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**TdB** · 27 July 2002, 16:19

well, for your uses, then I would say parhelia is the best choice, the only thing we know about the radeon9700 is that it is very fast in 3d, and that it has full dx9 compliance, and will be pricd at 400$, so if you care alot about gaming then the radeon9700 will be better, ATI hasn´t said anything spectacular about image-quality in 2d, so i guess they didn´t focus on it that much, so matrox might still be better there.

some good changes, is that the matrox driver team is spitting drivers out like mad, they seem to release a new driver every week or so, so they appear to take this very seriously.

**Cheesekeeper** · 28 July 2002, 08:02

Based on the uses you have listed, the Parhelia does sound like the most likely choice. You know the image quality will be top notch, as is the driver support for multiple monitors. Having said that, unless you really need to replace the card straight away, I would wait for at least a week. So far, only previews of the Radeon 9700 have been released, with no solid benchmark numbers, and no info on image quality.

What we do know is that the 9700 is VERY fast, and has many of the new tech features found in the Parhelia. ATI have designed the card with 10-bit per channel colour, and all colour calculations done in full floating point for higher accuracy. I find it hard to believe that they would put so much time into engineering these features into the chip if they weren't going to back it up with a solid board design.

I'd suggest waiting at least until the full 9700 reviews are out, and some comments have been made on image quality. It's unlikely that the quality will be on par with the Parhelia, but for all we know it may not be that far off. We'll just have to wait and see. As for myself, I've decided to wait until November, when rumor has it we'll be getting some info on the NV30. I don't want sink any serious money into a new card until I've seen all the options......

**GNEP** · 28 July 2002, 16:15

Thanks TDB and Cheesey.

I had planned on getting a card pretty soon - I have August and not much job pressure, so planned to do some gaming! And a G450 doesn't really cut it anymore... If I have read correctly, it would seem that the ATI boards will be out in September?? That might be too late - I feel like rewarding myself now for the exams

Anyway, your input is much appreciated - thanks! I will check around a bit more, but am still v. v. tempted by the Parhelia.

Regards

gnep

**Maniac** · 28 July 2002, 16:58

You can get away with Radeon 8500 for now, and wait till the dust settles a bit before plunking down $350-400U.S on a new card.

**Matrox Man** · 28 July 2002, 21:54

You can also get a GeForce 4 Ti 4600 which will give you the best performance, however the Parhelia is far better for image quality with still very decent frame rates.

**Cheesekeeper** · 28 July 2002, 22:28

If I have read correctly, it would seem that the ATI boards will be out in September??

Nope - should be in about 3 weeks max. ATI have said "August", but the Anandtech preview said "no more than 30 days", and that was written 10 days ago. If you really want to upgrade now, I'd take a smaller step and try to get a Geforce3 or a GF4 Ti4200. They're quite fast enough (I moved from a G400Max to an original Geforce3 when the GF3 was first released), fairly cheap now, and could then hold you over until the NV30 is released so you could make a comparison of the three. I was all geared up to get a Parhelia, but I think if I had I would be regretting it in a couple of months time.

There's always something faster a short way down the road, but at the moment it's right around the corner

**Cobos** · 28 July 2002, 23:45

I don't know if this translates very well to English, but in Norwegian we have a saying that says: Better with one bird in your hand than 10 on the roof.
I'd go for the Parhelia today since it matches nicely what you need, and you can actually get it with stable drivers TODAY. Either you buy something today or you might as well just wait, within a year we'll probably see the NV35, Parhelia 2 and newest ATI card, which again would be better

Anyway that's my 2 cp

Cobos

**Greebe** · 28 July 2002, 23:57

Exactly Cobos. Wait 3 weeks for a possible shot at that dream date (who ends up being your mother in the end) or choke your chicken?

I'd rather choke my chicken

**Marshmallowman** · 29 July 2002, 01:01

I'd rather choke my chicken

now thats a memorable MURCer quote for the list

**GNEP** · 29 July 2002, 04:22

Thanks guys.

That's exactly it: I want to choke my chicken

Will do some price checking (in the UK) now and see what the real options are - if I go the cheapo route I could get another monitor as well - what's the 8500LE like?

gnep

**GNEP** · 29 July 2002, 06:39

Quick look at Dabs and ShopMatrox and I have given myself 2 options:

Parhelia for £316 incl VAT (but not shipping)
Dabs - Hercules 8500LE 64Mb OEM for £139 incl VAT but not shipping.

I think that I am feeling rash from the heat and will order the P this afternoon. Anyone feel like stopping me?

gnep

**magog** · 29 July 2002, 08:42

Originally posted by GNEP
[...]
I think that I am feeling rash from the heat and will order the P this afternoon. Anyone feel like stopping me?
gnep

No.

I still wait for Parhelia to hit the street here in Germany.
Next week I'm on vacation, and after that, they should be REALLY available.

**GNEP** · 29 July 2002, 08:47

Done it.

Should be on it's way soon I hope

Now for the next thoughts... any games to recommend that I haven't been able to play on my G450? I can probably think of a few on my own.

gnep

**Cheesekeeper** · 29 July 2002, 23:26

Neverwinter Nights. If you like RPGs, NWN is as good as they get (and then some). The graphics look fairly average at a low res, but run it at 1024x768 and add some AA and it looks fantastic.......

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