[mythtv-users] Does video card brand matter? VDPAU

[Brian Wood]

On Wednesday 28 October 2009 07:30:36 Johnny wrote:
> > I went out today a bought what I thought was a Gigabyte 9500GT 1Gb  card
> > but it turned out to be a 9400GT instead (the box said 9500GT!). The
> > supplier does not have any more Gigabyte cards but has ECS and Inno3d
> > versions of the same card so I was wondering if the brand makes any
> > difference. My only real “requirement” is an HDMI output and I would be
> > satisfied with either 512mb or 1GB. I have read that some brands, like
> > Gainward have issues with VDPAU so want to make sure that what I get is
> > compatible with everything else.
>
> In general the answer is no, the specific card manufacturer should not
> matter. VDPAU is provided by the nvidia GPU and the driver. Having
> said that there are certainly ways for a manufacturers to screw things
> up (not follow spec) or just make a crappy card that will fail. So
> brand matters in terms up support and quality, but generally is not an
> issue in terms of VDPAU support.

One thing that might make a difference to some buyers would be RoHS compliance 
(Reduction of Hazardous Substances). The compliant boards will use lead free 
solder, considered by some to be a potential long-term reliability problem. 
The loss of a communications satellite has been attributed to the "tin 
whisker" problem with some of the lead-free solders. This has not been 
proven, AFAIK.

It may be that any recently made board will be RoHS compliant, but when buying 
older stock it might be an issue.

Probably not a significant factor for most consumers, but something to be 
aware of. Commercial buyers may be required by contract or other constraints 
to purchase only RoHS-compliant products.

The primary factors when choosing a video board are the GPU chip, how much and 
what type of memory, and what the clock speeds are.

The reputation of the maker, in terms of warranty support etc., may make a 
difference to some folks.

-- 
Brian Wood
beww at beww.org