G400Max/P817

[Fleabus]

Hi:

I currently use a 17" ViewSonic 17PS (.25mm dp shadow mask) with a 16MB Matrox G200 Mystique. Win98.
I've been very pleased with the results. Even though it dishes up the best results I have seen on a monitor of its size, my eyesight is not what it used to be. I read a fair amount of text for extended periods and have my desktop usually at 1024x768x32bit 85Hz Large Fonts. This doesn't even tax the G200 and I would like to go to higher resolutions and refresh rates and I guess my 'ol eyes need a larger screen to get the job done properly.
I now want to get a 21" shadow mask monitor along with a 32MB Matrox G400 Max Dual Head AGP.
I'm thinking of keeping and using the 17PS as the monitor for the VGA2 output and disconnecting it from time to time for S-video TV-Out (gaming) or DVD movie playback (33" Panasonic GAOO TV). In my case gaming and movies are better w/TV-Out as it is at the centre of a Dolby Pro-Logic Surround system (SB Live Full to Pioneer 901 receiver).
The P817 sure seems to have the specs to keep up with the Max (I now have a P2 450 but will likely upgrade to a P3>450 by the time I also get the new monitor and card).
It is also very expensive. If you have one or have seen one, is it worth it? I see it listed with Matrox's PD5.13 monitor list so the setup is simplified.
Is it that good? Could I do better for the same price or less?

Advice on any of the above would be appreciated,

------------------
P2-450;256MB PC100;Asus P2B;16MB G200 Mystique 5.13,2.3; 12MB CL Voodoo2;CL SB Live Full(LW2.1); ViewSonic 17PS; 10GB Maxtor 7200RPM UDMA2;3.2GB Quantum FB ST UDMA2;CL 2X Encore;USR 5686 External Sportster V.90;Win98;DX6.1;IE5a etc.

[Fatebender]

Flea,

I have come to the conclusion that monitor love is one of those in the eyes of the beholder things. You apparently really like the invar shadow mask monitors and have good luck with Viewsonic. Sounds like there is a message there to me. CompUSA usually stocks Viewsonic, you should be able to do some comparison shopping there if you have a store in your area.

Someone would have to pry my monitor from my fingers. I am curious to see if the G400 could improve image and text quality on it at 1600x1200 from the G200, but I am at present doubting I could or would see a significant difference from the crisp, colorful 2D that I am lookin at now.


Luck to you in your purchase,

sTu




[This message has been edited by Fatebender (edited 07-23-99).]

[MarkV]

The P817 is definitely worth the money. I made a post asking the same question back in June and got a lot of positive replies, so I ordered one from buy.com for about $1350. It came at the end of June, and I've been in love with it since. The quality is awesome, and now that I have my MAX, I run at 2048x1536x32 at 75 Hz. Not only is the image quality perfect, but it beats the high end Iiyama, Sony, and Cornerstone monitors in max refresh rate and comes with some cool features like Host-On-Screen. This allows you to adjust the image dimensions from your PC via a USB connection instead of using the on screen display controls on the monitor itself. Of course, the P817 also has BNC connectors to keep the image quality crisp at the higher resolutions.

If you're looking for the best there is, and can afford to pay for it, the combination of the G400 MAX and the P817 can't be beat. It's nice to know that you can push both your video card and monitor to their limits without worrying that one can't keep up with the other. This is a match made in heaven!

Now, if Matrox would finally release the G400/PD5 compatible video tools for the Rainbow Runner G, my setup will be complete...

[nickk]

can the MAX run at 2048x1536x32 at 85 Hz? or it is limited to 75Hz only..

[Fleabus]

Thanks for the responses.

MarkV:
Looks like the P817 is at the top of my list. I've scoured the ViewSonic site for a manual (.pdf file etc) I could download. No luck. You would think that for that kind of money there would be one.
I'd like to know what the Host-On-Screen is all about before enabling USB in BIOS and losing an IRQ. I'm not specifically planning any other USB devices as yet. I see a lot of griping about USB not being "ready for Prime Time" and that the issues with it weren't fixed in Win98SE. Beyond what you said about H-O-Screen, there is precious little info about it or anything else for that matter on their site.

------------------
P2-450;256MB PC100;Asus P2B;16MB G200 Mystique 5.13,2.3; 12MB CL Voodoo2;CL SB Live Full(LW2.1); ViewSonic 17PS; 10GB Maxtor 7200RPM UDMA2;3.2GB Quantum FB ST UDMA2;CL 2X Encore;USR 5686 External Sportster V.90;Win98;DX6.1;IE5a etc.

[MarkV]

nickk: The MAX can run at 85 Hz, and even slightly higher, but the picture doesn't want to go edge-to-edge cleanly when you get up that high. Are you familiar with the advanced Powerdesk interface? When you start customizing the video settings for a particular resolution, you can change the values for refresh rate, front porch, back porch, sync, and polarity for both the horizontal and vertical aspects of the image. Or, you can use the arrow icons to stretch/shrink the dimensions of the picture, thereby affecting those same values. With a clean looking edge-to-edge picture, you bump into the pixel clock limit of 360 MHz well before you get to 85 Hz. If you change the size of the picture, the pixel clock gets smaller, so you can increase the refresh rate some more until you hit 360 MHz again. If you keep playing with this, you can reach at least 87 Hz or even 90 Hz, but the picture looks awful. There is banding and aliasing on the left and right edges of the screen, even using a BNC VGA cable. That's why I decided to settle with 75 Hz, which is still plenty for flicker-free operation, and the picture is crystal clear.

Fleabus: The P817 is a great choice, but don't expect a great manual even when you get the monitor! I was expecting a wealth of information with the huge manual that came with mine, only to find out that it contained 12 languages with only about 15 pages each. Still, the P817 is worth every penny. The Host-On-Screen software is not a necessity, but it works very well. I've had no problems with it, and I'm running Win98SE with the USB port sharing IRQ11 with the G400 MAX, a Sound Blaster Live!, and a 3Com NIC (ACPI is enabled). Basically, you connect the monitor to your USB port with the included cable, and this provides the Host-On-Screen functionality as well as a 4 port USB Hub on the back side of the monitor. The monitor box probably won't have the software included, but will have instructions telling you to get it from ViewSonic's web site (it's a 1.1 meg download). When you install it, you can access it from a shortcut or from an added tab in Display Properties. When it runs, it gives you the current resolution and refresh rates (H and V), and allows you to adjust the same settings you can adjust from the buttons on the front of the monitor. These are: contrast, brightness, position, size, zoom, pincushion, pinbalance, trapezoid, parallelogram, tilt, convergence, degauss, viewmatch, input select, moire reduction, memory recall, purity, top hook balance, top hook, bottom hook balance, bottom hook, and focus.

Hope this helps!

[nickk]

MarkV:
thanks for your detailed reply.

i tried that with my TNT before.. to push my monitor refresh at 1600x1200 to go a bit higher.. (78Hz.. instead of 75Hz)

but i wouldn't think of running 817 with 2048x1536 for my window desktop.. too small for my eyes.. i think 1800x1440 (or even 1600x1200) is the limit!

sigh... when can i get a 817 and a MAX.....hopefully by year end!! hehee

p/s: with PD5 u can customize resolution to any res u want. like 1200x1050...
with this alone, it's definately G400.

[MarkV]

The resolution customization is awesome! The resolutions you add not only work for the desktop, but also for games! It's so much better than the old Powerdesk. With the MAX and the P817, I found I was able to create any resolution between 316x180 and 2055x1886...very cool!

I just hope Matrox releases the new video tools soon for RRG compatibility. And that in future versions of Powerdesk, they don't disable this cool resolution customization feature!