Advice on Matrox for slow machine

[Stanislav]

I have a Dell 300mhz\128mb\AGP\stb4mb\17inches monitor, and mostly play an action games and do some graphics. I like quality of images in Matrox's cards.

Which card better to buy: G400-16mb, or G400-32? Or even G400MAX? Also, is this a possible to find a single output card - G400? I don't really need a second monitor.

I'm not going to upgrade my PC in this year, so all I want to improve a video.

Or should I wait for N10 or VooDoo4?

P.S. I just saw G400-32mb for $159 at BUY.COM + $10 s&h. Is this a good deal?

Sorry my English. I hope you got the idea of this post. Thank you all in advance and have you all guys a great weekends!

[motub]

Hi Stanislav,

I can answer to a couple of your questions...

If you go to www.pricewatch.com , and type "G400" in the search field, you'll see that the buy.com price for a single-head G400 32MB is about right...the 16MB seems to run about $50 less.

From previous threads, the consensus seems to be that your particular needs would be better served by getting a non-MAX G400 and overclocking it (if you want). Someone else might be able to explain whether or not you should spend the extra money for a 32MB card.

I think we've pretty much determined that if you want to wait for either of the other cards you mentioned, you'll be waiting till at least Christmas (and probably longer), and it sounds like your needs may well have changed by then...

Hope this helps.


------------------
Holly
Who got rid of her V2, because her Soyo 5EMA, K6-2 333 not o/c, 256MB PC100, Mill. G200 8MB SGRAM, MX300, Win98 works plenty good enough...'til she's can get the G400/Athlon rig, anyway...[drool, drool... ]










[This message has been edited by motub (edited 08-05-99).]

[Wombat]

If you play action games, other people on this forum report a significant speed difference between 16MB and 32MB versions. I can't think of any names, but maybe someone will come out of the woodwork and speak up.

-Wombat

[Jorden]

Plus, there's a G400 16Mb Single Head (so only one monitor connection) and a G400 32Mb Single Head version available.

Jorden.

[Stanislav]

O'K! But which card - 16 or 32mb? May be somebody know the right answer?

Thank you!

[Stanislav]

And also some cards have abbreviations "OEM" or "bulk". Is it O'K to buy this type?

[Jorden]

I'd go for the 32Mb card... I've searched for the specs you need to run the G400 card with, but couldn't find them... If you have an AGPx2 slot you would be running fine...

Minimum what someone like Joelg is running it in is an AMD K6-2/300, and that was for the Dual Head version.

Jorden

[Agent31]

IMHO, I wouldn't spend out on the 32MB card, I seriously doubt you'll see that much of a performance differnce.

[motub]

Stanislav, forgive me if you know this already...

OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer" and means the same thing as bulk, which is that these are parts sold to companies that build systems to order, rather than the general public. Those are "retail" parts, with the nice box and all...in fact, OEM parts are also called "white box" because that's what they come in.

They are usually the same parts, but in this case, you have to buy OEM parts, because those are the single-head versions of the G400. AFAIK, there are no single-head retail G400s.

Buying OEM is cheaper because the dealer basically sells them at wholesale cost, but be a little careful. OEM parts can have the following disabilities:

-shorter or nonexistant warranty, and sometimes warranty (such as it is) is from dealer, not the manufacturer (Matrox).
-no bundled software, and sometimes no drivers, even!
-no manual

[speaking loudly and firmly, on purpose]

ONLY BUY OEM FROM A DEALER YOU KNOW AND TRUST!

READ WARRANTY INFORMATION VERY VERY CAREFULLY!

READ THE SPECIFICATIONS (what you will get when you buy) VERY VERY CAREFULLY!

RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY, COMPARE SEVERAL DEALERS AND GET A SENSE OF WHAT'S OUT THERE AND WHAT IT'S SELLING FOR BEFORE YOU GIVE UP YOUR MONEY!

And, as always, IF A PRICE LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT IS!!! (you'll get gypped, somehow).

Buying OEM is fine, usually, I do it all the time, myself. Just be aware that you give up certain perks (warranties) and such, and that you have less protection from unscrupulous dealers.

Don't mean to scare you, but I wouldn't want to see you get ripped off.

-----------------
Holly

[Jorden]

Adding to this...

OEM has the following disabillities:

- Not all the specs you get on a retail card.

What do I mean with that?? Well, it might not have the DVD chip, for instance..

My MGA-G200 OEM doesn't have TV-Out... but I never missed it...

Jorden.

[Stanislav]

Yes, you right! I'm decided to buy 32mb card. I'm going to put am order today and don't know from which seller to buy? I put "g400 32mb single head" in searching field and got about 20 places - from NY to AL and CA. I live in NY... Sorry, if my questions are looks silly, but I don't have too much experience with buying cards on-line.
May be somebody can recommendate to me some dealer?

Thank you all in advance.

[Joelg]

Adding to what Jorden said. I curently run a G400 32MB DH on an AMD K6-2/400 and it does, IMO, very well. I have tried it with an AMD K6-2/300 and even though OGL was alittle bit on the slow side, that's AMD for you, D3D was very good. And 2D is the best there is no matter what you have or get.

Joel

[motub]

Hi again,

Stanislav, you can see from my profile I'm in Brooklyn NY, but I'd never suggest going to an actual store...first off you pay too much, plus you have to pay tax!!

Of the dealers that came up on Pricewatch, I have bought from Allstar and they were great; I've also heard this from others. I'd recommend them without hesitation.

The other one I know of but haven't bought from is Clifford Technologies; I have them bookmarked and I'm looking for an opportunity to buy something from them (I'm a firm believer in the concept of 'buying power').

And there *is* always buy.com; I've heard that they tend to mispost prices, or have less inventory than they advertise, but their prices are very good and I've never had a problem with them. They might be considered a little shady but by no means do they rip you off, IMO.

I'd suggest you trot over to www.bizrate.com ; this is a site that posts customer ratings of dealers...when you buy something from a dealer who participates in their surveys, a pop up window appears asking you to rate the seller, then they e-mail you to return and complete the rating process when your order has arrived. I've participated in the surveys on behalf of several hardware and software dealers.

To check prices, you might also try www.zdnet.com/computershopper/ , or
www.shopper.com/ , both very reliable organizations (ZDNet and C|Net) which may give you a greater range of dealers. I'd search them as "G400 OEM", though...

[Actually, I notice that C|Net doesn't list the single head G400 and Computer Shopper is too much of a pain to find anything...try Streetprices.com/ instead, they do have listings for the single head..PriceWatch is still the best source in many ways, though.]

Sorry this took so long to post, had to check my facts...

---------------------
Holly

[Kruzin_K]

One other note on the SingleHead models. The do not support the RainbowRunner-G Video Editor.

Just so ya know

[Stanislav]

Thank you motub very much! Thank you Jorden, joelg, Kruzin_K and other guys!

You are all sounds like real pros and Matrox shuld appreciate this:O) May be send you G800 as a gift:O)?

Your advices were really helpful and I'll try to order.

Thank you again!