New Notebook ATI or Nvidia?

[penguin7009]

Hi all.  I'm about to purchase a new notebook and have always purchased nvidia graphics to use with linux.  The notebook I really want has the 1GB ATI Radeon™ Mobility HD 4870 .  Can anyone tell me if the Linux drivers for these cards are at least as good as the Nvidia drivers and if pclos 2010 has them?

Thanks,
penguin

[Animal]

I've always heard nVidia are much better than ATI's drivers and all I've used under PCLOS are nvidia based boards.

[penguin7009]

I've always heard nVidia are much better than ATI's drivers and all I've used under PCLOS are nvidia based boards.

Thanks for the reply Animal.  I was hoping that someone that has used ATI on linux would jump in.  I don't want to purchase a notebook with the wrong graphics card because it probably cannot be changed.  I use nvidia because I know it works. But ATI comes in the Alien notebook model I want.

penguin

[GuypronouncedGuynotGuy]

I have an ATI, Acer 5100

The only mistake I made with this notebook was the ATI card rather than Nvidia. Not a deal breaker but it has been a bit of a pain.

[penguin7009]

I have an ATI, Acer 5100

The only mistake I made with this notebook was the ATI card rather than Nvidia. Not a deal breaker but it has been a bit of a pain.

Thanks for the reply GuypronouncedGuynotGuy.  Can you elaborate a little on how its been a pain.  And do you know if pclos 2010 has fixed the problems?

penguin

[penguin7009]

Nvidia is said to be the favorite for gaming and such, if the video card is being used that is.
Any heavy graphics on my machines seem to drive the CPU really hard  and hot instead
of the graphics card. Only with linux though.
Much cooler and quieter with that other os.

Thanks for the reply ongoto.  I think I'm going to hold out for the Nvidia GPU.  The drivers for Nvidia on Linux have always been excellent and the control panel works well.  Its always nice to see that Nvidia Splash Screen on boot up and know that the drivers are well supported on Linux and particularly PClos   Thanks everyone for the replies.

[penguin7009]

OK all, ordered the new notebook with the dual Nvidia GT 260 cards in SLI, and a single Nvidia 9600m GT.  Will let you know how it goes after Pclos 2010 final is out   Looks like Tex is working on the .isos now   Go Tex and rippers

penguin

[Duvid]

 Installed Beta1 and Beta2 in an  Acer Aspire 1410. Both times worked out of the box with the ATI 4500 video display. I have also had no problems in an older HP Pavillion zd8000 with an ATI x600 chip. I am also a NVIDIA fan, but in these two instances they were fine.

[penguin7009]

Thanks for the reply, Duvid.  Its good to know that ATI supports Linux   Guess I have been used to the Nvidia Control Panel and with the newer kernels supporting SLI.  Now it looks like programs such as NVdock and NVclock are going to be ported to Linux giving us even more control over our graphics cards in Linux.

Until ATI gets on the bandwagon with some new software/drivers and some active participation for Linux I prolly will stick with Nvidia because after some research I find that Nvidia does even have a Linux section on its website

penguin

[T6]

some friends have told me recently that laptops with nvidia video card in it are failing drastically

models sold in the last 3 years, video card overheats system and detach itself, the system no longer boots, the fix is hard expensive and temporary

this video cards seems to require more air cooling than the laptop gives so a extra fan like this one should be necessary



latest ati cards i have used work perfectly on livecd, installed the last one i used was a hd4830 and it was working fine

the video card in the laptop you choose, i remember a post mentioning problems with the nvidia driver, no idea if it is still a problem with the current driver on repos, maybe you could need to download the driver form nvidia website

[penguin7009]

Hey T6, good to hear from you   I guess a good notebook cooler is a good idea especially if you use it a lot on your lap where your clothing can cover the vents when in use   When the battery explodes like on some Dells at least there would be a little protection and some extra time to get out from under it

penguin

[T6]

"Hey T6, good to hear from you"

   almost doesn't happen again 

"When the battery explodes like on some Dells at least there would be a little protection and some extra time to get out from under it"

the battery exploding is not that dangerous, is the fire on your pants...       

[penguin7009]

"Hey T6, good to hear from you"

   almost doesn't happen again 

"When the battery explodes like on some Dells at least there would be a little protection and some extra time to get out from under it"

the battery exploding is not that dangerous, is the fire on your pants...       

Err, that would give "Crisis" a new meaning

penguin

[sling-shot]

Been hearing that ATi has changed its game recently so much so that it has begun shipping Linux drivers along with its new graphic cards simultaneously. (Considering the binary drivers.)
- SS.

[penguin7009]

Been hearing that ATi has changed its game recently so much so that it has begun shipping Linux drivers along with its new graphic cards simultaneously. (Considering the binary drivers.)
- SS.

If thats true it would be a great step forward and an admission of the advance of linux in computing   Do you happen to have the source of that article so we could read more about it?  If ATI start packaging drivers with the install disc of their video cards I bet nvidia would follow suit

penguin