On Tue, 2009-04-28 at 10:43 -0400, James Kosin wrote:
Globe Trotter wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am ordering a souped-up workstation and I was wondering which
graphics card is preferable for running fedora:
>
> a 256 MB PCIe x16 nVidia NVS 290, Dual Monitor capable
>
> or
>
> a
> ATI Fire GL V3600 256MB, Dual Monitor DVI Capable ATI3600
>
> What would you suggest? I do not need huge 3-d acceleration and
stuff, but want it to work well.
>
> Please let me know if I should provide more information.
>
> Best wishes,
> Trotter
>
Trotter,
If you like re-configuring or re-installing drivers at ever kernel
change then OK you can do either. The bad news is ATI and nVidia are
not fully natively supported in XWindows in most circumstances without
the proprietary drivers. There are repos that support these two and
work is being done for native support... but, alas it is SLOW in coming.
Tips:
If you choose either of these, only do so with the intent to CAREFULLY
update kernels and drivers. Don't try updating the kernel if there is
no driver update available, you may regret this decision.
Next, try getting an older model ATI or nVidia card, support is easier
for the older models than the newer ones. Linux is also a bit slow at
getting newer cards supported natively, without going to proprietary
drivers.
It's worth pointing out that RPMfusion provides RPMs with kernel modules
for the proprietary versions of both drivers. The akmod-nvidia RPM
seamlessly rebuilds the driver when a new kernel is installed. I assume
that the same applies for the ATI packages, but I haven't used them.
James
--
Matthew Saltzman
Clemson University Math Sciences
mjs AT clemson DOT edu
http://www.math.clemson.edu/~mjs