[Intel-gfx] ADD2 cards for g33

[Kenneth Graunke]

On Tuesday 19 January 2010 11:53:38 Alan W. Irwin wrote:
[snip]
> * 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%20Packa
> rd) 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?

I bought a HP DY674A back in 2007 for my desktop, which I built from parts.  I 
still use it today; it works fine.  IIRC you just plug it in and it works.

I've never used the Lenovo one but I'm guessing it'd work fine too.

[snip]
> * 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?

As I said, it worked fine back in 2007, so Lenny's X stack should be more than 
adequate. :)

> * 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.

Heh, yeah...I always thought it was a rip off.  It definitely would've been 
nice if they'd put DVI on board.  Amazon seems to be a bit cheaper...$40 USD 
for the HP card, and $36.20 for the Lenovo.  Google shopping seems to say $36 
is the best one can find.

> * 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?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure these days they just put DVI/HDMI/DP on-board.

Good luck!
--Kenneth