Video Driver Needed?
 

Hello,

Is a specific video driver needed for Linux? I have installed the Nvidia driver before, because I needed the 3D acceleration for some games. I tried to install it in my last version of Fedora I used (Fedora Core 5), but I couldn't get it installed and so gave up the games. I bought a new computer that came with a Nvidia GeForce 7350 LE 128 MB video card. I am not planning on playing any games on it. I will probably put both Fedora and Slackware on it. It is a good possibility that I will do some video editing and graphic design with it. In these applications is the driver necessary? Could I get by without it? I am concerned with the quality of my output, so is it beneficial?

Driver quality can be subjective. If things look and work OK for you, then there is no reason to change the driver.

Your results will also depend on how you install the driver. If you use an RPM, your results will vary. For that reason, I recommend that the NVIDIA driver be installed via the command line, since the results of drivers compiled for your specific machine can be dramatically better than those you get from installing a binary. In my opinion, they describe things adequately at the NVIDIA site. Just choose the correct driver version and follow the instructions:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/unix.html