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 32-bit

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

Windows XP:

  • Best performance = NVIDIA GTX 780 Ti [9]

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

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

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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  2. “How much VRAM do you need? Professional and Gaming Workloads explored.” CG Director. May 9, 2022. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://www.cgdirector.com/how-much-vram-do-you-need/

  3. “Hardware Recommendations for Premiere Pro.” Puget Systems. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Adobe-Premiere-Pro-143/Hardware-Recommendations

  4. “Hardware Recommendations for Machine Learning & AI.” Puget Systems. Accessed September 7, 2022. https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Machine-Learning-AI-174/Hardware-Recommendations

  5. “Choosing the Best GPU for Deep Learning in 2020.” The Lambda Deep Learning Blog. February 18, 2022. Accessed September 7, 2022. https://lambdalabs.com/blog/choosing-a-gpu-for-deep-learning/

  6. “What is VRAM and how much do I have?” LEVVVEL. March 6, 2023. Accessed May 16, 2023. https://levvvel.com/what-is-vram-and-how-much-do-i-have/

  7. “VRAM vs. RAM: What’s the Difference?” History-Computer. December 7, 2022. Accessed May 16, 2023. https://history-computer.com/vram-vs-ram/

  8. “Radeon R9 290x on Windows XP 32bit. Was anybody able to install it?” Reddit r/windowsxp. April 28, 2023. Accessed July 11, 2023. https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsxp/comments/10qn8lk/radeon_r9_290x_on_windows_xp_32bit_was_anybody/

  9. “Best WinXP Video Card.” VOGONS. February 16, 2018. Accessed July 11, 2023. https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=47815&start=80

  10. “WinXP retro gaming PC.” Linus Tech Tips. August 11, 2022. Accessed July 11, 2023. https://linustechtips.com/topic/1408436-winxp-retro-gaming-pc/

  11. “HD7990 in WinXP?” VOGONS. April 24, 2022. Accessed July 11, 2023. https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=79494

  12. “What would be the fastest XP Setup with XP Era Hardware?” VOGONS. June 22, 2019. Accessed July 11, 2023. https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=66873&start=60

  13. “Without attaching additional power cables, how much can a PCIe x16 graphics card draw from the motherboard’s slot?” TechSpot. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://www.techspot.com/trivia/27-without-attaching-additional-power-cables-how-much-can/

  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

  16. “What’s the PCIe power specs allowed for each 1.0 , 1.1a , 2.0 , 2.1 and 3.0 rated slot?” EVGA. September 24, 2011. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://forums.evga.com/What39s-the-PCIe-power-specs-allowed-for-each-10-11a-20-21-and-30-rated-slot-m1238513.aspx

  17. “[SOLVED] Molex vs SATA to PCIE wattage.” Tom’s Hardware. April 2, 2019. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/molex-vs-sata-to-pcie-wattage.3466610/#post-20958258

  18. “Can’t afford a Gaming PC? This one’s $169.” YouTube Linus Tech Tips. October 15, 2022. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLC9rZ2e0Ms

  19. “GPU power from molex.” Tom’s Hardware. February 19, 2014. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/gpu-power-from-molex.1709339/

  20. “2 Molex to 8 Pin Adapter GPU | Everything You Need to Know.” Hardware Centric. May 14, 2023. Accessed August 3, 2023. https://www.hardwarecentric.com/2-molex-to-8-pin-adapter/

  21. “Maximum Safe Wattage of PSU Cables.” GPU Mining Resources. March 15, 2019. https://www.gpuminingresources.com/p/psu-cables.html

  22. “Best GPU without power pin?” Linus Tech Tips Forums. July 31, 2022. Accessed August 8, 2023. https://linustechtips.com/topic/1446662-best-gpu-without-power-pin/

  23. “How many low profile graphics cards are there?” Quora. May 11, 2023. Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.quora.com/How-many-low-profile-graphics-cards-are-there

  24. “Graphics card compatible with HP Z230.” Reddit r/PcMasterRaceBuilds. October 23, 2023. Accessed August 8, 2023. https://www.reddit.com/r/PcMasterRaceBuilds/comments/jgqtsg/graphics_card_compatible_with_hp_z230/?rdt=59793

  25. “Nvidia’s Tiny RTX 4000 SFF 20GB Offers RTX 3070 Performance at 70W.” Tom’s Hardware. March 22, 2023. Accessed August 9, 2023. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-tiny-rtx-4000-sff-launched

  26. “Intel Arc Pro A-Series Graphics.” Intel Products. Accessed August 20, 2023. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/discrete-gpus/arc/workstations/a-series/overview.html

  27. “How is the driveres for A770 in 2023?” Reddit r/intel. March 1, 2023. Accessed August 29, 2023. https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comments/11ey5a0/how_is_the_drivers_for_a770_in_2023/

  28. “Sony reveals full PS5 hardware specifications / Begun, the console wars have.” The Verge. March 18, 2020. Accessed August 29, 2023. https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21183181/sony-ps5-playstation-5-specs-details-hardware-processor-8k-ray-tracing

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  30. “A Closer Look at How Xbox Series X|S Integrates Full AMD RDNA 2 Architecture.” Xbox Wire. October 28, 2020. Accessed August 29, 2023. https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/10/28/a-closer-look-at-how-xbox-series-xs-integrates-full-amd-rdna-2-architecture/

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  34. “GeForce RTX 4080.” NVIDIA. Accessed August 29, 2023. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/40-series/rtx-4080/

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  36. “NVIDIA Tesla T10 16 GB.” TechPowerUp. Accessed August 29, 2023. https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/tesla-t10-16-gb.c4036

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