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  • Linux compatible graphics card? Nvidia, ATI?

    Hi guys. I am wanting to build myself a new computer with this motherboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128342

    It has integrated ATI Radeon 2100 graphics which now uses the legacy driver on the ATI website. I don't know if it works at all with the open source ATI linux driver. So I've thinking about buying a graphics card and not using the onboard one.

    Everyone seems to say that Nvidia is better for Linux, is that correct?

    What about cards like these from XFX, Asus & Sparkle?: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150461, http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814187100, http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814121360
    Are these any good with Linux, how do they compare to cards by Nvidia? I couldn't find drivers on their webpages.

    Also should I look for a card that says it supports openGL, or not?

    ...I know these are a lot of question but I am a beginner and am just starting to figure some things out...

  • #2
    These graphic cards (GeForce 8400 GS) are pretty weak, if you want to play advanced games (e.g. Nexuiz, Regnum Online, Primal Carange, Unigine OilRush etc.) you will need a better graphic card. The integrated Radeon graphic cards HD 3200, HD 3300 or HD 4200, HD 4250 are not considerable weaker than the GeForce 8400 GS.

    It is said that the videoplayback is much better with the NVIDIA card+propritary NVIDIA driver, but I think the videoplayback of the free Radeon drivers is also pretty good. For advanced games you would need the propritary ATI driver.

    NVIDIA supports almost always the newest Xorg versions and kernels. ATI/AMD's support of new Xorg-version and kernels is usually ready if it is necessary for new releases of their officially supported distrubutions (Ubuntu, OpenSuse, RedHat). Of course you can use the closed ATI/AMD driver also on Fedora, Arch Linux, Slackware and almost every other distrobution; just look in the wiki or forum of these distros how to install it.

    If you don't want to play advanced 3D games, you could be satisfied with the open Radeon drivers. But mhm I remeber I read that the support of KDE 4.5 with open drivers is pretty bad (just use Gnome or anything else then ).

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    • #3
      The onboard video is supported by the open source ATI drivers, as long as they are recent enough. With a new distribution (Fedora 13 or the upcoming Ubuntu 10.10), you should get working 3d out of the box.

      It won't be great for playing games, though, since it's a weak chipset and the drivers are not particularly optimised for 3d performance at the moment. Most games will work, but won't be speed demons. Desktop effects and video will work just fine.

      Personally, unless you are a hardcore gamer, I'd recommend going with the onboard chipset and seeing how well that works. You can always order a more powerful card later, if you need one.

      All cards manufactured today support OpenGL, ATi or Nvidia. Most hardware you can buy today supports at least OpenGL 3.

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      • #4
        For ONLY an extra $23, I would DEFINITELY consider this: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128394

        It has radeon 4200.
        That's R700 supported by current blob as well as OSS.

        Or this for extra $38:
        Buy GIGABYTE GA-880GM-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

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