linux: 9800 GTX or 9800 GT ?

[0nelove]

Actually the one that Michael used was the older VP2 variant (not the G98 8400GS but still the old G84.) No VC-1 tests were done on the card because of it. But res there are 8400 G98 cards (Look for PCI-e 2.0 support and it should be a G98 based one)

also, look for core clock of 567mhz. these may or may not turn out to be the best option when myth 0.22 comes out. if you want to get something with more muscle, you might be glad down the road. (just saying this because the weaker 256mb G98s are having more trouble with vdpau, apparently).

[deanjo]

also, look for core clock of 567mhz. these may or may not turn out to be the best option when myth 0.22 comes out. if you want to get something with more muscle, you might be glad down the road. (just saying this because the weaker 256mb G98s are having more trouble with vdpau, apparently).

That memory issue has been fixed apparently. They supposedly can handle the 1080p stuff easily now as well with the latest beta's and officials. Clock speed was never an issue. The 8100 IGP's were slower chips and handle playback fine if the framebuffer was set to 512 (although they were VP3 Gen).

From the changelog of the new 180.29's officials:

Improved GPU video memory management coordination between the NVIDIA X driver and VDPAU.

[nbi1]

Thanks to everyone for the great info.

At this point I'm leaning towards a 9800 GTX+. Both Newegg and TigerDirect have one for $150. That seems to be the sweet spot price wise. I can't imagine getting a similar horsepower card for much less than that.

Something I neglected to mention in my earlier post. I also do occasional video editing on my workstation. In addition to vlc and mplayer the video editing tools need a baseline level of video performance. While it may be true that older generation cards might fit the bill I wanted to strike a reasonable compromise that doesn't paint me into a corner. From that perspective I don't mind paying an extra $50 if it means peace of mind. BTW, I do agree with the comments on "just 2D". Before my recent workstation upgrade I made do with a Matrox Millenium for many years for which driver support was 2nd to none.

Although I've zeroed in on the card type (9800 GTX+) I'm unfamiliar with the various brands. EVGA has gotten some good reviews for support, but I've seen inconsistent feedback for others. I'm sure it's mostly YMMV unless there are systemic problems with a brand. I'll probably roll the dice with EVGA unless something clear comes up to the contrary.

[Nexus7]

Although I've zeroed in on the card type (9800 GTX+) I'm unfamiliar with the various brands. EVGA has gotten some good reviews for support, but I've seen inconsistent feedback for others.

EVGA has an upgrade program which (from my limited understanding) allows a trade-in to a newer card.

The EVGA 9800GTX+ is quite quiet. I noticed the cooler noise because the default Debian installation uses the free nv driver. Once I installed the Nvidia driver and restarted X, the fan noise stepped down as X came up. This may be the case with the other brands too.

Oh, and hurry up. It's $124 AR at Newegg now.

[nbi1]

EVGA has an upgrade program which (from my limited understanding) allows a trade-in to a newer card.

The EVGA 9800GTX+ is quite quiet. I noticed the cooler noise because the default Debian installation uses the free nv driver. Once I installed the Nvidia driver and restarted X, the fan noise stepped down as X came up. This may be the case with the other brands too.

Oh, and hurry up. It's $124 AR at Newegg now.

Hmmm. I'm not seeing that price. The EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR is $150 with rebate. The card you are looking at (EVGA 512-P3-N976-AR) is not a GTX+.

[Nexus7]

Hmmm. I'm not seeing that price. The EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR is $150 with rebate. The card you are looking at (EVGA 512-P3-N976-AR) is not a GTX+.

This one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130420

[nbi1]

This one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130420

Thanks. Do you have this working flawlessly? The Newegg reviews on this one don't inspire confidence. Contrast those reviews against the 380+ 5 star reviews for the $150 G92 version. 756 vs. 738 clock is a non-issue IMHO. Paying an extra $25 for dependability seems worth it to me (especially after my HD 4850 nightmares).

Just out of curiosity is that version you found 55nm ? That spec isn't shown in Newegg's "detailed specifications". I think the version you found is sold by Frys for $160 so the Newegg price is indeed a good deal relatively speaking.

Many thanks for the follow up.

[a7v-user]

All GTX+ should be 55 nm. That's what's separates the 9800 GTX from 9800 GTX+.

[Nexus7]

Thanks. Do you have this working flawlessly? The Newegg reviews on this one don't inspire confidence.

I've had it two weeks. I assembled it into a new machine I built, and finished the night before the SuperBowl. In my hurry to get the TV working for the game broadcast, I installed the 180.27 driver direct from Nvidia (not the Debian-packaged version). It installed fine. I couldn't test the VDPAU, because the MythTV from debian-multimedia.org doesn't use it, so it had the CPU do it (fortunately, a Core i7 has no problems with 1080i that NBC was broadcasting). And I haven't installed any games to use the 3D.

[MetalheadGautham]

I suggest you buy the cheapest nvidia card you can find from 8xxx or 9xxx series. It will do till the HD4850 drivers are sorted out.