Tweet
Dual-Head Upgrade for G400 SH Card - Installed!
I ordered my Dual-Head upgrade for my 32Meg G400 SH card on tuesday, and it arrived thursday (yesterday). What can I say about this little card, except that it rocks!
The module itself is only a little bit bigger than a matchbook. Installation was really simple, including removal of the AGP card bracked, insertion of the module and its accompanying pin extension, and reconnection. Everything worked great on boot; I was watching video on my big TV screen in no time, and it looked GREAT!
All in all, a simple upgrade, but well worth the money for any of you single head people out there. This card wasn't cheap when it came out in the summer (still ain't cheap), and i've been waiting for months for this product to be released.
Thanks, Matrox, for actually putting it out!
I will have tons of fun with this baby now.
One thing to keep in mind when you install this is proper cabling. I first ran a (supposedly) shielded 25-foot audio cable with RCA connectors across a room to get this connected to the TV. A slightly ghosted hoizontal box was visible phasing up the screen, moving from the bottom to the top and then repeating. While long cable lengths can be troublesome, one thing to keep in mind is proper cable impedance and shielding.
After reading <a href="http://206.161.238.148/support/ftp/cable.PDF">this guide</a> on proper cabling lengths and types, I will be heading out tonight to purchase a spool of RG-59 cable to remove the slight distortion in the picture. This cable is best suited to composite video, as opposed to any audio cabling which you may have laying around the house. The cable that I originally used was hardly a cheap one, having gold connectors and right-angled heads. But, apparently the impedance of the cable and shielding provided is not what is required in order to keep a clean composite NTSC video signal.
If I were to move my furniture and equipment all around, I could probably get by with a shorter cable, but I would prefer to leave things as they are, and as such, I will be using this longer cable solution.
All in all - great upgrade - it does what it is advertised to do, and the price isn't TOO bad for what you are now capable of doing once it is installed. I would recommend this highly - get yours!
The module itself is only a little bit bigger than a matchbook. Installation was really simple, including removal of the AGP card bracked, insertion of the module and its accompanying pin extension, and reconnection. Everything worked great on boot; I was watching video on my big TV screen in no time, and it looked GREAT!
All in all, a simple upgrade, but well worth the money for any of you single head people out there. This card wasn't cheap when it came out in the summer (still ain't cheap), and i've been waiting for months for this product to be released.
Thanks, Matrox, for actually putting it out!
I will have tons of fun with this baby now.
One thing to keep in mind when you install this is proper cabling. I first ran a (supposedly) shielded 25-foot audio cable with RCA connectors across a room to get this connected to the TV. A slightly ghosted hoizontal box was visible phasing up the screen, moving from the bottom to the top and then repeating. While long cable lengths can be troublesome, one thing to keep in mind is proper cable impedance and shielding.
After reading <a href="http://206.161.238.148/support/ftp/cable.PDF">this guide</a> on proper cabling lengths and types, I will be heading out tonight to purchase a spool of RG-59 cable to remove the slight distortion in the picture. This cable is best suited to composite video, as opposed to any audio cabling which you may have laying around the house. The cable that I originally used was hardly a cheap one, having gold connectors and right-angled heads. But, apparently the impedance of the cable and shielding provided is not what is required in order to keep a clean composite NTSC video signal.
If I were to move my furniture and equipment all around, I could probably get by with a shorter cable, but I would prefer to leave things as they are, and as such, I will be using this longer cable solution.
All in all - great upgrade - it does what it is advertised to do, and the price isn't TOO bad for what you are now capable of doing once it is installed. I would recommend this highly - get yours!
Comment