Graphics Cards

Linux Support

Here are various rankings for each major graphics cards vendor on Linux.

Ease of driver installation and updates:

  1. AMD and Intel

  2. NVIDIA

Stable driver in gameplay:

  1. AMD

  2. NVIDIA

  3. Intel

Linux performance:

  1. AMD

  2. NVIDIA

  3. Intel

Open source and native Linux support:

  1. AMD

  2. Intel

  3. NVIDIA

Hybrid graphics support on laptops:

  1. NVIDIA

  2. AMD

  3. Intel

Day 1 Linux support for new hardware:

  1. AMD

  2. Intel

  3. NVIDIA

Machine learning support:

  1. NVIDIA

  2. Intel

  3. AMD

Best Graphics Cards

Legacy Operating Systems

32-bit operating systems, such as Windows XP, only support graphics cards with 3 GB of VRAM. There are sometimes other driver limitations, too. [8]

Windows XP (32-bit):

  • Best performance

    • Official driver = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti [9]

    • Modified driver = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti [42]

  • Best NVIDIA card for the era = NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT [9]

  • Best AMD cards = AMD Radeon HD 7970 [10][11] and AMD Radeon R9 280X [12]

  • Best low-profile

    • AMD = AMD Radeon HD 7750

    • NVIDIA = NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti

  • Best value low-profile [44]

    • AMD = AMD Radeon HD 7570 GDDR5

    • NVIDIA = NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 GDDR5

Windows 7 (64-bit):

  • Best performance = 3090 Ti [42]

For Windows XP graphics drivers, it is preferred to use AMD over NVIDIA because of the following features [44]:

  • GPU scaling to render at a lower resolution and then stretch to the monitor resolution

  • HDMI colorspace options for both limited and full RGB

  • Custom resolutions can be set

Starting with the NVIDIA RTX 40 series (Ada Lovelace), only Windows 11 and newer is supported. [43]

Ray Tracing

These are the best discrete graphics card vendors for ray traced graphics [27]:

  1. NVIDIA

  2. Intel

  3. AMD

Best Supported

Based on popular hardware that uses a specific GPU architecture, PC graphics cards based on those same architectures should, in theory, have the most stable drivers.

AMD:

  1. Radeon DNA (RDNA) 2 = PlayStation 5 [28], Steam Deck [29], and Xbox Series X|S [30].

  2. Graphics Core Next (GCN) 2 = PlayStation 4 Pro [31] and Xbox One X|S [32].

  3. Graphics Core Next (GCN) 1 = PlayStation 4 [38][39] and Xbox One. [40]

NVIDIA:

  1. Ada Lovelace = GeForce NOW servers in 2023. [33][34]

  2. Turing = GeForce NOW servers in 2019. [35][36]

  3. Maxwell = Nintendo Switch. [37]

Power Cables

Introduction

Graphics cards have a specific wattage requirement. They draw power from the PCIe slot and often require more power. That can be supplied through additional cables from the power supply.

Power Source

Wattage

PCIe x1 slot

10

PCIe x4 slot

25

PCIe x8 slot

25 [13]

PCIe x16 slot

75

6-pin PCIe cable

75

8-pin PCIe cable

150 [14]

12VHPWR PCIe cable

600 [15]

All versions of PCIe (currently 1.0 through 5.0) support the same wattage output. [14][16]

It is not recommended to use a single SATA to 6-pin adapter due to the fire hazard risk if the GPU draws excessive power. [17] SATA power cables only provide 54 watts. [18][20] Molex power cables provide 156 watts. [21] For 75 watts, use one Molex or two SATA cables to convert to one 6-pin. [19] For 150 watts, use one Molex or three SATA cables to convert to one 8-pin adapter. [20]

PCIe Power Only

These are the best graphics cards that are (1) low-profile and (2) do not require a 6-pin or 8-pin power PCIe power cable. They can be fully powered by the PCIe slot and are suitable for desktops with limited space and/or power supplies that have a low wattage.

  • AMD:

      1. AMD Radeon RX 6400 [22]

      1. AMD Radeon RX 560 [23]

  • Intel:

      1. Intel Arc Pro A40 and A50 [26]

      • The A40 is a 1-slot 50 watts card. The A50 is a 2-slot 75 watts card. [41]

  • NVIDIA:

      1. NVIDIA RTX 4000 SFF Ada Generation

      • This is a 2-slot card.

      • The performance of this card is similar to the 3070 but it is as fast as the 3090 Ti in some scenarios. [25]

      1. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

      1. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti [23][24]

History

Bibliography

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  14. “PCI-E 3.0 Slot Power.” Overclock.net. August 2, 2013. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://www.overclock.net/threads/pci-e-3-0-slot-power.1414801/

  15. “PCIe Gen5 “12VHPWR” Connector to Deliver Up to 600 Watts of Power for Next-Generation Graphics Cards.” TechPowerUp. October 11, 2021. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://www.techpowerup.com/287682/pcie-gen5-12vhpwr-connector-to-deliver-up-to-600-watts-of-power-for-next-generation-graphics-cards

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