Mutual GNU / Linux

I have read about ATI/Radeon cards not being good with ubuntu, and I am finding it in Ryzom. I am getting the purple FH water, and some flat graphics. I know nVidia is much better with drivers and cards. I have 125$ max to spend on a new one, and I want it to fix my lag in ryzom, as well as graphics glitches. I am thinking that each time my char moves, it is a bit jumpy, I think this is just the graphics. Have ran ryzom with this setup, and is fine in XP, but not in linux. If you could please guide me to some decent cards, or possibly a fix. I currlently have a Radeon HD4650 1gb DDR2 in, will post more specs if needed. Please help!

That's a very, very broad question. Hopefully I can give you some tips. :) However, please don't go out and buy a new card straight away - there are almost always software options to try first, and they're worth trying if they save you that much money! I'll provide this info in case you do end up going for a new card anyway, but that doesn't mean I think that's necessarily the best solution - I just don't know what the other ones are. :)

The first important question is what you use the computer for. If Ryzom is the most taxing thing you play, save your money and get a cheap card - one of the old nVidia models with a 4-digit model number, even, if you can find one new; or a GTS. Ryzom really can run on peanuts. If, on the other hand, you're a more dedicated gamer type playing new games, or you do graphics-heavy work like 3D animation, it's worth paying extra for a nice, futureproof card. Or you might be somewhere in between the two extremes. :)

It's also important to think about your other specs: what're your CPU and RAM? There's no point buying a great card if it's bottlenecked by another component which you don't intend to upgrade at any point. This is the point at which I thank Ma'Duk that everything is PCI-E now and we no longer have to give a hoot about slots. >.>

I hope you're on a regular desktop, not a laptop, slim tower, or All-In-Wtfisthis?

Forgive me if you know this already, but it's useful to understand GeForce model numbers:
The second number is more important than the first. A 480 is better than a 560, even though the 560 is newer. This isn't an absolute rule applicable in every situation, though.
The letters also very important. If you're a heavy gamer, you don't want a GT, ever. In order of strength, it goes GS -> GT -> GTS -> GTX, though the first two may no longer be in use - I haven't seen new GT or GS models in a while, anyway. The difference is significant enough that you're often better off going two generations (e.g. 9xxx -> 7xxx) back, to get a GTX in the lower series rather than a GT in the higher one.

You may find these useful:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-gef orce,3018.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-gef orce,2997.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2964.html
The comparison charts in the last section of each article are particularly useful. I use them to translate Radeon model numbers into a language (GeForce) that I understand. :P Remember that Google is also very much your friend. ;) There are tonnes of reviews out there for pretty much any card you might consider, and they're well worth a read.

Lack of specific suggestions, I know, but they're hard to give without knowing your current specs and what you need from a new card. :)

Ok Nysha, looks like you know 900% more than I do with nVidia cards :P I am running a rig that I built on my own, that is meant to game at some pretty decent speeds. I will post all my specs....
Motherboard - Asus M4A88TD-V Evo/USB3
CPU - AMD Phenom 2 x4 840, clocked at about 3.7
GPU - Radeon HD4650 1gb DDR2
8gb DDR3-1333 ram, 4 x2gb chips
1 Barracuda 160gb 7200RPM HDD
1 DVD/CD RW/R player/reader
All packed tight in a Thermaltake Dokker case.
Almost forgot, Corsair TX650W PSU


I normally get all my parts from Microcenter, or Bestbuy if I had to. I am a pretty advanced gamer, with Ryzom near the low end of the list, and a different game (Don't want to say) that runs on the CryEngine 2, which is pretty top. I need to be able to play both with a card, and my Radeon has exceded this in Windows OS'es, I checked all my drivers, as well as my sisters nVidia card, and the nVidia was much more decent with Ubuntu. (I think it's Radeons issues with the drivers), so I think I am out of luck and have to go get one.

2nd post now..... continuing on. ..... So, I believe it is my card and some compatability issues. I think the GTS or GTX are pretty good from what I have seen, but the GTX seem to go 400$ and up. I will be looking today online for some ones that are compatable with Ubuntu Linux, hopefully with some luck. You as a person with some smarts around nVidia, and me with none, can we combine and try to find the best card for my situation? I will try to contact you in-game also. Thanks for the help sofar.

ATI support for OpenGL is not very good, I understand, and the current Ryzom OpenGL driver contains a few bugs with ATI (which I understand from dev.ryzom.com are going to be fixed soon/have been fixed?)