Linux drivers. ATi vs nVidia

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lopoetve

Extremely [H]
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Oct 11, 2001
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ok. Serious discussion... I've been using nvidia cards exclusively for some time now, since the last time I tried to use them, the ATi drivers for linux... well... they sucked.

REAL bad.

Have they improved any? How is ATi's linux support these days (OpenGL, specifically for SuSE and Gentoo)? As solid as the Nvidia drivers have become?

EDIT: Do they actually ~work~ with opengl now?
 
Nvidia's driver support is phenomenal...their drivers work perfectly. They're the best hands down. But I do have to give credit to ATI...their drivers have improved by quite a bit. They're still kinda quirky, though. They DO work with opengl and do hardware accelerate well (I've personally used them on a mobility 9800 and a mobility x300), but they're still not quite as polished. Their performance isn't quite as high as nvidia's are, and they're still strangely dependant on kernel version (I couldn't get the recent ones to work on anything after 2.6.14...they would KIND of work but would hang whenever the x server was killed).

So far, I still recommend only nvidia cards for people who want good linux support.
 
Not only are nvidia's drivers superior. Those sick bastards actually took the time to get sli working on Linux!!!! OMG they take linux really serious. Nvidia has far superior linux support. Hands down. Try crossfire on linux :eek:
 
Lord_Exodia said:
Not only are nvidia's drivers superior. Those sick bastards actually took the time to get sli working on Linux!!!! OMG they take linux really serious. Nvidia has far superior linux support. Hands down. Try crossfire on linux :eek:
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Link? That doesn't make sense, who the heck needs two cards for linux?!
 
Sly said:
Link? That doesn't make sense, who the heck needs two cards for linux?!
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Well some of those games, like the snake one where you guide him through the little block things, require uber GFX cards. IF you don''t got SLi'ed 7900GTX's, be prepared to turn soft shadows down.

;)
 
I'm pretty sure it's so you can SLi Quadros and do some work in Maya for example.
 
I can't get XGL / compiz running on my laptop (ATI Mobility Radeon 9200), and the problem is supposedly a driver related bug. :/
 
ok. so NF4 + 7900GT's it is. Sweet, thanks :)

(not to mention ATi Xpress 200 drivers :eek: )
 
Sly said:
Link? That doesn't make sense, who the heck needs two cards for linux?!
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Are you an idiot? :rolleyes:

Anyway, yeah, nVidia hands down for any serious Linux work. ATI drivers just suck, trust me. :)
 
Sly said:
Can you give me one linux application that will benefit from it?
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Ever run a Game or CAD in WINE???

rolleyes.gif
 
Sly said:
Can you give me one linux application that will benefit from it?
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Do you even know what SLI is? Did you even look at the links?
 
aparently people dont seem to realise you can actually game in linux. i have used Cedega to play CoDUO and a number of other games in linux with good results. on my old 6800nu i actually got better looking graphics and smoother gameplay in cedega than i did in windows. i cant explain it but its true.
 
cyks said:
Do you even know what SLI is? Did you even look at the links?
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I did, i asked a question. People helpfully replied with links to answers. Appreciate those. Gives me more ammo to fire at the ATI !!!!!!s in the the other forum (I got flamed for waiting for the 7800gt).

Then rather than contributing, this guy calls me an idiot for asking :rolleyes:
 
I'm not entirely sure if this is still the case or not.. but I know when the x1900 launched it wasn't compaitable with linux whatsoever.
 
The only thing "wrong" with nvidia's linux drivers, iirc, is that they are binaries, so OSS purists view them as evil, since they are binaries, and no source is available. I <3 nvidia for their linux support.
 
Sly said:
Link? That doesn't make sense, who the heck needs two cards for linux?!
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Doom3, Quake4, Unreal Tournament 2K4, etc.

Besides if you are running SLI on a dual boot XP\Linux system, it's nice to know it works on both. :cool:
 
PRIME1 said:
Doom3, Quake4, Unreal Tournament 2K4, etc.

Besides if you are running SLI on a dual boot XP\Linux system, it's nice to know it works on both. :cool:
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yep not to mention all of the games that run fine in wine. (farcry, all of the source engine games, etc.)

also, although nvidia's linux driver is a binary so are ati's...so it's not really a differentiating factor either way.
 
movax said:
The only thing "wrong" with nvidia's linux drivers, iirc, is that they are binaries, so OSS purists view them as evil, since they are binaries, and no source is available. I <3 nvidia for their linux support.
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True, but you know what? I'll take support over OSS and limited support. As long as it works :)
 
lopoetve said:
True, but you know what? I'll take support over OSS and limited support. As long as it works :)
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Indeed, it makes me happy to know that my nvidia cards will continue pwning even under a different OS.

Which reminds me...how do both fare Mac-wise?
 
OK a lot of people are pretty ignorant here. Nvidia owns Linux and the SLI drivers make a huge difference for me in any of the following native Linux games:

Darwinia
Descent 3
Doom 3
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Quake 4
Unreal Tournament 2004
Unreal Tournament 2007 (soon)

and believe it or not you can run Windows games in Linux via Cedega (a Direct3d API emulator). So we also have:

Civilization 4
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Far Cry
WoW
etc...

My friend has an ATI card and the Linux support is terrible. You still can't use any of the X1000 series in Linux at all and forget about Crossfire. Also, the OpenGL support is buggy and slow as crap.

I personally like being able to run all my favorites on my Linux boot and if my boss didn't require me to use Windows for my work I would ditch it all together.
 
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