Whats the best display adapter to use with linux?

lothar

I was wondering what display adapter i should buy. I want one that has good driver support in linux and that I can watch Divx and other videos on a 1Ghz computer with 512RAM. Im using 2.4 kernel.

Does not have to be a new one, can buy used.

Raoul_Duke · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 9:35 pm Post subject:

If you want good driver support you can't go wrong with nvidia
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luqas · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 10:17 pm Post subject:

malloc · l33t Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 762

Another vote for nvidia.
Not only do their cards rock, they have a true interest and respect for the linux community

episode96 · Apprentice Joined: 08 Mar 2004 Posts: 173

Yup, buy Nvidia and you'll be fine

ATI drivers leave a lot to be desired.

pmatos · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 11:46 pm Post subject:

Agree... forget ATI, go for nVidia!

cibi3d · n00b Joined: 01 Aug 2004 Posts: 18 Location: Venezuela

Hehehe. I have an GeForceFX 5200 128Mb and I love it.. Long life to NVIDIA!!!
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OneInThreeWaves · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:16 am Post subject:

I dont like my nvidia card, but I think it's because its an mx440 and thus is a pseudo-geforce4 and only has 64megs of ram. Also it puts little lines and stuff on the screen if I set the color depth to 24bit on a resolution any higher than 1024x768. It doesn't work as well on linux as it did on windows. =\

Also, I know that ATI is more centered twords gaming and high performance stuff, wheras nvidia is more centered around imaging, etc.

So, my advice is get something better than mine if you feel like doing anything at all. =P
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0n0w1c · Apprentice Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 273

I have always used ATI cards... what is so wrong with the drivers? I compile fb support and radeon drivers in the kernel and seem to get good performance and have few problems. When I run glxgears I get around 1900 fps on a 8500 AIW at 4x AGP. I do not game, is that where the difference comes into play? My impression is that roughly equivalent nvidia cards give slightly betters results, around 10%. Am I mistaken?

beastmaster · Apprentice Joined: 24 May 2004 Posts: 230

ATI's driver runs prefect here too, got hardware accel enabled, fb support, flxgears run fine too, as least the resolution doesn't hurt my eyes or anything.

got ATI 9800pro btw.

lothar · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 9:39 am Post subject:

Thanks for all the replies

I've allways had nVidia, so maby I'll go for it once more

This is the cheapes one I found: Creative VGA-Card 3D Blaster GF FX5200 64MB DDR DX9 TV Out 8X AGP Retail, 70GB000002011.
Will that card work fine with watching videos and stuff? And does the TV out work?

blaster999 · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 12:31 pm Post subject:

GeForce FX5200 IMO is not the best choice. Even worse than GeForce4

It is a cheap and not feature rich cut-down version, but since you will watch videos and not play games, it will be OK (I even watch videos and DVD on my notebook p3 850Mhz, 256 Mb RAM, s3 savage/MX 8Mb video - everything works great).
NVidia is the best choice for Linux, but now I have Radeon 9000 pro and it works. Anyway, my next video card will definately be NVidia.

EDIT: Tv out works fine with NVidia AFAIK. It works with ATI as well.
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luqas · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 2:20 pm Post subject:

lothar · Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 5:44 pm Post subject:

Well, maby ill buy the FX card.. since I don't want to play games it should suite me fine.. Thanks for your help.

lbrtuk · l33t Joined: 08 May 2003 Posts: 910

I think you're grossly overestimating what it takes to play divx etc. I'm on a Pentium II 400 with a 32MB nvidia TNT2 Ultra, I run my desktop at 1280x1024 without a hitch and I have no troubles playing all but the most ridiculously high resolution videos.

lothar · Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:27 pm Post subject:

It shouldn't be nescessary with such a good graphics adapter to play divx, but it is so poor support for the one that's buildt-in the mainboard so I've got to buy a new one.. And I have, I bought the 5200 card and everything is working much better... I know it sucks at gaming, but I've only got linux on this computer and I don't play games... so that's not a problem

Rainmaker · Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:25 pm Post subject:

If you're just going to watch divx movies and such (home cinema system?), a geforce 2 will do. You can get those things for < $50...
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Droopdude · n00b Joined: 08 Aug 2003 Posts: 48

After being burned 3 times by bad ATI Windows drivers for three different cards, I am a confirmed Nvidia user!

loxety · Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 9:46 am Post subject:

Get a geforce 4 ti4200 its a great/fast video card.. well supported. I own 3! They can be had for around $50 used on ebay!

xcable · Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2004 1:37 pm Post subject: nvidia

Nvidia!

heath