5000 series card questions

[Mark Knecht]

Hi,
   Sorry for the sort of vague nature of the questions here. I'm
starting to look around for a new card. I would prefer fanless if
possible and that limits my choices quite a bit.

   In terms of performance with the Open Source ATI drivers how are
the 5500 and 5600 series of chips? Are they well supported? Mostly I'm
2D with the hope of a little bit of gaming maybe once a month for a
few hours. I'd like reasonable 3D performance down the road even if
it's not there now.

   I haven't found any 5700 or higher fanless cards yet but I haven't
looked very hard.

   How is the driver support these days for the 5500 and higher based
cards? Anything I should watch out for? Any plans to support or not
support either the 5570 or 5670 series? Is the 5670 noticeably better
for gaming? I presume they're all about the same for getting KDE up on
the screen?

Thanks,
Mark