Yep, that Vulkan API is what I was talking about. Only reason I'd be more hopeful than not in this situation is that games are coming out (AAA titles) that are utilizing this API and are working wonderfully on AMD cards. But that's not really what you're looking for.

Unfortunately I don't know about OpenCL but if keifermiller is right, it doesn't seem like much of a hassle to get installed on a Windows partition. Honestly going to Windows shouldn't be much of a pain for you. I think it would be similar to going from Android to iOS. With Android you can more or less do things how you want, make it how you want and with iOS it may look pretty and work well most of the time but you have to do things their way. That's oversimplified admittedly but it's more or less what I have noticed most when switching between the two.

Not that waiting longer is ever a good solution but with Vulkan coming out/being fully realized I would be hopeful of more stable drivers coming in the near future (1-2 years). In the mean time you could always dual boot with Windows so at least you have an environment where you don't have to worry about system compatibility. I definitely don't like being forced into Windows to play games either but at least you don't have to deal with the occasional hiccup.

If you have time and are up for some hiking check out the Tent Rocks its an easy hike and if you go early enough you can beat most of the crowds. Hiking through there reminded me a lot of Antelope Canyon in Paige Arizona but with less color and a whole lot more freedom.

If you're driving in from the west I would recommend making a two or three hour detour to El Marro and taking the short hike to the top.

There's also the Bandelier National Monument. It's more out of the way like El Marro but it's neat nonetheless.

And if you really do take kleinbl00's recommendation to heart, go to Santa Fe. I haven't spent a whole lot of time in each city but I can say without a doubt I have always had a better time in Santa Fe.

If you're looking for something simple like a point and shoot that will also take photos you won't be disappointed in then the Sony RX100 is what you're looking for. Just pop in a memory card and run with it. The price may seem high but this is around where you should be looking if you're wanting to beat out the quality of phone cameras. Also with this one the speed and low-light capabilities will be nice compared to phones.

If you want something a little more expensive the Ricoh GR is a sweet little camera.

*I should add if you aren't looking to spend around that I'd just save the money instead and use a phone. I don't think it'd be worth it otherwise.

It's a camera lens diagram. I'm a hobbyist photographer and wanted something to show that off.

Fuck yeah! Get that septum piercing! I used to date a girl who had a septum piercing and she was just able to tuck it up in her nose when she had to work so I'd assume you could do the same.

I have two tattoos to share one and two.

Awesome work, if I had an mITX motherboard I'd scoop one of these up in an instant.

Have you thought of posting this to /r/pcmasterrace? They would eat this up! And like kleinbl00 mentioned if this was rack mountable that would be amazing.

AMD is always an okay choice for a budget build, no problem there. I think you'd be happy switching to a more powerful GPU like you mentioned Its always nice getting to max or nearly max out the graphics and not having to tinker for the best graphics to FPS ratio.

As for mech keyboards, go to Massdrop.com and pick one up there. They're all awesome and you can get them (usually) well under normal prices. Not to mention you can choose your switches which is great.

And I have to recommend the Asus PB278Q for a monitor. It has good color fidelity and can be overclocked to 85Hz for some sweet looking gaming!

*Almost forgot mice. I have the Logitech G502 and Corsair M65, they're both sturdy, hefty mice that have a reasonable amount of customization. It's basically choosing which brand you like most.

A bit different compared to the others, World of Tomorrow. It's an animated short that was one of the award winners at Sundance last year. I was lucky enough to get to see most/all of the award winning shorts at one of my local theaters and this was tied for my favorite. It's even available on Netflix.

Waking Life is a fucking trip. Similar but less intense is A Scanner Darkly. I'd highly recommend it if you haven't seen it already.