Parhelia..Runs like a Fat kid in Gym Class

[GT98]

From http://www.tech-report.com/news_reply.x/4041/1/

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed your weekends. I spent much of mine testing graphics cards, and let me tell you: Even with the latest drivers and a fast Pentium 4 system, the Matrox Parhelia still runs like a fat kid in gym class. I guess I expected some improvement over time, but it just hasn't happened yet. And don't even think about running workstation-class apps on the card. I kicked off SPECviewperf on it, came back later, and thought the system had locked. I waited a while, and the screen updated. One frame at a time.

[albatorsk]

Well, that pretty much sums up my impression of the Parhelia too..

[GNEP]

Well not mine... I happen to think that it is v. quick and there is nothing I can't run on it happily. In fact I have been most impressed with my Parhelia.

[Ryu Connor]

It pretty much hits the nail on the head. The minimal occlusion tech (fat kid) and the half-baked drivers (eating disorder) makes the card hop all over the performance charts (fat kid in gym class).

And I'm being somewhat generous, compared to even previous generations from the other titans the Parhelia mostly bottom feeds.

You really shouldn't take it too personally, though. Perceptions don't need truth. That and depending on what you're doing with Parhelia it provides something the other companies cannot. I certainly know my Parhelia is doing something the other companies can't touch. That alone made it worth every penny.

[The PIT]

It will probably get slimmed down in time.

[Yannick]

and the screen updated. One frame at a time.

Actually, that's what happening all the time, isn't it ?

Maybe faster, but still...

[isochar]

Originally posted by The PIT
It will probably get slimmed down in time.

I think the diet plan is called Parhelia 2.

[Maniac]

Originally posted by isochar


I think the diet plan is called Parhelia 2.

Haha yeah that it....only three years away (again) woohoo!

[bryop]

Damn, this is really depressing. I was planning on buying a Parhelia tomorrow, but with all the bad things being said about Parhelia lately, it's making it very hard to justify so much money if the card really isn't very good.

The reason I really wanted Matrox was for 2d quality. They've always had the best. I'll be doing image editing, watching movies, etc... I also want to play games on it as well. Is the 2d quality in the Parhelia really all that much better than the new Radeon? Will I actually be able to notice a difference in the quality and is the difference enough to justify that much money?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

[Wombat]

Haha yeah that it....only three years away (again) woohoo!

Doubtful. Everybody knows that Matrox Graphics had major problems after the G400 came out, but they still released the G450 and the G550.

[lecter]

I'm not saying that it couldn't be better, but I really like my Parhelia...and considering the fact that it's still settling in, good things should come in the future...i've already seen quite a difference in performance and compatibility with the leaked drivers, so I trust Matrox to make my experience an even better one. Video and 2D quality is top notch and if it will run UT2003 or Mafia without much trouble, then I can give the gaming experience a 100% score as well...

[K6-III]

Parhelia is the first vidcard that has made my Samsung 900NF happy at 1600x1200...talk about excellent 2D...

[Rimfaxe]

omg...

thx for telling earlier

[Cobos]

And I wouldn't put too much faith in the bad SPECviewperf scores yet... If I understood correctly the launch of the P 256MB will include the professional 3D drivers for Parhelia... if it still sucks in pro programs and benchmark, then I might get worried (on Matrox's behalf

Cobos

[GNEP]

I don't understand quite why this criticism is so strong. On my system (1.2ish Athlon), running with the Parhelia, I get excellent (the best) 2d (this is 70% or more of my time). And I haven't got a game yet where I can't run it with all the settings high at 1024x768 with FAA on. And these games all run v. smoothly - I couldn't really ask for anything quicker, because to be quite honest I wouldn't notice the difference. Maybe the R9700 is better if you spend >30% playing games, otherwise the P is the card to go for.

just my 2p's worth