Arch Linux

elias4444

Member

Registered: 2004-03-16

Posts: 11

ATI or Nvidia?

Just curious which everyone thought was better. I've used Nvidia drivers in my laptop for some time and have been happy with them. Now, however, I'm building a new desktop machine for home (mostly development stuff, but games are always fun too), and I have to decide what graphic card to get for it. Anyone have any recommendations?

The ATI 9800se looks like a good affordable, yet powerful card, but I'm not sure about ATI linux drivers (all opinions are welcome on it please). Is there a comparable Nvidia card (comparable in price and performance)?

maccorin

Member

Registered: 2004-03-14

Posts: 24

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

ATI Drivers pale in comparison to NVidia drivers on linux right now.  But they say they are working on that, of course, they've been saying that forever...

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RTFM

sud_crow

Member

From: Argentina

Registered: 2003-06-30

Posts: 546

Website

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

Hi,

Well, if you plan to play games at all in your box, i would go with nVidia without even thinking it.
I have a couple of friends which im trying to convert to Linux, but thanks to ATI is going to cost me _a lot_

ATI drivers are far away from the ones of nVidia.
Take a look at this: http://www.linuxworld.com/story/44095.htm?DE=1

A good current nVidia card is the GF FX 5700 Ultra... i would go with that one... if i had the money and inhabitated the US

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Leonardo Andrés Gallego
www.archlinux-es.org || Comunidad Hispana de Arch Linux

nifan

Member

Registered: 2003-04-10

Posts: 102

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

i think ATI is trying deply changing the state of their drivers at the moment, i've read on linuxjournal (the paper edition)  that ATI provided documentation to some developers to help them make an ATI opensource driver, dont know if is true, i never tried to find more about it.

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______
"Ignorance, the root and the stem of every evil." - Plato

Dusty

Schwag Merchant

From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Registered: 2004-01-18

Posts: 5,986

Website

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

More people seem to have trouble with ATI than NVidia, though NVidia causes its share of problems too. I've been very happy with my NVidia card and drivers.

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** Arch Linux Apparel and more ** Arch Linux stickers, laptop bags, jewelery ** I wrote a book on Python 3 ** and one on mental health **

Moo-Crumpus

Member

From: Hessen / Germany

Registered: 2003-12-01

Posts: 1,488

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

I am glad there are two main developpers of 3d graphic cards, that start supporting linux, honestly.

For my taste, ATI was a mess in Windows, at least it's drivers, causing blue screens daily. Nvidia works well, in Windows and Linux. The driver installation and compilation works very well, if your linux is prepared well. Until the distributrions don't really care for nvidia driver installation, and therefore don't install the needed sources. there is a problem from distribution to distribution. Besides, it never was a problem to install nvidia drivers if you run your own kernel.

I can't compare linux nvidia with linux ati drivers, as I never used ati drivers in linux. Nvidia drivers are well, nevertheless the windows drivers seem to perform a bit better.

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Frumpus ♥ addict
[mu'.krum.pus], [frum.pus]

yak8998

Member

Registered: 2004-03-01

Posts: 143

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

excluding the FX5700, ATI is really a better deal in any price range. Their cards are faster, especially when using AA and AF. But personally, after all the hassle I have gone thru trying to install ATI cards, I'd go with nvidia to save a lot of trouble.

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"Ignorance is bliss, for stupid people."
"open-source is [...] programming Darwinism."
Vaughan-Nichols

wakeupbomb

Member

From: Liverpool, UK

Registered: 2004-02-15

Posts: 164

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

Nvidia all the way under Linux, drivers are much better
And I got a Geforce FX5900 128MB for £129 and it's an absolute god of a card.
Also the people on the ATI forums don't seem to be too happy with the way the ATI drivers are progressing...i.e. hardly at all

Echo1

Member

From: BC, Canada

Registered: 2004-03-02

Posts: 19

Re: ATI or Nvidia?

Well like most people posting here I would go with nVIDIA for linux.
It depends what you are going to use your box for, If it is gaming go for nvidia.

I thought I would give ATI a try with my new box.
When I put together this box I borrowed a friend's ATI RADEON 9600 UT 256.
I installed the new catilyst 3d drivers.There is a nice arch how-to.
What I found was that the game Savage (nvidia optimize) was unplayble under linux.
All the players where smudges and I could only run to the right.
Also WineX would not run some games that would run with my old nvidia 4200 ti.
Winex is trying to build in beter ATI support but it is not quite there right now.
I really wanted to go with the ATI because they have shown more intrest in supporting linux with open source drivers.
If you don't run Savage or Winex this is all a mute point. 
ATI does have better AA and AF  right now but this is when runnig underDirectX9, under OpenGL nvidia runs equal or better.
So for linux nvidia is not a sacrafice or for that matter running an older top end DirectX8 card (nVIDIA or ATI) if gotten at the right price.
In the end I went with a nvidia FX5900-XT which is nvidia's midrange respose to ATI.

Checkout:  http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20 … index.html

For all those that read this far sorry for being so long winded.