I am a new G400 MAX owner, few question...

[JediJ]

Hey everyone, I just finished builing my new computer and it includes the G400 MAX. Too bad it's not the 4X compatible one, but I guess it doesn't matter since many are saying that it won't make a huge difference.

Now, the drivers that it came with are really old, so I'm gonna upgrade, but should I update to the new 5.5 Beta or the 5.41? Will the TurboGL work with the beta one?

I'm also wondering how to check my memory speed. I looked at the chips on the card, but I can't seem to find anything that says X.Xns. What should I be looking for?

Also, should I attempt to overclock this card, I mean it's already high as it is right?

Any other recommendations and help would be greatly appreciated thanks!

Jin

[paulcs]

I wouldn't install relatively buggy beta drivers until I was comfortable with the board. Use 5.41. If you're using a non-Intel chipset, and you have problems, try 5.30.

Matrox recommends that you open the AGP aperture in your BIOS to 256.

It's hard to give any other advice, since you didn't post your system's specs. We're flying blind, so to speak.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Kruzin]

Which drivers depends on what your system is. Most likely the 5.41 or 5.30. What kind of mobo/processor are you using? The betas are not terribly stable yet. There is no big advantage with them at this point.

Your memory speed is the last number on the memory chip -6 or -5. If it's a Max, it will be -5 (5.5ns).

Maxs usually o/c a little, but you won't gain all that much performance.

I recommend you enjoy your new rig in all it's G400Max glory

[JediJ]

wow, thanks guys, that was quick..

well, here are my specs:

Abit BE6-II
PIII 550E FC-PGA (can't wait to try overclocking this )
I-Will Slocket II
128MB PC133
Aureal Vortex2 Superquad OEM
US Robotics 56K PCI OEM

anything else you need to know?

one more question. I'm debating whether I should install the Hollywood+ decoder card? What do you think? Will the image quality degrade a bit because of the pass through cable? my specs are definitely enough to just run software decoding. I might just sell it, i don't know.

Jin

[paulcs]

Nice system. Try 5.41. They work fine with Intel chipsets.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Goc]

Hi JediJ

Only use you could have from a Hollywood + card is it's coaxial digital output for audio, if you own a Dolby digital processor. If you have SB Live with a digital audio out... scratch the Hollywood+
G400 playing DVD's on second head is crystal clear and there's really no need for an extra card in your machine..

[JediJ]

The only thing is that if I do install the Hollywood+ card, then I'll be able to do other things while watching a movie in a window. With software decoding, I won't be able to do anything besides just watching the movie. I really have no use for tv out or anything like that, since I have a home theater setup already with a dvd player, receiver, etc.

Well, to give you an update, I installed the 5.41 version with the newest TurboGL and everything seems to be working okay so far. I also tried overclocking the cpu, and I've got it at 133Mhz bus, giving me 732Mhz CPU I need to do some more testing though to see if its stable, looks okay to me so far Woohoo!!

Jin

[paulcs]

Good for you!!

In a few weeks, I'm looking to pick up a 600 MHz Flip Chip Coppermine. I'm looking for a somewhat easier overclock.

We look forward to seeing your benchmarks.

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[GrimHippi]

With the G400MAX I output my DVD's to my TV and I'm still able to light to medium tasks in Win98 with the DVD Player minimized(Surf, read newsgroups, create Word Docs) without any real noticeable skipping in the DVD playback. Does the Hollywood decoder improve on that and can the Hollywood be ported out to the TV?