X800 Pro pre-order

[Byock]

Bah, you wouldn't know a server if it bit you in the a**. And yes, we do use apache here, and use Openbsd as the firewall/router/gateway/DNS/DHCP/Proxy (Squid) and whatever else I don't think windows does all that well...

Sorry, anyone in IT for a company knows that Linux is not the answer yet for the corporate desktop. MS Office has a strangle hold on business.

And Yes, I know Open Office! But that just does not go over well with company heads, who HAVE to have word, and Excel.

[leech]

Yeah, I wouldn't know a server, yet I'm the one you always ask for SIMPLE *nix administration things, like changing the default shell...

It was you who told me that you were using IIS for all that crap that went down on you!

Anyone in IT should know that you use the best tool for the job.

And it is NOT always best to use windows for the corporate desktop, in fact, on at least one occasion I've had you even say that linux could easily make it on the corp. desktop if it weren't for most of the custom applications that need to be ported.

The only reason those nobs 'need' to have Word and Excel is because they're blind to any other alternative. Gnumeric actually is more compatible with older Excel files than Excel itself is! And it works great with the newer ones too!! Word is a nasty program too, since MS doesn't always feel the need to keep the file formats compatible even with the next version! Hey everybody, let's upgrade to MS Office 2158, oh, don't worry about all those documents that we wrote in 2157, they're old and need to be revised anyhow... Yeah, that'll fly.

OpenBSD could do a lot more than just a firewall/router/gateway/DNS/DHCP/Proxy or whatever. Considering most of those are all one and the same thing anyhow... (a firewall is pointless unless it routes packets, right? And well, gateway goes into that definition as well. Proxy is a little different, but the same solution to a problem as a router. And well, most routers run DHCP, right?)

Leech

Edit: Yeah, MS Office sure does lock a person into using Windows on the corporate desktop... oh wait, what's that you say? Crossover Office from Codeweavers runs it great!

[leech]

To be back on topic, the new ATI linux drivers do not support the X800 chip.

Plain and simple, I'm not going to buy a different card until the companies can get their crap together and get some decent linux support. If indeed Matrox is hiring a new linux developer, that could be some great news.

I just wish Matrox would come out with a new card soon that supports DX9 features and is at least the speed that the P8x is, or faster.

Leech

[nunchalnaomi]

Hi,
Unless you have a very fast chip, I doubt you will see an increase over a 9800 pro. (800 pro is 169$ That is a bargain!!!!! Nunchal

[leech]

From all the benchmarks I've seen, the 6800U and the X800 are at least TWICE as fast as a 9800 Pro. Of course they cost a little more than twice as much as the 9800 Pro, so you pay for the speed as well as the extra features.

Leech

[xortam]

Originally posted by leech
As a side note, the Unices weren't just built for servers, they were built also as development platforms and for... oh yeah, that thing calld work. You should know by now the great unix philosophy of having one program for one task, but that program does that task well. Of course, with so many different desktop environments and various word processors, the unix philosophy has kind of faded into the background for most things, which is a shame... oh well, LONG LIVE THE CLI! :-D Plain and simple some things are much easier/faster from the command line. But then on the other hand, many things (like web browsing, though Lynx does rule) are better through GUI. With windows, the CLI blows, and you're left with a cludgy GUI. With Gnome/KDE/Fluxbox/Window Maker/XFCE, etc... You have many different setups you can use, but always, you can depend on having a great CLI. The *nix operating systems are very versatile and should be used for more than just a server! ...

That's one of the few times you've voiced an opinion that I can agree with. You're improving.

[xortam]

Originally posted by leech
... Word is a nasty program too, since MS doesn't always feel the need to keep the file formats compatible even with the next version! Hey everybody, let's upgrade to MS Office 2158, oh, don't worry about all those documents that we wrote in 2157, they're old and need to be revised anyhow... Yeah, that'll fly. ...

Its in MSFT's interest to change file formats (varying metadata) to lock you into their SW migration path in lieu of using competitive products. The content is the real money-maker and MSFT is doing everything they can to control that on all fronts. You haven't seen the worst of it yet as MSFT takes control of media distribution. You can give all the HW/SW platforms away for free but if you control the content ...

[xortam]

So what's up with the X800 cards? I need to give back my loaner graphics card today and I need to buy a gaming/HDTV card for my new HTPC. I haven't been on the Net for the last ten days so I don't know if the Uber X800 is out yet and/or how it stacks up against the vanilla X800 in terms of graphics power and electrical power draw/heat/noise, etc. Is there any good reviews comparing the X800 variants yet? Is the Uber X800 shipping yet? How well are these cards handling HD content with apps such as VMR9?

[leech]

Originally posted by xortam
Its in MSFT's interest to change file formats (varying metadata) to lock you into their SW migration path in lieu of using competitive products. The content is the real money-maker and MSFT is doing everything they can to control that on all fronts. You haven't seen the worst of it yet as MSFT takes control of media distribution. You can give all the HW/SW platforms away for free but if you control the content ...

This I know. The reason that it does indeed "fly" is because corporate CEO's only really know Microsoft (granted this is a generalization, but it's a pretty accurate one) Even if the IT guys are saying there is something better/different, the guys who actually make the decisions don't know of the alternatives and/or aren't willing to listen to anyone willing to teach them.

Leech

[leech]

Originally posted by xortam
So what's up with the X800 cards? I need to give back my loaner graphics card today and I need to buy a gaming/HDTV card for my new HTPC. I haven't been on the Net for the last ten days so I don't know if the Uber X800 is out yet and/or how it stacks up against the vanilla X800 in terms of graphics power and electrical power draw/heat/noise, etc. Is there any good reviews comparing the X800 variants yet? Is the Uber X800 shipping yet? How well are these cards handling HD content with apps such as VMR9?

From memory; The X800 Pro has 12 pipelines whereas the X800 XT PE (Platinum Edition) has 16 Pipelines. The X800 XT PE looks like the card to get, if you have the 400-500 bucks to spend... Uhm... can't recall if the X800 had the HDTV stuff or not, but the 6800U had hardware accelerated MPEG2/4 for doing HDTV stuff. Pretty sure the X800 did as well....

Leech

[leech]

Originally posted by nunchalnaomi
Hi,
Unless you have a very fast chip, I doubt you will see an increase over a 9800 pro. (800 pro is 169$ That is a bargain!!!!! Nunchal

From all the benchmarks I've seen, my 3.06ghz with HT would definitely see an improvement in the X800 over the 9800 Pro.

One of the reviews I read stated that with the next generation cards from ATI and nVidia (X800 and NV4x respectively) would make the CPU be the bottle neck again, after such a long time that it was the video card that held back the performance. Guess we'll see in the long run.

As it stands now I think I'm going to wait until the 6800U has better optimized drivers and/or until the X800 has linux support. Then I'll decided if I want to change out my Parhelia. (who knows, maybe by that time Matrox will release a Parhelia XT PE Extreme Googlix Quintiple display card with some other cool feature that ONE game will support....)

Oh hey, a bit off topic, but anyone notice that the 6800 U also supports Displacement Mapping? I wonder if that means more games will start using it, and if indeed the DM will start working on the Parhelia for those games (I doubt it, since from what I was reading on the Matrox Tech support forums a while ago, it's a different implimentation of it....)

Leech

[leech]

Originally posted by xortam
That's one of the few times you've voiced an opinion that I can agree with. You're improving.

Glad I have your approval

Leech

[xortam]

Originally posted by leech
Glad I have your approval

Leech

Of that I'm certain.

Its a rare instance when you post without mentioning your beloved *nix. The right tool for the right job ... but that isn't always *nix. It just gets a bit old over time (which was quite some time ago).

Sure would like to see some reports on the comparisons of the various X800 variants (different manufacturers and "XT" vs. "PE" models). I don't want to go for the Uber cards and pay the price on heat and noise in a HTPC. I still haven't had a chance to check on AVS (10 days and counting now) or the usual HW sites.

[Greebe]

The MURC feels like it's getting back to the good ol days again

[leech]

Originally posted by xortam
Of that I'm certain.

Its a rare instance when you post without mentioning your beloved *nix. The right tool for the right job ... but that isn't always *nix. It just gets a bit old over time (which was quite some time ago).

Sure would like to see some reports on the comparisons of the various X800 variants (different manufacturers and "XT" vs. "PE" models). I don't want to go for the Uber cards and pay the price on heat and noise in a HTPC. I still haven't had a chance to check on AVS (10 days and counting now) or the usual HW sites.

I've always figured it's the right tool for the right job, and *nix is getting to the point where I can do everything I need to, and without all the spyware. Actually the only thing I still do in windows is play games.

The heat/noise issue is why, if I eventually do decide to get a different card, I'll wait until either X800 has linux support or I'll wait until there are MANY revisions of the 6800U.... sorry, I don't want a snowblower in my PC! Those things are HUGE! And the early models take two power connectors, though I've seen a site somewhere that had a proto-type board that had one power connector, but it looked like it was a propietary one. That one was the 6800 Extreme or something....

Why can't the video card makers get their act together? Sure we want faster chips, but do they need to make them so hot?

Leech