Need new AGP video card with hardware acceleration and good Linux support

[chuckenheimer]

This newbie needs a new video card with hardware acceleration support in the Linux driver for a more solid performance while viewing in browser flash presentations and other video file formats with the VLC program. I am using 13.1 and have a 166MHz FSB with a 2.0GHz Barton 3000 cpu and a relatively fast hard drive which should make for better viewing with a new to me adapter. I was thinking that maybe an older NVidia hardware may suffice in this instance. Please let me know what anyone thinks about my situation. Thanks for any help.

[Knurpht]

This newbie needs a new video card with hardware acceleration support in the Linux driver for a more solid performance while viewing in browser flash presentations and other video file formats with the VLC program. I am using 13.1 and have a 166MHz FSB with a 2.0GHz Barton 3000 cpu and a relatively fast hard drive which should make for better viewing with a new to me adapter. I was thinking that maybe an older NVidia hardware may suffice in this instance. Please let me know what anyone thinks about my situation. Thanks for any help.

Sure you're talking AGP? AFAIK NVIDIA is the only manufacturer still selling AGP cards.

[chuckenheimer]

Sure you're talking AGP? AFAIK NVIDIA is the only manufacturer still selling AGP cards.

I sure hope so, AGP. I am not well versed except to look online at what I have - Matrox Marvel G550 - and see that it is indeed an AGP card. Therefore I think it's an NVidia card that I am seeking. Does what I say not make sense for some reason which is why you are asking? Thanks for the reply.

[Knurpht]

I sure hope so, AGP. I am not well versed except to look online at what I have - Matrox Marvel G550 - and see that it is indeed an AGP card. Therefore I think it's an NVidia card that I am seeking. Does what I say not make sense for some reason which is why you are asking? Thanks for the reply.

Well, AGP won't be found on new machines. But for some AGP is a synonime for "video card". You wouldn't be the first one that bought AGP where it should have been PCI(e).

Also: NVIDIA still provides drivers for their AGP models. A point is that you'll never get the performance newer cards deliver, since (AFAIK) the FX5* series is the only AGP supported

[chuckenheimer]

Well, AGP won't be found on new machines. But for some AGP is a synonime for "video card". You wouldn't be the first one that bought AGP where it should have been PCI(e).

Also: NVIDIA still provides drivers for their AGP models. A point is that you'll never get the performance newer cards deliver, since (AFAIK) the FX5* series is the only AGP supported

Well, I presumed that the Matrox G550 is indeed a PCI card but with the addition of the AGP technology which requires an elongated slot in the motherboard. That is exactly what I have with the Matrox card and again presume I will be looking for NVidida AGP video card. Also, my question remains as to whether any NVidia hardware for my box uses hardware acceleration that would be supported by any video driver that may be available for whatever board I might decide upon.

I do notice on the available boards that they seem to all have the DVI connector only which is not what I require, only the VGA to my knowledge. I do not know any difference between the DVI and VGA connectors but for one is analog whereas the other is digital. I again do not know whether my Samsung SyncMaster 226BW flat screen monitor is capable for digital with the appropriate cable. Would you know that?

[martin_helm]

Am 14.12.2013 15:46, schrieb Knurpht:
> Also: NVIDIA still provides drivers for their AGP models. A point is
> that you'll never get the performance newer cards deliver, since (AFAIK)
> the FX5* series is the only AGP supported

I found also GeForce 6200 AGB 8x and 7600GT, so it is not only FX5*.

--
PC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.11 | GTX 650 Ti
ThinkPad E320: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.11 | HD 3000
HTPC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | Celeron@1.8GHz | 2GB | Gnome 3.10 | HD 2500

[martin_helm]

Am 14.12.2013 17:26, schrieb chuckenheimer:
> I do notice on the available boards that they seem to all have the DVI
> connector only which is not what I require, only the VGA to my
> knowledge. I do not know any difference between the DVI and VGA
> connectors but for one is analog whereas the other is digital.

The two agp nvidia cards I looked at amazon have also all vga output (in
addition to digital output). You can not simply put an adapter into a
dvi to make it vga, for that you would need a converter (more expensive).
The 6200 and 7600 should both be supported by the nvidia G02 driver from
the repositories with hardware acceleration (of course not as performant
as newer cards with PCIe).
I am not sure what driver supports the FX5... cards.

--
PC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.11 | GTX 650 Ti
ThinkPad E320: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.11 | HD 3000
HTPC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | Celeron@1.8GHz | 2GB | Gnome 3.10 | HD 2500

[chuckenheimer]

Am 14.12.2013 15:46, schrieb Knurpht:
> Also: NVIDIA still provides drivers for their AGP models. A point is
> that you'll never get the performance newer cards deliver, since (AFAIK)
> the FX5* series is the only AGP supported

I found also GeForce 6200 AGB 8x and 7600GT, so it is not only FX5*.

--
PC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.11 | GTX 650 Ti
ThinkPad E320: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.11 | HD 3000
HTPC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | Celeron@1.8GHz | 2GB | Gnome 3.10 | HD 2500

Thanks for your reply. I wanted to ask your opinion, too, as to which of these cards may be a better financial investment for this older box, not wanting to spend very much but get the highest performance I can for the money.

[chuckenheimer]

Am 14.12.2013 17:26, schrieb chuckenheimer:
> I do notice on the available boards that they seem to all have the DVI
> connector only which is not what I require, only the VGA to my
> knowledge. I do not know any difference between the DVI and VGA
> connectors but for one is analog whereas the other is digital.

The two agp nvidia cards I looked at amazon have also all vga output (in
addition to digital output). You can not simply put an adapter into a
dvi to make it vga, for that you would need a converter (more expensive).
The 6200 and 7600 should both be supported by the nvidia G02 driver from
the repositories with hardware acceleration (of course not as performant
as newer cards with PCIe).
I am not sure what driver supports the FX5... cards.

--
PC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.11 | GTX 650 Ti
ThinkPad E320: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.11 | HD 3000
HTPC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | Celeron@1.8GHz | 2GB | Gnome 3.10 | HD 2500

Aha! Now I seem to be getting to the heart of my issue. I will look for both of these cards as you've suggested. It would appear that this upgrade may indeed lift my performance no matter how slightly as long as it uses hardware acceleration onboard the card. I think I know what I'm talking about here.

[chuckenheimer]

Am 14.12.2013 17:26, schrieb chuckenheimer:
> I do notice on the available boards that they seem to all have the DVI
> connector only which is not what I require, only the VGA to my
> knowledge. I do not know any difference between the DVI and VGA
> connectors but for one is analog whereas the other is digital.

The two agp nvidia cards I looked at amazon have also all vga output (in
addition to digital output). You can not simply put an adapter into a
dvi to make it vga, for that you would need a converter (more expensive).
The 6200 and 7600 should both be supported by the nvidia G02 driver from
the repositories with hardware acceleration (of course not as performant
as newer cards with PCIe).
I am not sure what driver supports the FX5... cards.

--
PC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i7-2600@3.40GHz | 16GB | KDE 4.11 | GTX 650 Ti
ThinkPad E320: oS 13.1 x86_64 | i3@2.30GHz | 8GB | KDE 4.11 | HD 3000
HTPC: oS 13.1 x86_64 | Celeron@1.8GHz | 2GB | Gnome 3.10 | HD 2500

Looking at the 6200 version I see various onboard RAM sizes and was curious what the difference between say the 256MB and 512MB cards?