[Intel-gfx] ADD2 cards for g33

[Alan W. Irwin]

My trusty Sony Trinitron VGA-only monitor finally died after 14 years (!) of
good service.  It will be replaced with a monitor that can be driven with
both VGA and DVI-D (the ASUS VH198T LED backlit LCD). So I have some
questions about ADD2 cards which apparently are designed to boost the Intel
integrated graphics (g33 chipset) I use for my desktop computer from
VGA-only to VGA + DVI-D + additional capability.

* Assuming I find a low-end video card or an ADD2 card that drives the new
monitor with DVI-D will I find much difference between those results and
driving that same monitor with VGA?

That's the key question, and the remaining ones assume the answer to
the above question is yes.

* I searched usa.asus.com (since ASUS manufactured my P5K-V motherboard with
g33 chipset), tigerdirect, newegg, and ncix for ADD2 cards, and only the
last one yielded any possibilities. Those were the HP DY674A
(http://ncix.com/products/?sku=40501&vpn=DY674A&manufacture=Hewlett%20Packard)
for $50 and the Lenovo 43R1985
(http://ncix.com/products/?sku=43796&vpn=43R1985&manufacture=Lenovo) for
$40.  Will those cards only work with HP or Lenovo computers or are ADD2
cards generic items that should work for any computer?

* If ADD2 cards come in different varieties, what special characteristics
should they have to match my g33 chipset?

* I am currently using the Debian Lenny version of the Intel X stack.  Is
that suitable for ADD2 cards or do I need to install something later such
as the Debian Squeeze=testing version of the Intel X stack?

* Can anybody advise me of a less expensive but reputable source of ADD2
cards for the g33 chipset? That NCIX price seems high to me since from the
same NCIX source you can currently obtain 13 (!) different low-end ATI video
cards in the price range from $24 (!) to $50.

* Digital driving of even low-end LCD's such as the one I am buying for my
desktop is currently a fact of life so if Intel wants to stay in the video
game at all for desktops, they _must_ supply digital driving of LCD monitors
in a form that has a competitive price for users of at least their modern
chipsets. My current research indicates the ADD2 idea is not particularly
competitive with ASUS not supplying it as part of their motherboard deal and
with the relatively large prices of independent ADD2 chips compared to
low-end but DVI-capable video cards.  Of course, my research could just have
missed an inexpensive source of ADD2 cards. But if my research is correct,
then is that lack of availability and competitive price for ADD2 because
Intel has dropped the ADD2 idea in favour of something else for chipsets
newer than g33?

Alan
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Alan W. Irwin

Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca).

Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state implementation
for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting software
package (plplot.org); the libLASi project (unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of
Linux Links project (loll.sf.net); and the Linux Brochure Project
(lbproject.sf.net).
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Linux-powered Science
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