Card for 30" Monitors

why do you limit yourself to nvidia?

if you going to play only that game get gts 260 core 216 version or 4870 1gig version

4850x2 is a really good value, faster than gtx 280 and costs only $300....amazing how much performance ur getting

+1 4850x2 is an exelent value for the price

+1 to the 4850X2

For a pair of 30's though, the 4850x2's 512MB of effective VRAM could be a limit. I'd go with the 4870 1GB, which has dropped in price quite a bit recently.

I feel that Linux supports NVIDIA better than ATI. Has this changed? But then, maybe I'll just virtualize Linux in Windows.

Are the 260, 4870, 4850 x2 overkill if I only play AoE III a few times a year? Or are they just enough because of these monitors? I'm moving up from a 19".

Heya,

All of these cards are mega overkill for AOE3.

$30 video cards can display what you need for those resolutions on two monitors. You don't need a $200~$300 `gaming' videocard for this, unless you plan to play demanding 3d games. AOE3 is hardly the intensive benchmark type game that needs latest gen 3d tech.

And you certainly don't need 1 gig of VRAM for this. 512 is more than enough.

It comes down to what game(s) you will play other than AOE3. Because frankly, it doesn't take much at all to run Vista and Linux at those resolutions. Built in junk can do that just fine. The 3d side of Aero and 3d games are the only things that take a wee bit of muscle.

How about consider what is your budget, and share it. That will be easier to determine what kind of card is best for you.

Cheers,

I only have AoE III in mind for the time being, but when I play it, I want to run it at full settings at at least 1280x1024.

I'd like to keep this under $400. Can we start from the bottom and work upwards with Aero and AoE III in mind? Also, I'm confused on when I'll need more VRAM.

Full settings at 1280x1024?

That's easy. Any modern card can do it. If you're on a budget, and want a low power solution, get a 4670. You can even get the HIS one with the nice dual slot cooler.

Nvidia has binary only drivers for Linux, which in 50% of the cases do not perform well, that why Linux community calles them Binary Blob from Nvidia. AMD creates proprietary drivers and supports open source by providing assistance to DRI. I am buying a HD 2400 or 2600 PRO for my ASUS MOBO, it has both 2D and 3D Open Source drivers supports, the only one problem is the Hardware Acceleration support for Open Source drivers had come just recently, so you need to check with the DRI List.

I myself don't get much time to play games, I am just buying a HD 2400/2600 PRO because my MOBO does not handle HD videos very well.





I don't know anything about it

Haha,

Ok, @OP, in that case, know this: 8600gt and ATI equiv will do exactly what you're asking... for like less than $50. You don't need $400 worth of equipment for this.

8600GT @ $35
9600GT overclocked @ $70

You seriously don't need more than that unless you plan to play other games, far more 3d intensive and advanced games. You don't need $200+ worth of 3d rendering power to display two monitors at high resolution.

Hell, if this is all you need, you can even go with a Matrox solution for even better multimonitor support (in windows at least).

Cheers,

I use 8800gt512's in sli on my 3008 with a 9450, watching Imax Blue-ray HD Coral Reef Adventure it stutters in fullscreen. I am not used to VLC player... could be a setting.


Just a thought. Might be a good idea to wait for the new cards to come out, then the price might fall a bit on the 4800's/200's.

There's no reason whatsoever that should be stuttering. The only reason I could see is if VLC was not using the graphics cards hardware decoding capability.

Right. In Linux, you have add some varibales to /etc/X11/xorg.conf so that it can use Graphics Card (using Mesa drivers for 3D). you can have an idea by looking at 2 different configurations for Gentoo and Arch .

Lets put a twist on this.

Which card will run AoE III at full detail and resolution on one monitor? Can cheapo $50 cards decode HD?

I would go with the already mentioned 4870. I have great experience with that card and would recommend it.

4870 is overkill for AOE III.

An nVidia 9800 GT should suffix for all eye candy and 1280 x 1024 if you must really insist on playing at such a low resolution. This card should be fine for you as long as to stay away from first person shooters and stick with strategy games. Personally I like Galactic Civilization II.

At full res, a 4670 should pull it off, and a 48xx (any 48xx series) would definitely do it easily. The 4870 1GB would pull of quite a few more games than just that, but if AoE is all you're playing, a 4850 would be more than sufficient.

Haha Fanboys!

Best card for those resolutions for the money is hands down the 9800GX2. You can find them still from $210-250. I run 2560 x 1600 and have and 9800GX2 for it and then have a second 9800GX2 pushing blu-ray to my 46" DLP TV.

Best card? Heck no. It isn't the best. It's arguably one of the best values, but it is definitely slower than the 4850x2 and the 4870x2.

I Think you should consider the long term use. You have a nice little set up here...2 x 30 inch monsters with so many mega pixels of view.

You will be disappointed as a mofo if you get some crappy graphics card.

You either want a GTX 280, or HD4870. In this case id prefer the 4870.

Remember Age of Empires IV?????? don't you care? prepare in advance my friend.

Sadly, I don't think there will be AoE IV. Ensemble Studios is closing.

I wonder if I can get by with a 9500 GT and upgrade later. Perhaps the performance of a GTX 260 can be had for < $100 in a year? I am looking at:

9500 GT
9800 GT (can be had for a few dollars more than the 9600)
9800 GTX+
GTX 260
GTX 260 216

I want to support an American card maker. That seems to rule out most ATI cards makers except VisionTek and Diamond.

How much VRAM will I need? Does it matter, especially on a lower end card like the 9500 GT?

Ok you tight mofo...get one of these

http://www.eworldsale.com/ati-radeon-hd-4830-512mb-gddr...

for like $130 including shipping

..Upgrade to an Intel Larrabee mid 09

Sorted!!!

An American card maker.

Ha ha ha!!! no matter what about half the components derive from big foreign companies & home companies. To hell with whats American.

half the things you own that you think are American are part manufactured by an Asian companies, even though it says "Made in America" doesn't mean the profit ends up there.

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I got two EVGA 9800 GTs; one for each monitor. I can play AoE III at 2560x1600 with max settings. The cards are cool and silent when I'm doing development work.