Re: [PLUG] So... Gaming.

[Rich Freeman <r-plug@thefreemanclan.net>]

On Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 8:00 AM, Doug Stewart <zamoose@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> As regards your dismal performance -- it's not about the RAM, it's about
> your GPU. I'm betting you have an Intel embedded GraphicsMyA%# graphics card
> that shares system memory. Plunk TF2 on another similarly spec'd machine
> with a dedicated GPU and you'll be fine.

Tend to agree.  It does depend on the game, but 3D games like most
FPS's tend to be EXTREMELY graphics-bound.  The slowest Atom around
with a good GPU would probably outperform an i7 with cheaper embedded
graphics (though the RAM speed might come into play there).  I do tend
to play things like flight simulations and there you do need a more
balanced machine (and drive speed starts to matter too).

Graphics cards to tend to have some life to them.  If you buy a decent
hard at the upper-end of the linear region of the price curve it will
probably last quite a few years.

Graphics drivers have always been a bit of a pain on linux.  I've
moved towards FOSS drivers as I don't really do much that is demanding
in terms of graphics there.  If I were to start playing games on linux
I suspect I'd have to get back into futzing with closed-source drivers
that are more likely to crash your display/etc (not sure if any work
with KMS).

If you do decide to invest in a graphics card for Linux make sure you
research what is supported and the various Nvidia vs ATI threads (be
sure to look for recent info - that seems to go back and forth).  I
won't claim to have any idea who has the higher ground right now -
things are always changing on that front.

Rich
___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug