[H-GEN] Aid and Assistance Sought

Byron Ellacott bje at apnic.net
Mon Apr 3 02:59:59 EDT 2000


[ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and ]
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On Mon, 3 Apr 2000, Frank Brand wrote:

> If you can afford $115 I would recommend the Riva TNT2 with 16 Mb RAM
> but still you will need X version 3.3.6 I think. Why not get a later
> distribution it will be a lot less in cost than a new video card.

The TNT2 cards are well supported under X, but are getting exceedingly
hard to find new.  The Diamond Viper 770s are no longer manufactured, and
sold out quite quickly after the end of production.  Powercolour TNT2s are
still available, but they're not real good.

TNT2s are also AGP cards.

All that is really left in the way of PCI cards these days is a handful of
miscellaneous S3s (ViRGES and so on).  A quick check of www.sunlit.com.au
(good reference prices, not so reputable for actual purchases) reveals a
Voodoo3 PCI card at $209, I don't believe they're supported under X,
though I haven't checked in a while, and an S3 Savage 4 PCI for $179.

www.ftc.com.au reveals nothing but a "4MB PCI Card" for $56.

It's much the same anywhere you look; noone wants to touch PCI anymore.  I
suggest you buy a PCI video card second hand.  TNT[2]s are an excellent
choice, as are most Matrox variants.  Be wary of S3s, check that the
particular card you're getting is supported (www.xfree86.org is
definitive).  I have a Mach64 at work, it's supported reasonably well, but
the X server doesn't seem to like handling the TERM signal, which makes
shutting down a pain.

(quick summary: you'll most likely need to buy second hand, check
www.xfree86.org for supported cards)

--
bje


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