korosu

Ok, let's assume that you had an OEM system with a proprietary motherboard that you could not replace, and only had a PCI slot as an option for a video upgrade to replace the integrated GMA900. Let's also assume that you did a little bit of homework, and came up with a few potential candidates. You don't plan on doing much gaming (if any) on this system, as you plan on running Linux on it anyhow. Considering Linux compatibility, as well as general bang-for-the-buck, which of these cards would you get?

Radeon 9250 256MB 128-bit - $32.99 - Cheapest PCI card next to the Radeon 7000, and widest memory bus.
GeForce 6200 256MB 64-bit - $45.99 - Best Nvidia card available in PCI. Possibly the best Linux support of the cards listed.
Radeon HD 2400PRO 256MB 64-bit - $64.99 - Fastest PCI card available anywhere, but it's still $65 for a Radeon HD 2400. Unknown Linux compatibility.

Keep in mind, the question isn't if PCI sucks or not, I know it does. But given these choices, which would be the best bet?

Edit: I just realized that I typed "GeForce 6300" in the poll, I meant "6200". Oops.

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cgrado

Drivers for Nvidia cards are much better and actually available for Nvidia cards.

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korosu

Thanks. Do you think this would be adequate for basic stuff, like say, running an XGL/Compiz Fusion desktop and Google Earth at the same time? That's probably about the most graphically intensive thing I'd want to do with this system.

Edit: I just checked for 32-bit Linux drivers for the 9250 and 6200 on both ATI's and Nvidia's sites respectively, and learned something very interesting:
Latest ATI driver: August 18, 2006
Latest Nvidia driver: February 26, 2008

Then there's the HD 2400 driver, released on April 16, 2008. Then again, I'm really unsure about the Linux support for this particular PCI card. (I think it has a PCIe to PCI host bridge)

I guess the safest bet is the 6200! I'd still like to hear what anyone else thinks about these, though.

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sLowEnd

I know nothing about linux compatibility but I can confirm that a 6200 is good enough for google earth + vista

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korosu

Considering that Compiz Fusion will easily run on much lower-end hardware than Aero Glass, that works for me!

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korosu

Thanks for the opinions, guys.. I went with the GeForce 6200 (even though the price went up $5).

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