Hallo.
I will be using BCB6 with OpenGL whilst I’m learning the basics (which could be quite a while).
However, when I’m feeling rather more proficient, I’ll not want to be as limited by my machine (it’s not too new).
Seeing as I haven’t got £££s to spend on a new setup, I thought I’d just install Linux & work from there (it’s about time I got to know it, anyway).
Would I be right in assuming that Linux’s greater speed would be reflected in my OpenGL apps?
Thanks,
Douglas JL
I don’t think you will see that big of diffrence, but because of how linux works, you may even see a slow down with Graphics applications on the software side.
Linux/windows video speed both are limited to the video hardware you have. If you don’t have a good 3D video card, then switching to linux will not change that fact or by some magic make a poor video card better.
While you work on the basic’s, best bet is to save some money and get a good low end Radeon or Nvada 3D card.
BTW what type of hardware are your running?
Originally posted by biot023:
Hallo.
I will be using BCB6 with OpenGL whilst I’m learning the basics (which could be quite a while).
However, when I’m feeling rather more proficient, I’ll not want to be as limited by my machine (it’s not too new).
Seeing as I haven’t got £££s to spend on a new setup, I thought I’d just install Linux & work from there (it’s about time I got to know it, anyway).
Would I be right in assuming that Linux’s greater speed would be reflected in my OpenGL apps?
Thanks,
Douglas JL
As nexusone said, OpenGL performance is mainly dictated by the graphics card (and CPU/memory speeds), so do not expect any dramatic differences. If you have an nVidia card, you are lucky, since nVidias Linux drivers are as good as (or better than) their Windows drivers, but the difference I have noticed is usually < +/-5%. If you have a non-nVidia card, the OpenGL part of the Linux drivers are likely to be poor (or non existent), and you will be facing a slower configuration than under Windows.
On the other hand, Linux (and most Unices) excel in interactivity responsiveness, since its process sheduling is so much better than Windows, so when you work with Linux (e.g. edit, compile, etc), your computer will usually not be as sluggish and unresponsive as when you’re running Windows.
Thanks alot - I’ll have to double-check the hardware to be sure.
Is the nVidia card okay to run generally? I mean, with windows, too. It could be worth looking into, as the kinds of stuff I want to write also involve alot of processing - I’m an (very unrefined, as yet) a-life hobbyist.
Cheers for the responses,
Douglas JL
“If you have a non-nVidia card, the OpenGL part of the Linux drivers are likely to be poor (or non existent)”
Wow, that sucks! I wanted to make a game for linux with OpenGL and SDL, will I run into alot of driver problems on non-nvidia cards? Is this why people use Mesa3d for linux?
Originally posted by deadalive:
[b] “If you have a non-nVidia card, the OpenGL part of the Linux drivers are likely to be poor (or non existent)”
Wow, that sucks! I wanted to make a game for linux with OpenGL and SDL, will I run into alot of driver problems on non-nvidia cards? Is this why people use Mesa3d for linux?[/b]
I think the situation today is much better than a couple of years ago, but the fact still remains: nVidia is the only HW vendor that fully supports Linux (= their Linux drivers are as hot and up to date as their Windows drivers).
Other vendors are either lagging behind on their Linux support, or let someone else do the drivers by having an open architecture interface (something that nVidia will never have). This does not have to mean that the corresponding Linux drivers suck, but they will usually perform < 100% of their Windows counterparts.
I would definitely not go as far as to say that OpenGL gaming under Linux is slow or poor! Also, Linux users are aware of the situation, and tend to buy nVidia cards (I selected an nVidia card over an ATI card much because of the superior Linux support), so you will probably find that the majority of Linux gamers are actually using nVidia cards.
“Also, Linux users are aware of the situation, and tend to buy nVidia cards”
Thank you this is reassuring. Sad that nobody but Nvidia supports linux, but reassuring that linux gamers generally know to go NV if that is what works. Hopefully this will change sometime in the near future?
Aren’t ATI drivers getting better as well?
On 04-18-2003 06:20 PM, a Frequent Contributor named zen made the following remark:
Aren’t ATI drivers getting better as well?
Yes, ATI drivers have been getting better–as in better than nothing. They’ve only recently started making their own Linux drivers for their cards, and only for their recent ones. From what I hear, ATI has been contributing a lot of code to XFree86 recently, however, we’re not going to see any of their contributions take effect for a few months.
True enough, Nvidia makes their own drivers for Linux. The downside to Nvidia is that Nvidia doesn’t release any of the hardware specs to their cards, like everyone else does…which is why you see projects such as DRI making drivers for every popular card minus those made by Nvidia.
Thanks alot for all of that. I’m afraid my knowledge of hardware is seriously limited, and that’s being generous to myself.
Could anyone recommend any particular nVidia card? I assume there’s a range of prices, and I’d be looking at the lower-end of the scale…
Cheers,
Douglas JL
Originally posted by biot023:
Thanks alot for all of that. I’m afraid my knowledge of hardware is seriously limited, and that’s being generous to myself.
Could anyone recommend any particular nVidia card? I assume there’s a range of prices, and I’d be looking at the lower-end of the scale…
Cheers,
Douglas JL
You should have a serious look at the GeForce4 Ti4200. The number Ti4200 is what you should be looking at, as there is a plethora of different GeForce4 configurations, ranging from major sucky to quite impressive, so don’t go an by “a GeForce4”, or you don’t know what you’ll be getting (or paying). Especially avoid all cards with “MX” in the name.
In my opinion, the Ti4200 is the best card for the money (I’ve got one myself). Now, there are may different card vendors that make/sell Ti4200 (ASUS, Gainward, …), usually named with some odd convention (look close and you will find “Ti4200” somewhere on the box). Go for the one with the lowest price, unless you have any special demands (such as video memory, AGP bandwidth, TV In/Out features, overclockability etc).
Installation hint: Never mind the drivers/CDs included with the card. Go directly to the nVidia site and download the latest drivers (there you’ll find Linux drivers too).
Thanks alot - I guess I might be saving up for a while, but that definately looks the ticket.
Cheers, man.
Douglas JL
A look at www.pricewatch.com says that you can get a Ti4200 for just above $100, so it’s quite inexpensive (for being a competent OpenGL card anyway).
Wow!
That’s half of any prices I checked out!
Thanks alot!
Douglas JL