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#1 2009-06-04 08:00:04

Leye
Member
From: Heidelberg, Germany
Registered: 2008-09-03
Posts: 96

Which graphic card for new notebook?

Hi!

In a little while, I want to buy a new notebook that, of course, will run Archlinux. Before buying though, I want to make some things sure so that setting up the notebook won't be a pain ... First of all, I've fallen in love (until I find a prettier one wink) with LG's notebooks, especially the small ones. Some of them have nVidia graphic cards, others have ATI. The notebook that I currently use has an Intel GM655 graphic chip that is great in terms of open source but this time I'd prefer a graphic card of nVidia or ATI.

Previously, I used an ATI graphic card on my old iBook G4 with no problems but now, I'm not sure anymore if ATI's new graphic cards will run fine with Linux. I especially fear Xorg-ATI problems. The same goes for nVidia. There's an Archlinux news entry that I have in mind, that says that nVidia doesn't support something for Linux anymore (I cannot remember what exactly, sorry) ... Is ATI therefore a better choice? What's the situation now with those graphic cards?

When I used my Apple iBook, I ran the ATI card with the open radeon driver. I feel fine this time though, to use the proprietary driver if it's necessary. Once again, is there a better choice in terms of stability, support and realationship to the Linux community? smile

Lastly, I'm curious if anyone here also uses a LG notebook, and could share some experiences with me. Besides, any other comments to notebooks that run well with Linux will I appreciate. smile

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#2 2009-06-04 08:09:13

lucke
Member
From: Poland
Registered: 2004-11-30
Posts: 4,018

Re: Which graphic card for new notebook?

Nvidia is still the safer path, I presume - everything works with proprietary drivers and, additionally, their development has been very active recently. Even if your ATI card worked with open source drivers, they don't support power management yet - not a good thing for a laptop. Closed source drivers aren't even officially supported by Arch - it says something about their quality/attitude of ATI.

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#3 2009-06-04 09:16:36

jelly
Administrator
From: /dev/null
Registered: 2008-06-10
Posts: 714

Re: Which graphic card for new notebook?

I use nvidia on my hp8510W , an nvidia 570M ( iirc) . I get the same battery times as  windows users so that leads to the conclusion (for me ) that the nvidia drivers are ok , i have two desktops with nvidia cards same experience it works smile .

Leye : if i where you just google wich notebook has an nice support for linux http://www.linux-laptop.net/ and there are some notebooks / laptops on the arch wiki

good luck

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#4 2009-06-08 07:28:10

Leye
Member
From: Heidelberg, Germany
Registered: 2008-09-03
Posts: 96

Re: Which graphic card for new notebook?

Hi,

sorry for the delay, I was away in Berlin during my vacation. I have to admit, the need for a new notebook somehow has ended because my dad gave me an Eee-PC for free. smile

Of course you cannot compare it to other notebooks but I will use it when I'm away and in transit. Nevertheless, thank you all for your hints, I'll consider them the next time I buy a notebook.

By the way, the Eee-PC I got is a quite new model, and I'd like to add a Wiki entry if I can. smile

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