on my laptop. Time will tell. Stay tuned for updates on how Ubuntu performs over time.
Wrapping Up
Ubuntu has made a good impression on me, and I’m excited to see how it will perform in the long run. With its seamless installation process, excellent NVIDIA support, and compatibility with Blender and LMStudio, it’s shaping up to be a great distribution for my web design and development needs. Stay tuned for updates on my journey with Ubuntu 24.04.1 and the Dell Inspiron 5680.
Ubuntu has made a positive impression on me, and I’m eager to see how it will perform in the long run. With its straightforward installation process, excellent NVIDIA support, and compatibility with Blender and LMStudio, it’s shaping up to be a great choice for my web design and development needs.