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I have a quick question in regards to graphic cards. Which graphics card works better with Linux - ATI or Nvidia? I want painless 3D support, really all I want to do is run Google Earth.

Any advice/help is appreciated.
tom_mc

tom_mc wrote:I have a quick question in regards to graphic cards. Which graphics card works better with Linux - ATI or Nvidia? I want painless 3D support, really all I want to do is run Google Earth.

Any advice/help is appreciated.
tom_mc

NVidia by far. If you are absolutely sure you will not want to run Quake 4 or something high end like that I suggest the Geforce 6200, mine runs fine for most linux games even at my native resolution of 1680x1050 and you could probably find it for under $50 now.

Generally Nvidia are better supported in Linux. They come out with updates every 6 months or so. ATI has been notoriously lacking when it comes to Linux support.

Great that was my gut feeling and it is nice to have that verified.

Thanks guys
tom_mc

Yeah, I have high hopes for the Nouveau project, too. I really MUST send them some cash.

I would never buy an ATI card. Their Linux support has always been crap compared to Nvidia, and Nvidia also supports Solaris, and FreeBSD, which is really nice of them.

If you're out looking for a new motherboard or a laptop I'd seriously take a look at Intel. Not only do they employ people to develop Linux drivers and work with the wider kernel and X.Org community, but they also provide free software/open source drivers.

Rumor has it that Intel might release discrete graphics products, aka an actual graphics card, this year. Which could be extremely interesting, if the Linux drivers for those would be free/open as well.

Tsuroerusu wrote: Rumor has it that Intel might release discrete graphics products, aka an actual graphics card, this year. Which could be extremely interesting, if the Linux drivers for those would be free/open as well.

I thought it was a fact, if you just want to use google earth surely a recent intel onboard chip will suffice.

allix wrote:I thought it was a fact

Nope, it's still just rumors. However, I'm really really hoping that Intel will do it.

Tsuroerusu wrote:If you're out looking for a new motherboard or a laptop I'd seriously take a look at Intel. Not only do they employ people to develop Linux drivers and work with the wider kernel and X.Org community, but they also provide free software/open source drivers.

Rumor has it that Intel might release discrete graphics products, aka an actual graphics card, this year. Which could be extremely interesting, if the Linux drivers for those would be free/open as well.

This card might not have a chance of being open if it contains the crypto chip that is required for Vista DRM for HD content. I don't know if Intel could just release a driver that ignores the feature or if the whole card will be covered by the Microsoft DRM. Will have to wait and see.