Any Arch users advice on choosing a graphics card..?

[pingufunkybeat]

I don't think you can put an exact fraction of what is and what isn't available on free drivers but I can point you areas where they are still hurting. You don't necessarily need to directly compare vendors as well. Just take the best blob vs the best foss driver and you can plainly see that there are many areas that the free drivers are lacking in. 3d speed, video acceleration, openGL support, gpgpu computing, multi-card rendering etc. In other words features that have been the focus of the graphics industry for quite a few years, not basic functionality that has existed for well over a decade in other OS's.

That's true. And for people doing scientific calculations on OpenCL, open drivers are not a good solution at all at this time. Same with multi-card rendering.

But the current open source stack (at least intel and ATi) covers most of the everyday needs of many users. Video is fast and in good quality, compositing is great, desktop effects work, and pretty much all native Linux games run acceptably on modern chipsets.

People who absolutely need 99% of the max performance, OpenGL4 and crossfire should definitely use the blob, no discussion there.

I just don't get this holy war over Windows games and video decoding that works just as well on a CPU. Hey, I don't need it. And I get fully open sourced, stable drivers. In here, you would think that I'm sort of an infidel because of this :/

[deanjo]

It's trivial to me because I have a multi Gigaflop CPU that can do the same thing. I don't lose any functionality on my desktop as a whole because this one particular DRM-infested IP MPEG-LA Hollywood lawsuit bomb is not supported.

Meanwhile some of us are happily playing glitch free HD flicks using next to nothing for power on our ION based PC's that cost less then your power hungry processor that requires active cooling to do the same task.

[pingufunkybeat]

If I ever get such a computer and insist on watching HD content on it, I might consider a blob.

In the meantime, desktop works, video works, 3d works, World of Goo works, Quake works, Penumbra works, hey I have a working desktop! And I didn't even have to give a random binary from the internet root access over my computer!

[deanjo]

If I ever get such a computer and insist on watching HD content on it, I might consider a blob.

In the meantime, desktop works, video works, 3d works, World of Goo works, Quake works, Penumbra works, hey I have a working desktop! And I didn't even have to give a random binary from the internet root access over my computer!

Lol, nvidia hasn't needed to be ran as root for a looooong time. They are hardly "random" either. One supplier gives the blob, that blob is done by the manufacturer who knows their own hardware best. Now a open driver however could have code from who knows where. That is more "random" then any blob.

I f you haven't noticed, low power, compact system are some of the best selling systems out there. There are many people who do need the capabilities that the blobs provide. On my desktop system I also have different needs for that. Those demands are much more then what any opensource driver can provide, at least at this moment. I do require as fast as possible openGL for the CAD apps I have, I do need the gpgpu capability for Cuda and openCL for my code development. For the items you list, a low powered system with a blob is fully capable of doing. For your needs your taking a 10 pound sledge hammer to drive a 1" finishing nail when the "blob" finishing hammer can do the same job more efficiently.

[pingufunkybeat]

Anyway, this is getting old. I stated everything that is to be said about the topic of this thread in post #3.

Everyone should pick the driver and hardware that best does what they need.

Personally, I've had it with closed hardware and poorly supported stuff. I built a computer that can run a modern desktop and the games I need using open source software. It does everything I need. The suggestion that I should pick an nVidia card so I can save 10 Watts of energy is idiotic.

[kazetsukai]

My intel experience is quite a while ago. But again, these are only personal experiences, and you can't generalise your own.

Which is EXACTLY what you just tried to do!!!

It's trivial to me because I have a multi Gigaflop CPU that can do the same thing.

If you have a Pentium 4, you have a multi-gigaflop CPU. Just putting things in scale.

I don't lose any functionality on my desktop as a whole because this one particular DRM-infested IP MPEG-LA Hollywood lawsuit bomb is not supported.

The reason it doesn't work is that it's not legally allowed to work. Luckily, my CPU can take over, and I'm not losing any functionality.

//Off on your own tangent?// It doesn't work because it isn't in the driver, period.

When your driver doesn't support randr, THAT is when you're losing functionality.

The equivalent functionality is mostly covered (at least the critical functionality) by the nvidia-settings utility, but I'm sure that doesn't cover all of the missing RandR functionality. But again, I never stated NVIDIA had the perfect driver.

This makes a lot of sense when deciding which company to support.

I want XYZ functionality of out my desktop, so I buy a graphics card that does XYZ. If your driver Does.Not.Do. XYZ, then its irrelevant what company it comes from.

The fact is, you're spreading FUD with your 1/20 of functionality bullshit.

This isn't FUD, its facts (perhaps not so exaggerated), PAINFUL facts that most ATI users on Linux have come to terms with over the years. If you're not biased and in the ATI camp, you definitely have complaints. I'm in the NVIDIA camp, and I sure as hell have complaints about NVIDIA, none of which you have touched upon.

You're running WINDOWS GAMES.

Which DOESN'T HAVE A WINDOWS VERSION. Wine is quite mature and a good alternative to having to run Windows to game. Just moreso for NVIDIA users. You're again, forcing your opinion here, when thousands of people successfully use it (including ATI users) to fulfill their needs.

If you can't find a native program which fails because of poor OpenGL implementation, then just say so.

Put your money where your mouth (hands) are. I'll run 4 1080p videos, using VDPAU under Compiz while simultaneously benching Unigine Heaven and beat your Unigine scores under your Open Driver. Your performance cannot compare. If you have a low end card, forget it, and I apologize. That would explain why you're insisting you only need a fraction of workable OpenGL support.

OK, let me explain to you.

when a driver manages to render a triangle (and nothing else), this is a milestone.

The OS drivers reached that milestone sometime last year. They literally couldn't do anything other than rended a triangle.

I understand and appreciate wholeheartedly the work of the Open Source community on video drivers. They really fulfill a need for alot of people and do so usually without payment.

FGLRX was never shipped in this state.

False. FGLRX shipped broken several times, be it in performance, functionality, or both. Their OpenGL implementation until just recently blew chunks compared to the competition, and their release cycle was terrible.

[kazetsukai]

Doesn't have a LINUX version*. 1 Minute edit limit + long posts = fail.

[pingufunkybeat]

Those demands are much more then what any opensource driver can provide, at least at this moment. I do require as fast as possible openGL for the CAD apps I have, I do need the gpgpu capability for Cuda and openCL for my code development

We've had this discussion before. For you, blobs are the only choice.

Many other people can choose.

For your needs your taking a 10 pound sledge hammer to drive a 1" finishing nail when the "blob" finishing hammer can do the same job more efficiently.

It's just a bloody video. I compile lots of stuff daily. My CPU is supposed to work. Watching a movie won't kill it.

Should I abandon open source to save watts? Hey, MS Visual Studio produces more efficient code than GCC, should I ditch that too? Internet Explorer renders more sites than Firefox. MS Office has more features than OpenOffice. You always have a choice.

Holy Batman melodrama...

[deanjo]

The suggestion that I should pick an nVidia card so I can save 10 Watts of energy is idiotic.

10 watts? How the heck did you come up with that figure? A discreet card alone utilizes that. At peak an entire ion system utilizes ~33 watts. Your processor alone in your brute force system uses at least that not to mention the chipset, and video card.

[deanjo]

Should I abandon open source to save watts? Hey, MS Visual Studio produces more efficient code than GCC, should I ditch that too? Internet Explorer renders more sites than Firefox. MS Office has more features than OpenOffice. You always have a choice.

Holy Batman melodrama...

Your giving up overall total system efficiency. Sure I could go jump in a 3 tonne truck to go get a pack of smokes 10 blocks away so I can be seen as a farmer or I could go jump in the hybrid sacrifice being seen as a farmer and still get my end results cheaper and more efficiently.