Help picking a video card and other related gear

[Robert Noland]

On Fri, 2009-04-10 at 01:29 -0400, grarpamp wrote:
> I could use some primary help with video issues.
> And secondary help on the motherboard.
> I've got seriously old gear and it's upgrade time :)
> 
> I'm currently running 1280x1024 on 21" and I need more desktop.
> So I put together some minimum video things:
> 
> Requirements...
> 1) Freebsd, amd64 [for zfs and the future of things], xorg
> 2) DVI-I or DVI-D dual-link card for those 30" 2560x1600 displays
> 3) Well supported, _open_source_, in the tree, video card drivers:
> o  I don't want to rely on the card vendor to release binary blobs.
> o  I don't want to end up with a useless video card when
>    xorg9/freebsd10 come around.

So, for video you want an ATI/AMD card.  r500 and below will get you all
the features today.  r600+ will get you EXA and Xv acceleration today,
with 3d rumored to be coming soon.  Dual DVD-D should be pretty easy to
find... I know at least some of the Saphire boards have them.

> o  I don't care about the brand on the box as long as the right chips
>    are soldered in place. Cheap works if it gets the job done :)
> 4) PCIe interface or integrated on motherboard.
> 
> Wants...
> 1) Analog RGB output up to 1080p for feeding old school projectors
>    and backup CRT monitors. I'm betting a single card could provide
>    it via DVI-I or D-SUB15 with maybe an xorg mode switch? VIVO?
> 2) The ability to color calibrate one or both cards via the xorg
>    driver would be useful. I can spyder it from a windows box so
>    just having the xorg knobs would suffice.  Does anyone do this
>    under xorg?

You can set rgb gamma, is that what you are referring to?

> 3) A second connector off the same card for feeding a smaller
>    secondary monitor at the same time.
> 4) Some sort of power save mode... LCD off, card idle, etc.

Most of this, I'm not entirely sure about, or at least not in a single
video card.  But beware, multiple video cards are not currently working
and I don't have an ETA on them working again right now.

> I'm still shopping for motherboard and chipset. I don't think I'll
> find 2560x1600 dvi dual link on an integrated chipset? Thinking
> maybe AMD 790GX and AMD SB750 if FreeBSD likes it.

Actually, for a single DVI display, you probably can find this without
too much trouble.  Intel is the likely candidate here, but I'm having
trouble with Intel chips lately, so stability may be a factor.  The
Radeon IGPs should work fine as far as I know right now, so if you can
find one of those that meets your needs, you should be in good shape.

robert.

> I might as well go HTPC and stick an HDTV OTA ATSC / QAM tuner in
> there. And I'll eventually need to capture NTSC audio/video from
> dying analog sources somehow. VOIP/webcam, mplayer, dvd upscaling,
> etc. That's all 2D and largely CPU based afaik.
> 
> CPU will likely be...
> amd: phenom x3 8450e, athlon x2 5050e or 5600+
> intel: core2 duo e4300, e4400, e4500
> 
> All the integrated gig network, SATA, and USB must be in the tree
> and working well. Boot from USB needs to work. Same with sound.
> 
> Though I'd like to play 3d games on freebsd, that interest does NOT
> override the above fulltime workstation requirements. I can always
> boot or build a windows toybox for that. So 3d support is only a
> bonus. I don't think it even exists open source in tree anyways?
> 
> Just looking for hardware ideas... Thanks.
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Robert Noland <rnoland at FreeBSD.org>
FreeBSD
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