Linux: 8800GT or HD3870?

[Dihi Doctor]

I am thinking of building a new PC based around a Q6600 and am wondering about which graphics card to get for it.

I will mainly be using Linux, but will have a dual-boot windows option for a few games which don't like wine.

My question is, of the 8800GT and HD3870, which would be better for a Linux PC. I will be playing some OpenGl games under Linux, and using windows for occasional games. The monitor I am planning to get has a max resolution of 1680x1050, so I don't necessarily need something that's great at 24in+ resolutions.

I have used ATi cards previously under Linux and their driver support has always been shakey. Is this better for more recent cards, or should I go with Nvidia (who have normally had better Linux support for their cards)?

Alternatively, is it worth going for something a little less cutting edge like a 2nd-hand 320MB 8800GTS or maybe a HD3850?

Any thoughts would be appreciated, especially those who have tried out the linux drivers on these new cards.

Thanks

Jon

[kidzer]

I would be inclined to stay with nVidia still, ATi are getting closer to decent drivers I beleive - but nVidia's Linux support is far more solid - stick with them IMO.

[directhex]

nvidia. good god almighty, this isn't even close to a question. nvidia!

[aidanjt]

nvidia. good god almighty, this isn't even close to a question. nvidia!

++

AMD has some way to go to deliver stable drivers yet.

[MSIC]

Although.... AMD have made public announcements about their intention to have proper (and good quality) open source drivers, to the shock of some!
AnandTech: AMD's New Gambit: Open Source Video Drivers

That said, they dont exist yet, so for the present i'd go Nvidia.
By the way, for 1680 x 1050 resolution you may be better going for the 256MB version (£117 from Scan, free delivery)

[aidanjt]

They exist, but they're not ready for production use.

[directhex]

They exist, but they're not ready for production use.

and will never compete for speed

remember, just because ati are finally looking to make the open-source radon driver work, doesn't mean they're stopping their closed-source often-badly-behaved fglrx driver. the plan is to offer both, depending on user need

fglrx still needs major work to make it as easy and stable as the nvidia equivalent

[aidanjt]

Well, they should stick with 'stable' first, function second, form third, they have it the other way around atm.