Best graphic card for small budget

[Shefla]

Hi,

I am searching a graphic card in this jungle of hardware which pretend to be the best.

I have an ASUS P7P55D motherboard (CPU socket: 1156).
PCI-Express v2.0 16x.

I am using Archlinux and currently I have the below low profile graphic card:
Asus EN210 SILENT/DI/512MD2(LP)

My budget is about 100€ (~135 USD) for the new one. But it can be more if necessary.

I want to be able to play 3D games with good performances. Multimedia is important too as my PC is linked to my flat panel TV via HDMI and optical for my sound system.

2 other point needs to be taken in consideration:
- quality of drivers (free + non-free for ATI and NVidia)
- which manufacturer between ATI and NVidia fit the most to the open source principles and to the linux philosophy ?

So to be quick, if you have to choose a graphic card under Linux to play and watch movies, which one would you choose ?

Thanks in advance

[oz]

if you have to choose a graphic card under Linux to play and watch movies, which one would you choose ?

Hello and welcome!

I've always used nVidia cards with Linux (for about 10 years now) and have never regretted it, so that's what I'd recommend. You can check the nVidia website to see which cards the latest drivers support under Linux.

[datarookery]

I just got a nVidia gt-430 and am very happy with it. Definitely lower end, but it works great for setting up dual screen which is why I got it and it was cheap. I agree with oz and always go nVidia when it comes to Linux boxes.