new videocard: advice needed...

[VJ]

Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my computer, and was convinced to put a Parhelia in it. The recent news about the one coming up next summer has changed my point of view slightly. Currently, I was thinking along the line of putting a temporary card in the computer, and then (when the Parhelia2 becomes available) put that temporary card in my second rig (which is a PII-450, to replace the G200 Millenium), perhaps to have dual-head and TV-out on that computer as well.

I still haven't ruled out buying a Parhelia and the moving this to my PII-450, but is this computer powerfull enough to fully allow the Parhelia to be utilized ? (if not, it seems a shame to put a card of that price in a system that cannot utilize it to the fullest)

Another alternative is to put the G200 in my new system, and buy some PCI-card for my PII-450. When the Parhelia2 then comes out, I could use the G200+PCI in the PII and the Parhelia in my upgraded system. The downside to this is that considering the G200, I won't be able to play many games (not that that is my main concern, but it can be fun sometimes), and that I'll still be lacking dual-head till next summer.

Finally, I could put the PCI-card in the new system (if the card is good enough, it could be better than the G200)... (and when the Parhelia2 comes out, put the PCI-card with my G200)

Any comments on all of this ? What would you do ? Which cards would you recommend (2D quality is very important to me) ?


Jörg

[Dogbert]

I'd get a 2nd hand G400 from a fellow murcer for the time being.
The G400 is significantly stronger than the G200 so you'll have some 'joy' time with it.

[Gurm]

It depends on your budget. You can get a Radeon 8500 for $80 nowadays... and that'll make you happy until such time as the P gets "fixed".

- Gurm

[Guru]

What resolution are you runing?

[VJ]

Normally 1280x1024x32 bit (85 Hz), but I might also get a new monitor.
The budget depends; I prefer paying a bit more to get quality than going for the cheapest things...


Jörg

[Gurm]

Seriously, a BBA (Built By ATI) Radeon 8500 is no slouch in the quality department. No, it's not a Parhelia. But it's ... a quarter of the price.

- Gurm

[VJ]

So you guys would just go for an AGP card, move it over to the PII next year, and just ditch the G200 ?

Jörg

[Dogbert]

Yes

[VJ]

But it's been so good with me...
Well, yes, it probabely is the best solution (somehow, I still think it is a waste, but that is often the case with computers).

Jörg

[Admiral]

You might try a G450 PCI . Though a bit pricy at 115$ (on Matrox's onlineshop) it's nice to have a PCI card for backup when you screw the videobios on your AGP card and attempt to recover it. You can use it to have triple head along with a single head AGP card, quad head with a dual AGP and who knows, "penta head?" together with a Parhelia
And it will always look good at high resolutions and won't be picky when dumping it in an old system.

[VJ]

Is there a way of using the TV-out feature when there also is an AGP-card present ?
(my guess would be that it suffices to designate the PCI-video as the primary card in the bios)

Jörg

[Admiral]

(my guess would be that it suffices to designate the PCI-video as the primary card in the bios)

That would be my guess too. I never had a PCI and AGP card together so I don't know how the display properties (driver settings) would look when doing so.