New Video card

jdarnold · 2011-05-10 17:14:25

As I posted here, I'm looking for a new video card. My nVidia 8600gt is getting a bit long in the tooth. Newegg has an ATI 6870 for only US$167 and the 6950 for US$199, once all rebates and promo codes are accounted for, but I haven't done ATI in a while (at least for Linux) and was wondering about it. Any feedback, partiuclarly for the 68xx or 69xxx series & dual monitor setups? As I use the proprietary nVidia driver, I have no problem using the catalyst one either.

Last edited by jdarnold (2011-05-10 17:23:18)

sudokill · 2011-05-10 19:47:12

I used to use a 4870, I know it's not a 6 series but the catalyst drivers were exactly as good as nvidias, no problems whatsoever with either of them. ATI cards are usually cheaper for the same performance, but the actual control panel itself isn't as good as nvidias when using Windows e.g. you need third party tools for 3d profiles etc but on Linux the control panels are pretty similar.
Just go with the best card in your price range, both the 68** and 69 series are very good, better than what Nvidia have to offer in the same price range

graysky · 2011-05-10 19:54:37

Stick w/ nVidia stuff is my advice.

Gusar · 2011-05-10 21:12:41

I'm with graysky. Despite what sudokill says regarding price/performance, I'd go with nvidia. Their track record with the linux driver is simply so much better. It's what I will do. I'm on a tight budget though, so it'll probably be a GT430 for me.

jdarnold · 2011-05-11 11:34:42

I still have one more day to think about it. Newegg does offer a 30 day return, so I might do it just to try it out. I do agree, I think, that the nVidia Linux solution is a better one, but, according to these charts, the 6950 is one of the best performing single card solutions in the US$200 range.

Cdh · 2011-05-11 11:41:06

sudokill wrote:

I used to use a 4870, I know it's not a 6 series but the catalyst drivers were exactly as good as nvidias, no problems whatsoever with either of them.

gnome-shell

Gusar · 2011-05-11 12:13:38

Why exactly do you need the performance? Games? Any chance that wine is involved? If so, you should definitely go nvidia. Because while it has gotten better, fglrx and wine still do not get along very well. And even if it's not wine games, nvidia's linux track record is (at least to me) worth way more than a few fps.

vinayv · 2011-05-11 13:03:31

I have a nvidia card and the support on Linux has been good. I can't comment on ATI as I do not own an ATI card..

If you are going to buy nvidia, please refrain from buying nvidia cards with Optimus (CUDA) technology.. They are completely locked down, configurable by only some (proprietary) software that runs only on Windows 7. Getting these cards to work on Linux will be hell.
NVidia has officially released a statement saying they will not be supporting optimus technology on Linux..

Last edited by vinayv (2011-05-11 13:04:47)

jdarnold · 2011-05-11 14:10:30

No I don't bother with WINE - I just reboot into Windows (XP!) to get my Windows gaming fix on. And, as I mentioned in my blog post, I have Witcher 2 on pre-order, and its *minimum* card is the nVidia 8800, and I have just an 8600.

@vinayv, thx for the CUDA heads up. What cards, for example, are those?

Gusar · 2011-05-11 15:24:49

vinayv wrote:

If you are going to buy nvidia, please refrain from buying nvidia cards with Optimus (CUDA) technology..

Err, CUDA and Optimus are two completely different things. Completely.

@jdarnold: Optimus doesn't concern you, it's a technology used in laptops. It's indeed a pain, it's only last week that someone figured out a big giant hack to get the nvidia card running on Optimus laptops. But you're not using a laptop, so don't worry about it. And even though you're booting into Windows for gaming, I still say nvidia's linux track record is worth more than a few fps.

jazznaz · 2011-05-11 23:09:53

I have a 5870 Crossfire setup, and both cards are detected and work perfectly well using the provided drivers. I've never had any problems using ATI cards on Linux at all.

BurntSushi · 2011-05-12 00:03:28

Although nvidia might still be better with Linux in some respects, AMD is nowhere near as far behind as it used to be. Firstly, the open source drivers are fantastic---I have an HD 5570 and I can run KDE with any desktop effect I want smoothly with xf86-video-ati.

I don't have much experience with the proprietary driver, but it's being actively developed. Presumably, if it's bad now, it won't be for long.

Also, if you're going multi-head, you won't find xrandr useful at all with the nvidia proprietary driver. xrandr will work with the AMD proprietary driver.

If you want more than two monitors, an AMD card with Eyefinity is the hand's down winner.

vinayv · 2011-05-12 06:54:20

Gusar wrote:

vinayv wrote:
If you are going to buy nvidia, please refrain from buying nvidia cards with Optimus (CUDA) technology..
Err, CUDA and Optimus are two completely different things. Completely.
@jdarnold: Optimus doesn't concern you, it's a technology used in laptops. It's indeed a pain, it's only last week that someone figured out a big giant hack to get the nvidia card running on Optimus laptops. But you're not using a laptop, so don't worry about it. And even though you're booting into Windows for gaming, I still say nvidia's linux track record is worth more than a few fps.

Thanks Gusar.. It was indeed my mistake (ignorance?).. A few weeks ago I was looking at buying a laptop.. That is when I saw about this Nvidia Optimus chip - GT 525M in one and read about it.. Since the card supports both CUDA and Optimus Technology, I mixed them up and (wrongly) came to the conclusion that CUDA and Optimus go hand in hand.. Sorry about that..
You are right.. Optimus is very much problematic with Linux.. But it is only for laptops (specifically to save power).. For Desktops, you need not worry about this..

I have been a Nvidia user for past 4-5 years and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone..

Last edited by vinayv (2011-05-12 06:59:37)

kelnoky · 2011-05-12 13:57:54

If you boot into Windows for gaming anyway, it doesn't matter one bit what manufacturer your card is from. The proprietary ati drivers suck, and every update might bring tons of problems, but if you don't need gaming on Linux, then you don't need to care about that and you can just use the open source ati driver which works like a charm.

And last I checked ATI gave you way more bang for the buck, so go with the best performance you can afford, don't care about ati vs nvidia.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-05-10 17:14:25

New Video card

#2 2011-05-10 19:47:12

Re: New Video card

#3 2011-05-10 19:54:37

Re: New Video card

#4 2011-05-10 21:12:41

Re: New Video card

#5 2011-05-11 11:34:42

Re: New Video card

#6 2011-05-11 11:41:06

Re: New Video card

#7 2011-05-11 12:13:38

Re: New Video card

#8 2011-05-11 13:03:31

Re: New Video card

#9 2011-05-11 14:10:30

Re: New Video card

#10 2011-05-11 15:24:49

Re: New Video card

#11 2011-05-11 23:09:53

Re: New Video card

#12 2011-05-12 00:03:28

Re: New Video card

#13 2011-05-12 06:54:20

Re: New Video card

#14 2011-05-12 13:57:54

Re: New Video card

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