Comments on NVidia Quadro-2 video cards.
Hi, We are getting a new computer and the vendor is suggesting an NVidia Quadro-2 Pro 3D graphics card (dual monitor) or an NVidia Quadro-2 MXR entry level 3D graphics (dual monitor). From seeing recent posts regarding problems with the card I'd like some opinions on how well the card is supported. I care about its support for dual monitor funtionality and SMP support. I care less for 3D or glx support, since this machine is for computationl work, we will not be playing tribes 2 on it. Thanks. -- Rafael
Hi, With 3D support ymmv. With 2D on the other hand, the included nv drivers are as good as it gets. nVidia have also released their drivers for the TNT/Ge/Quadro cards, and to me it seems that 2D is flawless. I manage one computer with a GeForce2 Pro, and it's great. It's mainly used for CAD and webdesign, and it just chugs on. -tosi Þann miðvikudagur 23 maí 2001 15:35 skrifaðir þú:
Hi,
We are getting a new computer and the vendor is suggesting an NVidia Quadro-2 Pro 3D graphics card (dual monitor) or an NVidia Quadro-2 MXR entry level 3D graphics (dual monitor). From seeing recent posts regarding problems with the card I'd like some opinions on how well the card is supported.
I care about its support for dual monitor funtionality and SMP support. I care less for 3D or glx support, since this machine is for computationl work, we will not be playing tribes 2 on it.
Thanks.
Which vendor can suggest those? Only for computational work? Quadro pro 2 is like the top end, which is used for graphic workstations, and yes the drooling Tribes 2 mass too. For Dual Monitor maybe a Matrox G450? These run a lot cheaper than those highest end Geforce cards. These are my own opinions, to give you something else to look for. Matt PS does the vendor know Linux? Rafael Herrera wrote:
Hi,
We are getting a new computer and the vendor is suggesting an NVidia Quadro-2 Pro 3D graphics card (dual monitor) or an NVidia Quadro-2 MXR entry level 3D graphics (dual monitor). From seeing recent posts regarding problems with the card I'd like some opinions on how well the card is supported.
I care about its support for dual monitor funtionality and SMP support. I care less for 3D or glx support, since this machine is for computationl work, we will not be playing tribes 2 on it.
Thanks.
For crying out load. The GeForce2-MX is made for dual head. The single monitor GF2-MX I bought for $100.00 U.S (and I easily get 40-50 fps in Unreal Tournament). I believe you can get a dual head model for about $150.00 U.S. Cardex makes one that was rated "most bang for the buck" by PC mag and a few others. Sounds like maybe the guy that's trying to sell you the Quadro pro is trying to get the most bang from your bucks. If you don't need top end developer graphics capability then go for a Matrox dual head or the GeForce2-MX dual head. And they do games and 3D just fine - Unless your doing 3D CAD design for Mercedes Benz engineering department. Be careful and keep that guy on a short leash. HTH Curtis Rey On Wednesday 23 May 2001 08:33 pm, Matthew wrote:
Which vendor can suggest those? Only for computational work? Quadro pro 2 is like the top end, which is used for graphic workstations, and yes the drooling Tribes 2 mass too.
For Dual Monitor maybe a Matrox G450? These run a lot cheaper than those highest end Geforce cards.
These are my own opinions, to give you something else to look for.
Matt
PS does the vendor know Linux?
Rafael Herrera wrote:
Hi,
We are getting a new computer and the vendor is suggesting an NVidia Quadro-2 Pro 3D graphics card (dual monitor) or an NVidia Quadro-2 MXR entry level 3D graphics (dual monitor). From seeing recent posts regarding problems with the card I'd like some opinions on how well the card is supported.
I care about its support for dual monitor funtionality and SMP support. I care less for 3D or glx support, since this machine is for computationl work, we will not be playing tribes 2 on it.
Thanks.
Curtis Rey wrote:
For crying out load. The GeForce2-MX is made for dual head. The single monitor GF2-MX I bought for $100.00 U.S (and I easily get 40-50 fps in Unreal Tournament). I believe you can get a dual head model for about $150.00 U.S. Cardex makes one that was rated "most bang for the buck" by PC mag and a few others. Sounds like maybe the guy that's trying to sell you the Quadro pro is trying to get the most bang from your bucks. If you don't need top end developer graphics capability then go for a Matrox dual head or the GeForce2-MX dual head. And they do games and 3D just fine - Unless your doing 3D CAD design for Mercedes Benz engineering department. Be careful and keep that guy on a short leash.
HTH Curtis Rey
On Wednesday 23 May 2001 08:33 pm, Matthew wrote:
Which vendor can suggest those? Only for computational work? Quadro pro 2 is like the top end, which is used for graphic workstations, and yes the drooling Tribes 2 mass too.
For Dual Monitor maybe a Matrox G450? These run a lot cheaper than those highest end Geforce cards.
These are my own opinions, to give you something else to look for.
Matt
PS does the vendor know Linux?
Rafael Herrera wrote:
Hi,
We are getting a new computer and the vendor is suggesting an NVidia Quadro-2 Pro 3D graphics card (dual monitor) or an NVidia Quadro-2 MXR entry level 3D graphics (dual monitor). From seeing recent posts regarding problems with the card I'd like some opinions on how well the card is supported.
I care about its support for dual monitor funtionality and SMP support. I care less for 3D or glx support, since this machine is for computationl work, we will not be playing tribes 2 on it.
Thanks.
Excellent! Dang, I got behind technology....Thanks Curtis for the correction! I still could not believe a vendor suggesting a top-of-the range card for a system that is not using graphic intensive programs... Matt
The vendor doesn't care what we will use it for. I said we will use it for computational purposes. These cards get hyped for running 3D graphics, which means games. We won't be using it for playing games, so I care for Linux support for 2D and dual head. Also, does the driver work well in dual processor systems? (Yes, maybe when enlightenement .17 comes out I'll be interested in its 3D support.) Recent discussions here mentioned people having problems with the card, what's the current status? comments from people actually using this kind of card will be appreciated. PS. NVidia web site mentions problems/issues with OpenGL + Xinerama (don't work together, same as Matrox) and OPenGL + SMP (I don't think the Matrox G450 has problems in this area.) Thanks for the comments. -- Rafael
Rafael Herrera wrote:
The vendor doesn't care what we will use it for. I said we will use it for computational purposes. These cards get hyped for running 3D graphics, which means games. We won't be using it for playing games, so I care for Linux support for 2D and dual head. Also, does the driver work well in dual processor systems? (Yes, maybe when enlightenement .17 comes out I'll be interested in its 3D support.)
Recent discussions here mentioned people having problems with the card, what's the current status? comments from people actually using this kind of card will be appreciated.
PS. NVidia web site mentions problems/issues with OpenGL + Xinerama (don't work together, same as Matrox) and OPenGL + SMP (I don't think the Matrox G450 has problems in this area.)
Thanks for the comments.
I have helped setup G450's on another distro...Was not too hard. But I cannot remember if it was on an SMP system, I will get back to you tomorrow on that issue and on the 3D issue too. I believe Sax2 should help make this a lot easier to setup too, anyone from SuSE care to comment? Really want to help you out with this one, must admit its a little tougher than it first seemed :-). Matt
My best guess is to go with the Matrox. There are plenty of HOWTO's to tell you how to setup dual display Xinerama. Also, on the nVidia site under the Linux drivers page theres a link to how to setup the nvidia drivers (just to let you know) and they do show how to edit XF86Config to setup dual display. As far as the troubles with the nvidia drivers are concerned. I solved those with a) removing a line from the XF86Config, namely Option "Accel" "On" was removed, b) I ran the x11pref program an ever since my graphics run great. The color and desktop are vivid, full, fast, and the text looks very nice. I understand about you graphics need related to productivity and work. I just mentioned the NV card because It is a very nice 2D/3D card at a very nice price. The Matrox is also a very superior card and will most likely meet you needs quite nicely. As far as dual head is concerned with support - your guess is as good as mine related to Matrox. With nVidia, it's all dependent on the manufacturer you buy it from. On Thursday 24 May 2001 12:54 am, Rafael Herrera wrote:
The vendor doesn't care what we will use it for. I said we will use it for computational purposes. These cards get hyped for running 3D graphics, which means games. We won't be using it for playing games, so I care for Linux support for 2D and dual head. Also, does the driver work well in dual processor systems? (Yes, maybe when enlightenement .17 comes out I'll be interested in its 3D support.)
Recent discussions here mentioned people having problems with the card, what's the current status? comments from people actually using this kind of card will be appreciated.
PS. NVidia web site mentions problems/issues with OpenGL + Xinerama (don't work together, same as Matrox) and OPenGL + SMP (I don't think the Matrox G450 has problems in this area.)
Thanks for the comments.
Rafael Herrera wrote:
The vendor doesn't care what we will use it for. I said we will use it for computational purposes. These cards get hyped for running 3D graphics, which means games. We won't be using it for playing games, so I care for Linux support for 2D and dual head. Also, does the driver work well in dual processor systems? (Yes, maybe when enlightenement .17 comes out I'll be interested in its 3D support.)
Recent discussions here mentioned people having problems with the card, what's the current status? comments from people actually using this kind of card will be appreciated.
I'm running with an NVidia TNT2 Riva card, which I guess is related to the one you have. Originally I was able to get it to run pretty much error-free, but ever since I started trying to upgrade the drivers I've had problems (without using any fancy 3D stuff) and haven't figured out how to revert to the configuration I started with. Basically: 1. With the XFree nv driver, I get SIGSEGV violations whenever I either attempt to activate screensaving in the KDE control panel or my system has been running long enough so that the screensaver tries to start up. 2. With the nvidia drivers from the NVidia website (several pointers to them floating around, including from the SuSE website), I can't get to a virtual console with Alt-Ctl-F2, say, after one login/logout cycle through KDM, and when KDM terminates I don't see the termination messages on my screen. That's true for both the newest and earlier versions. Ben Rosenberg, however, seems to have had more favorable experiences reported here. Paul
Yeah. I would stay away from any vendor who just wants to sell you the hottest new card because it's what they are pushing. Sounds like they know exact sh*t. I also think it's card vendor related. Where as some people with Generic TNT2 and GeForce cards have had huge amounts of issues. My Diamond Viper and the GeForce Prophet card that my friend has run perfectly. It's not just the nVidia chipset that one needs to worry about ..it's how the card maker builds the card around these chipsets. I would say that an Asus GeForce based card is very different from a Creative or any other vendor. In my mind this why some people have issue and others just simply don't. just my 0.02 (BTW..I don't use KDM because I think it's a waste of resources..which is just my opinion.) -- Ben Rosenberg mailto:ben@whack.org ----- If two men agree on everything, you can be sure that only one of them is doing the thinking.
I am using the Asus Gforce 2 GTS, works great, easy to setup (way easier than the voodoo 3) and runs stable. Only problem is VIA related :-). Matt On Thu, 24 May 2001, Ben Rosenberg wrote:
Yeah. I would stay away from any vendor who just wants to sell you the hottest new card because it's what they are pushing. Sounds like they know exact sh*t. I also think it's card vendor related. Where as some people with Generic TNT2 and GeForce cards have had huge amounts of issues. My Diamond Viper and the GeForce Prophet card that my friend has run perfectly. It's not just the nVidia chipset that one needs to worry about ..it's how the card maker builds the card around these chipsets. I would say that an Asus GeForce based card is very different from a Creative or any other vendor. In my mind this why some people have issue and others just simply don't.
just my 0.02
(BTW..I don't use KDM because I think it's a waste of resources..which is just my opinion.) -- Ben Rosenberg mailto:ben@whack.org ----- If two men agree on everything, you can be sure that only one of them is doing the thinking.
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* matthew johnson (matthew@psychohorse.com) [010524 08:56]: ->I am using the Asus Gforce 2 GTS, works great, easy to setup (way easier ->than the voodoo 3) and runs stable. Only problem is VIA related :-). -> Matt, I wasn't talking bad about Asus..just using them as an example that all these cards may have the same chipset..but are designed a bit different. I haven't had any trouble with Asus myself.. BTW..get 2.4.4 .. it's got a nice fix for the VIA problems. I tarred up a 300M file and moved it around the file system and it didn't cause any issues. I have an Asus A7V mb and it rocks. :) Regards, -- Ben Rosenberg mailto:ben@whack.org ----- If two men agree on everything, you can be sure that only one of them is doing the thinking.
I know you were using that as an example :-), but thought I'd plug that in somewhere, you know for the archives...Ahem...Its on a Tyan Trinity 400. Thanks for the update about 2.4.4, never knew that fix was in there even though I am running it! Must be a driver issue then (was there meant to have been a BIOS fix from VIA too?.). Matt On Thu, 24 May 2001, Ben Rosenberg wrote:
* matthew johnson (matthew@psychohorse.com) [010524 08:56]: ->I am using the Asus Gforce 2 GTS, works great, easy to setup (way easier ->than the voodoo 3) and runs stable. Only problem is VIA related :-). ->
Matt,
I wasn't talking bad about Asus..just using them as an example that all these cards may have the same chipset..but are designed a bit different. I haven't had any trouble with Asus myself..
BTW..get 2.4.4 .. it's got a nice fix for the VIA problems. I tarred up a 300M file and moved it around the file system and it didn't cause any issues. I have an Asus A7V mb and it rocks. :)
Regards, -- Ben Rosenberg mailto:ben@whack.org ----- If two men agree on everything, you can be sure that only one of them is doing the thinking.
-- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/support/faq and the archives at http://lists.suse.com
From Ben Rosenberg to suse-linux-e@suse.com about Re: [SLE] Comments on...:
BTW..get 2.4.4 .. it's got a nice fix for the VIA problems. I tarred up a 300M file and moved it around the file system and it didn't cause any issues. What are the VIA problems you are referring to here?
-- dieter
Hello, everyone. Just thought I'd pass on my $0.02. I have been an Nvidia user for a long time, starting with the Riva based Diamond Viper V330 (nostalgic tear). I recently bought a couple of Gainward/CardExpert GeForce 2 MX Twinview cards and an Asus V7100 Pure which is a GF2MX without the bells and whistles. Now don't shout at me for this next bit, but these cards are all running under W2K right now. They run great. Performance is very nice. The Gainward cards use 5.5ns memory instead of the industry standard 6ns type. This allows them to be overclocked quite a long way before you run into problems. They also come with a fan on the chip to further aid cooling, but the GF2MX doesn't actually get that hot anyway; a heat sink is usually sufficient for this chip. I was reading on the Nvidia site that the new 1.0 drivers support the Twinview mode. How successful it is, I don't know yet. But since those cards are <= $120, it is probably cost effect to get one to try it out. As for SMP support, they seem to put out drivers for RedHat SMP kernels, and I did see one for SuSE7.0 SMP kernel, but haven't yet seen one for SuSE7.1 SMP. We can but hope, since I have 4 SMP machines at home. And just to redeem myself, the ASUS card will be going into a fresh Linux box which is just waiting for its new hard drive. I am one of those people who currently live in that limbo type void of users of both Linux and MS. Although my W2K machine is beginning to become a little unstable after about 6 months of flawless operation. Oops, getting off topic. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I like the Nvidia stuff. It works for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well they work under Linux, too. I am watching this thread with a great deal of interest. Bye for now, Stuart. -----Original Message----- From: raffo@bellatlantic.net [mailto:raffo@bellatlantic.net]On Behalf Of Rafael Herrera Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 12:55 AM To: SuSE Subject: Re: [SLE] Comments on NVidia Quadro-2 video cards. The vendor doesn't care what we will use it for. I said we will use it for computational purposes. These cards get hyped for running 3D graphics, which means games. We won't be using it for playing games, so I care for Linux support for 2D and dual head. Also, does the driver work well in dual processor systems? (Yes, maybe when enlightenement .17 comes out I'll be interested in its 3D support.) Recent discussions here mentioned people having problems with the card, what's the current status? comments from people actually using this kind of card will be appreciated. PS. NVidia web site mentions problems/issues with OpenGL + Xinerama (don't work together, same as Matrox) and OPenGL + SMP (I don't think the Matrox G450 has problems in this area.) Thanks for the comments. -- Rafael -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/support/faq and the archives at http://lists.suse.com
participants (9)
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Ben Rosenberg -
Curtis Rey -
dieter -
Matthew -
matthew johnson
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Paul Abrahams -
Rafael Herrera -
Stuart Powell -
Tor Sigurdsson