Many people on the techie side of the blogosphere are lauding and celebrating the recent announcement of AMD of their decision to take the next step towards open source. This next step is to provide support for Linux systems for their ATI Radeon HD 2000 series of graphic cards.

In the AMD press release posted on their official website, the company stated that they see this move as “a significant first step in redefining the graphics landscape for Linux consumer users.” More than that, this move is made by AMD as part of their plans to “accelerate efforts to address the needs of the open source community.”

How will this significant first move come to pass? This September, AMD is scheduled to release Catalyst 7.9, the support software for ATI Radeon graphics chips. This software release is supposed to include a chock-full of features and goodies that Linux users can certainly play with. AMD further claims that their new chips will show “major performance improvements across the board,” which the company said will be evident in the 90% improvement in the performance of their chips with such heavy duty games as Quake 4 and Doom 3.

But these are not all the surprises that AMD has in store. In the recently concluded Kernel Summit, AMD made announcements that along with the new Linux support for their ATI Radeon graphics chips, the company will also be releasing documentation that will enable developers to build their own drivers. This is certainly something to be happy about for anyone in the open source community.

Just how serious AMD will be in following through these announcements and promises to the open source community is another matter altogether, however. Just as there are many people in the blogosphere who are rejoicing in these that which they perceive as great news, there is also skepticism in the other quarters. As for us, we are happy that AMD has chosen to take these steps to support the open source community, and we certainly hope that they do indeed follow through.

The geeks and the speed demons out there who love to push their hardware to well beyond their limit by constantly overclocking them know very well that in order to keep successfully overclocking their computer systems, one of the things they absolutely must do is to keep their hardware cool. And when we say cool, we mean cool to the touch, with the most minimal presence of heat. Failing to manage the computer’s cooling system is definitely the straight road to literal computer hell. Of course we don’t want that to happen to our beloved machines now, do we?

In the ancient days of the computer, coolers for graphic cards are unheard of. The only people who have them are the geeks. But then again, as these graphic cards evolved and became more powerful, so did their need for an effective cooling system that will keep them from getting fried. Goodness knows how much beating these graphic cards get with the current mode of computer applications nowadays. Running Windows Vista alone gives graphic cards loads of kicks; and we aren’t talking about computer games yet.

So nowadays, it is necessary to provide a separate cooler for your graphic card. The question is, when most graphic card coolers generate the most noise in a computer system, when choosing a graphic card cooler, do you go for silence or do you go for performance?

It is a personal choice, really. People who use computers for work and for fiddling with their computer home theater systems prefer a quiet PC. Most gamers, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about whether their computer is screaming with them or not, as long as their playtime is undeterred by slow-moving or ugly imaging.

Madshrimps came up with this very insightful analysis on what kind of graphic card cooler you should get, depending on whether you are aiming for silence or for performance. Go to that website and check it out. But in summary, if you want silence while keeping your graphic card cool as the breeze, Madshrimps recommends fitting your graphic card with a Zalman 80C-HP, from the computer cooling pioneer Zalman. That is a water cooler, so you can do away with the fan if hearing them hum drives you nuts.

However, if you prefer to up your graphic card’s performance through constant overclocking, Madshrimp says that you are better off with an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer. It won’t be as silent as a Zalman, but it will still give you the powerful performance that you desire.

All gamers and multimedia enthusiasts out there know that getting the best out of their gaming and multimedia experience rests on the quality of their computer’s graphic cards. A high-grade graphic card means smooth and beautifully rendered images as well as optimum color management. A low-grade graphic card, on the other hand, means… well, we all do not need to dig into what that would mean for us, right?

If you are thinking of upgrading your machine and are searching the market for the newest graphic card releases out there, here is the latest list from CNET.com:

• EVGA e-GeForce 8600 GTS. This latest offering from Nvidia is 256MB 3-D chip that is made to support DirectX 10. With a chip core of 675MHz, this card is actually a lot faster than many models out there in its price range. However, the memory is quite slow and it has only a single-slot PCI Express card. This chip is great for HD multimedia stuff, but not really for gaming, so if your need for your graphic card centers more on multimedia usage rather than really serious playtime with Need for Speed or Elder Scrolls, this GeForce 8600 perfectly answers your needs.
• Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS. One can say that this is e-GeForce 8600’s higher-end version. It is great and it is powerful; with a core clock of 500 MHz, a memory of 640 MB and a data rate of 800 MHz, it can take a serious beating from a very serious gamer. It promises to work well with DirectX 10 and Windows Vista. The only problem about this chip is that it can be pretty expensive. If you are sold out on the Nvidia GeForce line, this chip is a solid buy.
• ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. This chip is AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GTS. With nearly similar specs, both capable of supporting the next-generation DirextX 10 games exclusive to Windows Vista, of anti-aliasing and all the good stuff, ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT nonetheless one-ups Nvidia’s chip with its tessellation unit, which gives the appearance of added detail to graphics. The one thing that would truly hurt the race between this newest release from ATI Radeon and Nvidia’s baby is that the HD 2900 XT came six months later than the GeForce 8800 GTS.

We are all still waiting, however, and with bated breath. After all, the new DirectX 10 next-generation games that will truly put these new chips to the test have yet to come.

The newest releases from both Nvidia, namely the GeForce 8800 GTS and GeForce 8800 GTX, and AMD (ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT) are all mouthwatering treats for the avid gamer. However, with prices ranging from $450 to $600 a pop, they are not exactly an easy buy for the avid gamer sticking to a limited budget.

Do not despair, however, if you are one of those hapless gamers who cannot easily cough out $600 for a great, high-end graphic card. There are still some good chips out there worth $200 or less, which may not have features and specifications that are at par with the next-gen chips but can actually perform quite well. This list of good and reasonably priced graphic cards came from PCWorld.com.

1. EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GT KO
   • PCI Express bus
   • 256 MB installed RAM
   • DDR3 RAM type
   • 1,500 MHz RAM speed
   • 580 MHz processor speed
   • Price: $140

Though not exactly the fastest of the graphic cards available out there, this baby still runs fast, even if you beat it up with repeated overclocking. Even if you put it through the fire, it still runs cool and quiet. It is quite a value for its price if you really can’t afford going for the higher-end chips.

2. MSI GeForce NX6600
   • PCI Express bus
   • 256 MB installed RAM
   • DDR2 RAM type
   • 400 MHz RAM speed
   • 350 MHz processor speed
   • Price: $60

This graphics card would work well for the gamer who is really pinching it and who can sacrifice a bit of quality for the price. Not that it is a bad card for its price, though. It can still deliver if you put your games in medium setting. However, it is said to have the tendency to overheat and its fan can generate a bit of noise.

3. Asus EAX1600Pro

• PCI Express bus
• ATI Radeon X1600 PRO chipset
• 256 MB installed RAM
• DDR2 RAM type
• 780 MHz RAM speed
• 500 MHz processor speed
• Price: $90

The Asus EAX1600Pro is another good card for its price, as it can let the user play with most graphic-intensive games without much of a fuss, provided that the game is at medium setting. While this graphic card can play well, if you are used to the performance of a higher-end chip, however, do not expect too much from this one. The greatest problem with this graphic card is that it is very noisy and has the tendency to overheat.