Announcement

**Zwisch** · 30 October 1999, 06:51

**Rags** · 30 October 1999, 07:15

Oh!NO! SOMEONE HAS A FASTER VIDEO CARD THAN ME!!!!!!!!

Matrox, PLEASE HELP!!!!! What will I ever do when my friends are getting 10fps more than me in Q2????????

Rags

**waxling** · 30 October 1999, 08:06

But don't we now have a video card that will increase in speed as processors get faster? As proven by OCP's coppermine test (well unoficially) no other video cards can handle the fsb etc.. needed by the upcoming processors. I think that Matrox has developed a card that will actually keep up with market changes. If they can get 25-50% performance increases in one generation of driver (turbogl), what do you think might be yet to come? I think the G400 has alot of features that aren't publicly broadcast. It's flexibility is second to none.

**motub** · 30 October 1999, 08:21

Oh yes, I've been saying to all and sundry that what the G400 has is longevity... the features and the image quality will stand you in excellent stead much longer than the quest for the fastest frame rate... I noticed that with the G200. Once the drivers got good (admittedly, that took longer than I liked), I would have been happy to skip this generation of cards and wait for the next, had I not gotten the gift of a MAX....

I should note, lest it be said that I just come onto irrelevant forums and b*tch about the wrong card, I did post to AGN's forum as well...

(And I even got all the HTML code right on the 1st try... a good thing, since you can't seem to edit...! )

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Holly, who found the 'edit' button on a second look...

[This message has been edited by motub (edited 30 October 1999).]

**Smiff** · 30 October 1999, 10:19

The G400 seems to scale really well. My next upgrade will be the CPU; after all that speeds up *everything*. Anyways, i've got an RRG so that G400 is staying there whether I like it or not

In the mean time, i'm doing some quality hardcore gaming! Come find me in Counter-Strike and join my (usually winning ) team. If you haven't played CS drop everything and head over to http://www.counter-strike.net/ NOW!

**motub** · 30 October 1999, 10:30

Well, Smiff, scroll on down the main page if you really don't want to keep your G400 <u>just</u> because you have an RR-G... Someone else sees that as a "problem" as well....

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Holly

**Smiff** · 30 October 1999, 10:42

Thanx holly I missed that thread I totally agree with your points there, the 6 month thing is ridiculous (i've got a pile of old video boards that I can't sell). In fact, I recently gave away a Riva 128 less than a year after I paid 120 for it! Yes I know that's my own choice..but it got me thinking though: if you can cope with being just one single generation of cards (and as many poeple have said that's only 6-12 months) behind the leading edge, you could get almost anything for FREE. Just to get things going: anyone want (my hardly) used Creative RivaTNT?!

**Dilitante1** · 31 October 1999, 07:00

Smiff, I'll take the card for my kids' puter, but dont tell anyone ok?dont need the chastising for having a N board in my house..shhhhh but they need help vid-wise, to be able to hit me in duke nukem3d that cirrus built in stuff just dont cut it! mums the word tho....ok?

-Dil

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I'm not just a MURCer, I'm also a client!

**The Rock** · 31 October 1999, 10:52

Nvidia is the textbook definition of "ship of fools". Do they actually think discriminating customers who pay for this sh*t with their own money are gonna shell out $400 every 6 months just to keep up with their whims?? That's $800 a year for JUST video for chrissakes!! They can bl*w me. I still think the G400 is the best card on the market; and I'll still use one 6-12 months from now.

------------------
The Rock
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed."
-- Albert Einstein

**KvHagedorn** · 31 October 1999, 18:44

Just to show how behind the times I am, I am now looking at an image generated by an original Matrox Millennium (I!), and remain very pleased with it. (toggle between this computer and my new one with a G400MAX) I admit the MAX looks better, but in 2D not overwhelmingly so. This card still delivers 1152x864 at 32bit color with an 85Hz refresh rate, looks great, and is still pretty fast in 2D. (Hey, I'm still using it aren't I? Confirmation for Holly's longevity argument.)

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Kind Regards,

KvH

**motub** · 31 October 1999, 19:23

Yes, thanks KvH... I'm laughing a bit though, because i didn't have a longevity argument, till I started hanging around here and seeing others being perfectly happy to delay upgrades to "better" cards... I didn't feel that way about my Total3D (Rendition Verite 1000), though it was a very nice card, nor my Number Nine Reality 772, also a lovely card. But I can stick with my G200 through at least this wave of new cards... nothing till the (vaporware?) Glaze3D looks to touch it... and now, with the gift of the MAX that I got for my engagement.... <blockquote>How to tell if you're marrying a geek: He gives you hardware instead of a ring, and tells people why that makes sense when they tease him.
How to tell you're a geek: You keep him, and the hardware, too...and, well, screw the ring, we'll get around to it...</blockquote>....I'm pretty much set till I start hearing specs for the next next-gen... and depending on what those specs are, perhaps beyond.

Couldn't help but notice how different that was than how I'd felt about previous cards...

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Holly

[This message has been edited by motub (edited 01 November 1999).]

**Greebe** · 31 October 1999, 20:04

I still like my MilG200. Now if I can only figure how to achieve 7000 3Dmarks... Hmmmm

**Filmgeek** · 31 October 1999, 23:35

I can understand preferring Matrox cards over NVidia cards, but calling NVidia "a ship of fools" and the GeForce "shit" is ridiculous. This forum is getting scary lately...invasion of the brain snatchers. And I'm sure those same people who claim bragging about one's video card isn't important are the same ones who brag about their Matrox cards when Matrox is on top. I think the person who said this forum was sounding more and more like a bunch of Amiga users was spot on.

And about this "NVidia pumps out video cards every six months, and Matrox pumps them out once a year, therefore NVidia cards suck"? Are you people on crack?
This is the nature of the video card business. And NVidia, it seems, wants to be the leader. I have to give them credit for that. And how can you complain about the prices of NVidia cards when you have Matrox card? Matrox, whose cards are only available through them, available only at their price? True, NVidia cards have the lifespan of a mayfly, but their performance is unmatched when they come out, and I haven't seen any evidence that the quality of their product is any less at NVidia than it is at Matrox. I don't mind a good argument, but declarations of blind devotion are just stupid. Even Billy Wilson of www.voodooextreme.com roots for NVidia when they make a good product. Competition is a good thing.

Filmgeek

**The Rock** · 1 November 1999, 02:03

Filmgeek:

I called Nvidia a ship of fools because of their 6 month product cycle. And the 6-month cycle is NOT the nature of the video card business, as you put it. The Voodoo 2 is still used by friends of mine; 6 months?? HA!! And this isn't blind devotion either. I can understand putting out a new product when new technology is up and coming, like T&L, but putting out a product every 6 months is pure hogwash. The G400 will last a helluva lot longer than 6 months. You blame the video card business for this? If that's true, then I'm afraid you don't know a ton about this biz then my friend. Nvidia is gonna start putting out cards every 6 months just to make money; whether or not it is "needed" is beside the point. They just seem to be milking the fact that they're now an established brand name.

And some other points:

1) If they keep putting out new cards every 6 months, then how the hell are their drivers going to be? It takes time for drivers to mature; how long did it take Nvidia to bring the TNT2 drivers up to snuff? THAT didn't happen in a month or 2.

2) If you buy a GeForce now, and in 1 years time they're up to the GeForce 3, where does that leave you in terms of support? One of the reasons I like Matrox is that they don't abandon older cards. Blind devotion my ass. I'm not saying Nvidia WILL abandon older models, but sticking to that 6 month cycle means that they'll need to be writing drivers for 3 different cards in a year and a half. As long as they actually DO that, I have no problem with them.

In conclusion, my devotion is not blind; I had an ATI Rage 128 before moving to a G400. Before the Rage, I had a G200. Before that, an Intergraph Voodoo Rush. I simply believe that Nvidia's 6-month cycle is foolish, and is not based on innovation, but on an attempt to milk their established brand name like a cow. The original Voodoo lasted a lot longer than 6 months. Voodoo 2 also. Nvidia's TNT2 has a longer lifespan than 6 months. So why start this 6-month CRAP now?? To milk the cow, and for NO other reason.

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The Rock
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: His eyes are closed."
-- Albert Einstein

[This message has been edited by The Rock (edited 01 November 1999).]

Announcement

Yeah, it's another OT rant.. so sue me..

Yeah, it's another OT rant.. so sue me..

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