15.2 Choosing a Video Adapter
Use the following guidelines when
choosing a video adapter:
Remember that video is just one part of your system. If your system
has only a Pentium III/500 and 64 MB of memory,
you're likely to be disappointed if you install a
cutting-edge $400 graphics card. Buying a $150 midrange graphics card
instead and spending the other $250 on a CPU, motherboard, and memory
upgrade yields much better video performance, and increases general
system performance as well. Unless you spend most of your computing time running
resource-intensive 3D games, performance is probably the
least important selection criterion. Current
video adapters, and most older models, are more than fast enough to
run standard 2D business applications at normal resolutions and
refresh rates (e.g., 1024x768 at 85 Hz). Previous-generation 3D
adapters are discounted deeply when their replacements ship, and are
excellent choices for most users. These older video chipsets are
often used for embedded video on integrated motherboards, and will
suffice for nearly anyone. Don't forget that
today's obsolescent chipset was the leading-edge
barn burner not long ago. Don't get caught up in the
horsepower race, and don't waste money buying
performance that you'll never use. Buy only an AGP adapter, except in unusual circumstances. Check the
motherboard manual to determine the type of AGP interface it uses,
and then refer to Table 15-1 to determine the types
of AGP card that are compatible. If you may later upgrade the
motherboard, choose a U1.5VAGP3.0 or a UAGP3.0 adapter for maximum
future compatibility.
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Some older AGP motherboards have mechanical, electrical, or chipset
limitations that prevent them from working properly with some AGP
cards. Conversely, some older AGP cards do not function properly in
some AGP motherboards. These problems were caused both by ambiguities
in the AGP standard and by some manufacturers failing to adhere
closely enough to the published standard. These problems were
relatively common with motherboards and video adapters designed and
sold until late 2000, and in particular with motherboards that use
some older VIA chipsets. No current motherboards or AGP cards that we
know of suffer these incompatibilities. If you're
working with old components, check the maker's web
site for details about possible conflicts. |
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If the motherboard has no AGP slot, the best option is usually
to upgrade the motherboard. PCI video adapters are becoming hard to
find, and by late 2003 will probably have entirely disappeared from
the market.
Display quality is subjective and very difficult to quantify,
but a real issue nonetheless. The consensus, with which we agree, is
that Matrox video adapters provide the highest 2D display quality,
with ATI RADEON adapters close behind. We used to use Matrox adapters
in many systems, but the 3D performance of mainstream Matrox adapters
is so poor that we now use Matrox adapters only in systems that
we're certain will never need to run 3D
applications. For our own systems, we now use primarily ATI RADEON
adapters, which combine superb 3D display quality and performance
with 2D image quality that is only half a step behind Matrox.
Although nVIDIA adapters provide excellent 3D
performance, we have never cared for their 2D image quality,
particularly at high resolution.  |
The other problem is that nVIDIA makes video
chipsets, not video cards. nVIDIA sells video
chipsets to other manufacturers that produce video cards. Some video
cards based on nVIDIA chipsets are very good
indeed, but some are quite poor. In other words, the presence of the
nVIDIA name is no guarantee of quality.
ATI also
sells RADEON chipsets to other manufacturers, such as SapphireTech
and Crucial, differentiating ATI-branded products as
"Built By ATI" and third-party
RADEON adapters as "Powered By
ATI." We have used RADEON video cards made by
Crucial and SapphireTech and find their quality indistinguishable
from ATI-branded products, although features and package contents may
vary.
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If you buy a motherboard with
embedded video, make sure the motherboard includes an AGP slot,
ideally a UAGP3.0 slot. In a year or two, when even inexpensive video
cards are faster than the embedded video, you can upgrade the video
easily and inexpensively. Buy a
card with enough memory. PCI video cards can use only memory that
resides on the card itself. AGP video cards can also use main system
memory, but for performance and other reasons it's
always better to have the necessary memory on the video card itself. For running business software and
other 2D applications, nearly any recent video card is adequate. Look
for a card with at least 16 MB of video memory, but more than 32 MB
is probably overkill. If you run
3D games or professional 3D applications, consider 32 MB of local
video memory the absolute minimum. It is better to have 64 MB, and
128 MB or more is not excessive if you run hardware-intensive
applications. Make sure that the
adapter you choose has drivers available for the operating system you
intend to use. This is particularly important if you run Linux or
another OS with limited driver support. The best vendors, such as
ATI, provide frequent driver updates for a broad range of operating
systems and versions. Consider the manufacturer's
history of providing frequent driver updates and supporting new
operating system versions, which you can determine by examining the
manufacturer's web site, checking the newsgroups,
and cruising the hardware enthusiast web sites. |
Video driver availability may be an important consideration for Linux
users. Most recent Linux distributions have basic 2D support for most
popular video adapters, but may lack support for 3D acceleration, TV,
dual-head, and other features. In the past, many Linux users chose
Matrox for its excellent Linux support, but now
nVIDIA is generally acknowledged to have the
best Linux support. Although ATI ignored Linux for years, excellent
2D and 3D drivers are now available for ATI RADEON 8500 and later
adapters, as well as some earlier models. Before you choose a video
adapter for a Linux system, check the maker's web
site and http://www.xfree86.org/
to determine if acceptable drivers are available. You may also want
to check the Linux distribution you are considering to make sure that
the installer will detect and configure hardware 3D support without
much hassle.
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Make sure the video card
has a good warranty. Video cards used to be among the most reliable
components of a PC. This is changing, not because manufacturers are
cutting corners, but because new high-performance video cards are
pushing hardware technology to the limit. Having a video card die
after only six months or a year is now relatively common,
particularly for those who push the card past its limit by
overclocking it in pursuit of the highest possible performance.
We've seen video cards with 90-day warranties, which
is completely unacceptable. Regard one year as an absolute minimum,
and longer is better.
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