Best Supported Video Card For Linux/XFree86?

Crixus asks: "I'm about to build a dual CPU box on which to run Linux. Currently, what is the best supported video card under the latest Xfree86 releases. Which card(s) can I buy that would be obvious 'can't go wrong' choices?" This question pops in to the submissions bin quite a bit, even though we have discussed this issue several times in the past. However times change, and as the years pass the technologies change. What does this year offer in the way of compatible video cards for XFree and Linux? Those of you who have this question might also want to check out AnandTech's October Video Card Comparison.

Comments

Matrox

[Tom Rini]

It does depend a lot on what you're doing. If you
want a nice card for driving big monitors, and getting work done, along with the occasional 3D game, I'd say go with a Matrox G400. They're really nice, well supported, and for all the features that work now and will work someday (DVD), they're a good deal. I'd stay away from the 450s for now, just because they're still rather new, and from the reviews I've seen they only really beat the 400 in price. I've had a Millennium 1, 2, G100, G200 and now a G400 and all
have worked wonderfully under linux.

Be careful.

[tippergore]

Much to my chargrin, recently when slashdot linked to the 'cheap video card lineup', I bought an ATI Radeon for my linux workstation.

Don't do this, because there are no X drivers for it. Well, technically, there are drivers for it, but unfortunately some scumbag company called Xi Technologies is selling the thing for 80 bucks. EIGHTY BUCKS.

Third party Radeon drivers for linux are expected Q1 2001, but I suppose we shall see. Also, as an added bonus, ATI has a java applet on their page that happily crashes linux netscape after a couple of page views.

ATI may be willing to part with design specs for driver development, but I'm not exactly sure if that necessarily makes them linux friendly.

Be aware.

Matrox Cards

[Greyfox]

Matrox cards seem to be the most thoroughly documented and therefore the least restrictive. If you need to rely on your manufacturer for binary-only drivers, you won't be able to upgrade to the kernel that will inevitably break it. I had the same problem with an intel card for a while and got stuck on an older 2.2 kernel until I upgraded to Xfree86 4.x. That's a real drag, let me tell you.

While I'd definitely go for a Geforce2 if they had open source drivers, I'll never buy one of their cards while I have to rely on them for a binary module. My Matrox G400 at home is very nice, and if I needed a little more I'd go for a G450. You won't get the FPS of the Geforce but you won't have to worry about Matrox deciding to stop supporting Linux either.