ATI graphics support?

[Loïc Martin]

Mihamina Rakotomandimby (R12y) a écrit :
> Hi,
> I heard some time ago that ATI would free their drivers.
> How is it going on?
> How is the current ATI support in Xorg?
> Is it now better to choose an ATI device over an nVidia one if running 
> ubuntu 8.04 and the future releases?
> Thanks for your advices.
> 

If you're planning to use open source drivers, AMD/ATI already has far 
better support than the Nouveau driver for NVIDIA cards, since the 
NVIDIA doesn't deliver any specifications for the cards, nor do they 
plan to deliver them. In the future, AMD/ATI open source drivers will 
keep improving, lots of the specifications have been released, and the 
remaining ones are being delivered really fast (considering the huge job 
that it requires).

So since there's now the possibility to vote with our wallet, and we'll 
also get better stability (and in the long term features) by doing so. 
Plus, there should (note I said _should_) be hardware video decode in 
the next few months - something that's been lacking both with ATI and 
NVIDIA.

There is not one, but two different open source drivers, each with their 
own approach, and both are supported by AMD/ATI (radeonhd isn't just 
supported by Novell, but also by AMD/ATI).

For the proprietary drivers, since there seem to be still many 
prejudices, I think you'll find the following articles quite interesting:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_catalyst_86&num=1

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_evolution&num=1

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=amd_rv770_oss&num=1


(also check the forums, one of AMD employees is really helpful and open, 
most of any questions you could have he's already answered, and if you 
have any more he'll be quite happy to give you better informations).


Basically, AMD/ATI proprietary drivers now deliver the same speed than 
on Windows.

It is still true that since the AMD/ATI drivers have evolved really 
fast, there might be a few quirks in Linux with 3d support (for example 
wine problems in some 3d games that appeared with AMD/ATI's latest Linux 
driver). NVIDIA cards are still the way to go if you want to have really 
good 3d performance without to much tweaking to do - but beware that 
some of their 8XXX and 9XXX series models can have abysmal performance 
in 2D mode, which is what you seem to be looking for - so stick with 
Geforce 6XXX or 7XXX if you want to go the NVIDIA way.

Basically, a recent AMD/ATI card can give you excellent results with 
their newest drivers, but since it's so new a situation, people prefer 
to advise NVIDIA for 3D in Linux - in a few month we'll all have a 
clearer view and should be able to recommend AMD/ATI for 3D with more 
confidence.

However, if you plan to use open source drivers and don't care about 
high end 3D performance in Linux, a recent AMD/ATI should be the way to 
go (Radeon HD 3XXX or one of the new 48XX). Stay away from the old cards 
produced before AMD bought ATI ;) Intel integrated chipsets would be 
perfect for you, but your brother won't really enjoy their performance 
in Windows.

Personally, I need 3D performance and thus I stuck with NVIDIA till 
today. I'd like to upgrade my graphic card too, but since I need 3D 
acceleration under Linux I'm willing to wait a few month (maybe till 
Interpid or a few month afterwards) since that's when the AMD work will 
really show compared to NVIDIA's. Although if I really had to get a card 
right now I'd still go for a Radeon HD 4850 and forget wine games for a 
few month ;) .

Hope it helps (and maybe help others to understand a tad better AMD's 
situation in Linux).

Cheers,
Loïc