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Pastimes : Dream Machine ( Build your own PC ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve goldman who wrote (2554)	9/19/1998 11:07:00 AM
From: Sean W. Smith	Respond to of 14778

two questions: First, is there a notable difference between the AGP board and the 220 that actuallyinstalls simply? I am just curious because whileyou want great tech, if you lose stability or usability implementing it, its probablynot worth. MOst decent machines handle quotes and trading systems pretty well. These arent the pigs that design software are. The G200 is 2x faster on 2D and probably 10X or more faster on 3d. Install is similar. Videoconferencing wise All I have used is Picture Tel. Sean

To: steve goldman who wrote (2554)	9/19/1998 12:24:00 PM
From: Dave Hanson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

Steve, I'll let you know my subjective impressions when I get the boards swapped next week. From what I hear, Sean's estimates are about right. Regards, Dave

To: steve goldman who wrote (2554)	9/29/1998 10:47:00 AM
From: Dave Hanson	Respond to of 14778

Matrox G200 observations & question on IRQ sharing with it Steve, Sean, and all, Just got the g200 card this weekend. Installed without a hitch using the latest install program and drivers from the Matrox web site. Interestingly, I had the OEM version (called the MGA-g200), with the 230 Mhz RAMDAC and the SDRAM (rather than SGRAM.) These specs are identical to the Mystique g200 (it's just like this card, but except it lacks its game software and TV out.) For good info on the differences between the various cards, see matrox.com . Price was a very reasonable $89 from Parts Pipeline (888-333-1796) who had the only sub $100 pricewatch price at the time. Interestingly, it used the NT unifed drivers just fine, even though there's no driver listed for this OEM card specifically. (I was supposed to get the 250 mhz RAMDAC OEM Milennium SDRAM for this very reason, but the shipper apperently goofed.) This isn't too surprising, since all the cards are so similar. It does not seem to run especially hot, counter to published reports. there is a good sized heat-sink on the g200 chip. My manufacture date, which is available in the Matrox properties box under NT and 95, is listed as August 8. Perhaps (?) they're shipping somewhat cooler chips now. Performance is exceptional. I don't bother to benchmark, as getting every last increment of speed isn't too important to me. (Like Steve, stability and lack of hassle is far more crucial.) But everything performs quite snappily--noticably more so than my Mystique 220. I'm getting a rock solid 85 hz refresh rate in 1152 x 864 resolution, a mode I've never stuck with before because the image quality was insufficient. Here, it seems quite crisp on my Iiyama Visionmaster Pro 17" monitor. I've noticed that it takes IRQ 11 on my Abit Bh6 board, and there doesn't seem to be a way to switch this assignment. Question: is there any reason to worry about sharing this IRQ with a PCI board? I had my SCSI board on 11 also, and seemed to have no problems at all, although there was a slight delay at the end of bootup that may (?) have been caused by this. Now I have the SCSI board on 9, simply to avoid any unnecessary sharing. But when I get my second NIC card for DSL service next week, I'll probably need to go back to sharing, so I'm wondering about the best way to accomplish it. In short, it's a very fine, very hassle-free card so far. Steve, I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade. Dave