Joseph Sinclair wrote:
> vodhner@cox.net wrote:
>> I need some advice in a hurry, because I'm getting ready to spend some money on new hardware.
>>
>> My PC an Athlon mother board with EIDE disk ports.
>>
>> I am going to buy a video card, probably a big new hard disk, and maybe a monitor. I have not bought new peripherals in a long time, and need advice on price and on Linux compatibility.
>>
>> VIDEO CARD: I want something that will drive a monitor up to 1600 x 1200 or so. I want nice color and resolution, but I don't care much about speed: I'm not a gamer.
> ---
> Most newer NVidia and ATI cards are well supported in Linux if you use binary drivers.
> If you prefer GPL (X.org) drivers, then http://wiki.x.org/wiki/VideoDrivers is a great resource for figuring out what cards are supported, and how well.
>
>> MONITOR: Maybe my old video card killed my old 21 inch heater^H^H^H^H^H^Hmonitor, or maybe it was the new version of X I installed that failed to sync correctly, or maybe it just died of old age; or, maybe it will work with the new video card. If I need to buy a new monitor, I'm ready to spend some bucks on it. Again, nice visual quality and long life are important but speed is not.
> ---
> Buy an LCD. Seriously, the difference in clarity and power drain is immense, particularly for larger screens.
>
Another bonus - the LCD is easier on the eyes, at least in my
experience. I used to get eyestrain headaches before I switched over.
Vaughn
If you can afford it a 30 inch display is exceptionally nice (and many
run at 2560x1600, which may require a dual-link DVI capable card, which
is costly), but most 24 inch displays are both easier to afford, and
easier to fit on a desk, particularly if you ever want to setup a
dual-monitor arrangement.
> Just remember that LCD's only run at a single resolution, called the native resolution and usually spec'd as "max" resolution, so don't try to set it at anything besides the one resolution specified in the manual (which means you probably want to check the specs when you buy for 1600X1200 or 1920X1200 resolution).
> If your old monitor revives with the new card, DEFINITELY step the resolution down to 1280X1024. Very few CRT monitors are reliable at the high frequencies needed for 1600X1200, even if the monitor claims support for that high resolution.
> If you really do need super high resolution, get a new LCD with 1600X1200 (or widescreen equivalent 1920X1200) as it's native resolution (most 24-inch widescreen monitors meet this requirement), it's a lot safer.
>
>> DISK: It looks like all the new ones are SATA and Ultra ATA. Are my three-year-old EIDE ports useless for the new disks? I have slots available for a new interface card if needed, but how much will that cost and what do I need? (I will still be running my 80 GB disk and a CDRW via EIDE. The new disk will replace my 40 GB and 20 GB drives.)
> ---
> EIDE ports *should* work with Ultra ATA drives, but some don't, the only way to know is to try it (sometimes the port is not quite compliant, sometimes the drive is not quite compliant). That said putting a UATA drive on an EIDE port is sort of like putting a V-12 in a Yugo, it might fit, but it's not going to work as well as you'd hope and it might melt-down unexpectedly.
> Strongly consider a SATA PCI card. Definitely check here (http://linux-ata.org/driver-status.html) for details covering different cards and chipsets *before* you buy. Any disk that works with a given port type(ATA/SATA/SCSI/EIDE/etc...) will work with Linux if the port itself is supported.
>
>> Any clues will be appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Vic
>
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