Gurm - where is the Kyro review ?

[MK]

[Liquid Snake]

Maybe it's so good, he's having too much fun with it, and doesn't want to write a review

[xortam]

You're going to have to give him a lot more time if he's going to write even a half-way decent review. Maybe Gurm could just let us know what his first impressions are (if he even has it running yet).

[Rags]

Maybe it melted his system

[MK]

I don`t care about benchmarks anymore because I have been reading enough of them.

Therefore I agree with xortam. It would just take a few seconds to tell us about the two most important characteristics: 2D quality and the loudness of the Prophet`s fan.

Gurm would you mind to share these first impressions with us ?

MK

[This message has been edited by MK (edited 19 May 2001).]

[ZokesPro]

Maybe he slipped on some soap in the bathroom and broke his back?

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"Wedge! Pull out! You're not doing any good back there!"
Suggestive Star Wars line from Return of the Jedi

[cbman]

Maybe the little wifey saw the other thread and decided to tie him up

[xortam]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by ZokesPro:
Maybe he slipped on some soap in the bathroom and broke his back?

</font>

Am I missing the joke here?

[Rags]

Maybe she bore teeth

Rags

[ZokesPro]

Xortam: that one went right over your head! wooosh!

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"Wedge! Pull out! You're not doing any good back there!"
Suggestive Star Wars line from Return of the Jedi

[Gurm]

Ok, first impressions:

2D: Acceptable. When I say this, I mean that in no way does it compare to ANY Matrox card. It is perhaps on par with the Radeon. Worlds better than anything from nVidia. I can live with it. The overall quality of the 2D (i.e. artifacts, display issues) is about on par with ATI. I see a little bit of flicker in the text scroll boxes, kinda reminds me of my Rage128. I think Matrox is the only company that has totally licked these issues. Certainly it's nothing major. It got better going from the stock drivers to yesterday's release anyway.

Fan: Inaudible. My case is dynamatted up the wazoo, but the hard drive noise drowned out the fan anyway. It's nearly silent. Shouldn't bother anyone.

Drivers: The card shipped with 7.89 drivers from Hercules, which appear to be virtually unmodified reference drivers. Only difference is the card name. But even that is only for the drivers, as the BIOS names the card "Kyro II Reference Board". Funny. I downloaded the 7.103 (yeah, I know a weird numbering scheme) from PowerVR. These had not only a cleaner install (what is UP with Hercules being unable to write an install script lately!?), but also seem faster overall. The drivers are neither signed nor certified, not a surprise since they are still not "release" quality for DX8. This means little except that PowerVR has done less MS-Ass-Kissing than other companies.

3D: Not gonna comment too much yet. Tribes2 has issues, they can be largely worked around but will need to be addressed. Quake engine games look gorgeous. I installed Myst3 Exile (which came with it) and am now addicted. NO! NO! BAD! Black and White looks good as well. *sigh* So many games, so few hours!

Wife: Well, not only is she pregnant (any day now, folks) but she is also feeling very needy this weekend. Luckily I have engrossed her today in "Dragon Force" on the Sega Saturn (yes we still have one, in fact I went to GREAT lengths to find it for her last year), so until it's time to go see "Shrek" I can play with this more.

Ok, I'll gladly take specific questions now. Let's keep it in this thread (shame on you for starting another one! Jeez!), ok?

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Rags]

Did you buy a helmet? You may need one during labor and delivery


Rags

[az]

I know it might be a little early and I don't want to keep you away from your wife at all (even if I could, I wouldn't ), but could you look into the overclockability and results later?

I wish you the best of luck with the child!

AZ

[Nuno]

Yep, overclocking reports would be nice.
Actually it seems that some people are hitting 190, even 195, although most are getting the well known 10 Mhz overclock.

[MK]

Gurm - at first I wish you all the best for the next days. Hope all is going well for you & your wife.

Concerning the Kyro - thanks for your initial thoughts. Good to hear that the fan is not too loud, because this is an important criteria for me.

At what resolution / frequency / monitor did you test the Kyro ? Do you really think ATI`s 2D (especially the Radeons !!) quality is that far away from Matrox 2D ? Unfortunately I always see ATI cards in combination with mid range monitors, therefore I cannot be sure about my observations ...


MK


[This message has been edited by MK (edited 19 May 2001).]