I'm upgrading my computer which is somewhat ancient by modern standards. Among other things I'm getting a new graphics cards. I just don't quite know which chipset I want.
Years ago - the last time I needed to consider such issues - I went for an Nvidia-based graphics card, as I was warned against ATI cards in Linux: "Don't go there... you'll be in a world of pain."

Now, I'm considering getting a ATI Radeon X1900GT-based graphics card, and needless to say I'd like to know if the warning I was given years ago is still valid, or if things have improved "sufficiently" in the meantime?

Perhaps the best thing to do would be to search for recent posts about ATI and nVidia drivers here at LQ - that should give you a decent idea of what kinds of expereiences others are encountering.

In brief, ATI has apparently improved their level of Linux support compared to how it was a couple of years ago, however, this is only true for part of their product line - their current Linux drivers are only designed to work with certain cards, and any non-supported cards will remain, well, non-supported. In contrast, nVidia traditionally has offered drivers for their full product line. Overall, look before you leap, and you'll want to be sure that whatever card you buy has Linux support. Good luck with it

I just had to switch from a ATI Radeon 8500 due to it no longer being supported. Sheesh, the card is only six years old! I got an Nvidia because I don't want the driver support to end after such a short period.

Well - the comments on ATI support for Linux that I've found on the Internet have not exactly convinced me that ATI is the way to go - even though the X1900 series is officially supported by ATI's Linux drivers, the general performance of these drivers is apparently often quite poor compared to their Windows counterparts, both in terms of speed as well as various features that are disabled or not working. Furthermore, it seems that what Phobox experienced is actually a common occurence: An ATI GPU is deemed obsolete - by ATI - and support for it is removed from the drivers.

Taking all of this into consideration, I think I'll choose an Nvidia-based card instead.

FWIW, I think you are making an excellent choice. Enjoy your new card

I don't understend why did you decide to buy so powerful video for using in linux. IMO - X1900GT is 100% gaming solution for playing modern games under Windows with directX 9-10
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Why for gaming of course !!

Don't you play games on your Linux box ? I think it's a great stress reliever.

I currently have native Linux versions of Quake, Quake2, Quake3, UT, UT2004, Savage, Neverwinter Nights, and various other 3D accelerated games installed and very playable. I'll save the basic Graphics cards for my servers, and the good ones for my workstation/gaming machine.

And no my machine does not dual boot Windows...

NVidia has dropped support for my GTS card, which is only about 6 years old and works just fine for me. So I guess that duration of support can't be a discriminator.

My machine does in fact dual boot Windows, but I would certainly like to be able to run more games in Linux, which is my primary system - sometimes I don't play a game just because I can't be bothered to reboot

This used to be an issue for me as well.
Back to when I was playing 3D games under windows,
but I grew tired of the 'upgrade' frenzy and ever
growing requirements for Direct3D support of this or that
feature who just happen to be the hype for a new game.

My Windows box lives happy; Dual-boot TnT2 + Linux,
and I leave 3D gaming to a painless hassle-free Xbox;
That could have been a PS2, it's only a matter of preference.

I also have another box powered by a P4 over an ATI 9800Pro.
My reason was to get ready for OpenGL 2.0..

I think Linux is still way to far from providing the same
level of satisfaction we get from a 3D console, or a dedicated
Windows gamer's box.

I would not spend so much on a 3D card just for Linux gaming.
IMHO, it's only worth it if you are a PC gamer running also
Windoze environment.

If you are into 3D programming, of course your ambition is
the limit, and Nvidia still offer faster 3D under Linux.

Still supported in the Legacy Driver.. Just not the new releases.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/1.0-718..._products.html

I still have TNT2 cards around, so...

really? because I have a nvidia GTS card in my server computer and it works just fine with the latest binary drivers downloaded right from nvidia.

oh yae I guess that is the 7184 driver I'm using..nevermind.
but it's supported and that is where it differs from the old ati cards.