Can G400MAX reach 1280x1024 or 1600x1200

[anani]

Can G400MAX reach 1280x1024 or 1600x1200
on a ViewSonic PF790, PT775???
On a BX mobo with Windows98SE????

Your comments and recommendations will be highly appreciated.

[Corwin_Brute]

Well, the G400Max's RAMDAC is perfectly capable of handling these resolutions (with perfect refresh rates), so the monitor is the limiting factor with this card (BTW, the card has the best image quality available at these resolutions). The operating system and mobo have nothing to do with it.

If your question was related to 3D game resolution, I tend to think that the fill-rate is to low for playable framerates at these resolutions.

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Corwin the Brute

[anani]

Thank you for your comments!
I think that many cards are able to reach such resolution, but have you been able to
successfully reach that resolution!!!
Without any problems!?
Matrox technical support have only one answer when a problem occurs!! Check your monitor INF if that didn't work, select SVG Monitor
Which will run at 50Hz refresh rate so where it the advantage of Matrox????

[Maggi]

My Vanilla G400 goes up to 2048x1536x32bpp@66Hz ...

[Corwin_Brute]

Thanks to Matrox excellent RAMDAC quality, any G400 (vanilla or Max) can reach these resolutions. I don't know about your monitor, but on my system (G400 Max, Iiyama 901HT 22", Nokia 47Za 17"), I can display in 1600x1200@75Hz on the main monitor, and 1152x854@75Hz on the secondary monitor.

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Corwin the Brute

[Frankfurt]

On my KDS Avitron 17" as well as my ACER G772 17" monitor, i can easily reach 1280x1024 on both monitors with no problems

[Darin]

Are you saying that you can't reach these resolutions even though they are supported by your monitor? If so, I have a similar situation: My monitor supports 1600x1200 @ 87hz, & the refresh rates go up considerably as the resolution goes down. For some reason, the G400 thinks it can only handle 85hz, regardless of the resolution. I don't think it's the monitor's .inf file, because my previous video card detected the proper modes fine. With the g400 custom monitor settings in the display properties section (in advanced, I think), you can set any custom refresh rates & resolutions you want to, regardless of the monitor you have. Just be careful you don't exceed your monitors capabilities. The matrox card does have a high quality ramdac, and can easily support the resolutions you want at high refresh rates, it just seems that sometimes the G400 has a hard time realizing on it's own that the monitor can support them.

Another thing you might want to look at: are you sure you have it hooked up to the primary connector? I don't think the secondary display connector has the high resolution & refresh capabilites the main ramdac has.

[This message has been edited by Darin (edited 14 April 2000).]

[Jorden]

I don't think it's the monitor's .inf file, because my previsou video card detected the proper modes fine

Ecuse me, but it isn't your videocard that detects these resolutions on its own, but Windows as well. And Windows needs those .inf files to set up your videocard's resolutions. So to setup your desktop to 1280x1024 or 1600x1200@16, 24 or 32 bit you will need the monitor's inf file (Let that be the one provided by the manufacterer!!)

Jorden.

[Thundrchez]

You can use the current version of Matrox PowerDesk drivers to tweak and define your own monitor settings. For example, with the stock Microsoft w98 inf files, my ViewSonic G800 does not think it can do anything above 1280x1024. Tweaking the monitor definitions through PowerDesk I can tell it that it can do 1600x1200@65Hz, which my monitor is perfectly capable of.

[The PIT]

It may be also worth visiting the manufacters web site and seeing if they've got any updated drivers which are in fact inf files.

[Darin]

Jorden,
I may not have worded my post properly, but what I was trying to say was with my previous video card (an STB TNT1), my refresh choices reflected the limitations of my monitor (85hz@1600x1200, 100hz@1280x1024, 120hz@1024x768, etc.), as long as they didn't exceed the video card's capabilities. After I uninstalled the TNT, & installed the G400, & even re-detected the monitor, my available refresh settings were 85hz across the board.

I don't know how Windows uses the data from the inf files, but it seems like it should simply look at the driver file for both the monitor & vid card, then give you the options that BOTH are capable of. I no longer had the higher refresh options after installing the G400, even though both are capable of higher refresh rates at the higher resolutions. That would lead me to believe that there was a problem with the G400's inf file, but if that were the case it would seem that everyone should have this problem.

[anani]

Everybody thank you very much for your feedback.
Darin I highly appreciate your through
details which really was what i'm looking for, I should agree with you that G400 is indeed crippled since there's a problem reaching a refresh rate above the 85Hz!
Even when the monitor .inf file support it!
I really don't understand that myself and
on Matrox forum they just have no knoweledge
of their products! Only old answers that answers no problem but add more problems to our problem! Simply!!! How can we achieve a high resolution on the G400 Max without having to blame Windows and the Monitor!
I have tested TNT2 and ATI and both reach high resolution that are very good for the eyes!!! We spend hours on the computers and higher resolution makes it easy on our eyes!
that's why we invest in high quality monitors! Why G400 can't reach higher than 85HZ????

Thanks all

[MXR4LIFE]

anani , The G400MAX is not broken. And the Techs here and at Matrox know what they are doing. It is you however who needs some important information. There is no reason to run your monitors refresh rate above 85 Hz! The reason you see monitor specs higher than 85Hz is to show that they can do it and what the limit is. But if you read your monitors instruction manual you will see that they do not recomend running it above 85Hz, the VESA Ergonomic modes. Color saturation goes down as frequency goes up so the colors will become dull and washed out. Research has shown that there is no documented advantage to running your refresh rate above 85Hz, that is why Microsoft, Matrox, and your monitor mfg wrote drivers to limit it at 85Hz. If you want to, you can wind that monitor up, but it may cut it's life span as you do. I say leave it alone. I just got a Princeton EO2010 today. It's a 21" that can do 1600x1200 @ 93Hz, but 85Hz looks just fine with my G400MAX.


To Add, I went to ViewSonics website to confirm this, did you? At the bottom of this FAQ, do you see any refresh rate over 85Hz?
http://www.viewsonic.com/desk/QNATECH.HTM
Sample Factory Preset Timings:
(PT771)
Timing Horiz. Freq. (kHz) Vert. Freq. (Hz) Polarity (H/V)
1. VESA® 640 x 400 31.47 70.00 -/+
2. Ind VGA 640 x 480 31.47 80.00 -/-
3. VESA 640 x 480 37.50 75.00 -/-
4. VESA 640 x 480 43.28 85.00 -/-
5. VESA 800 x 600 35.13 56.00 +/+
6. VESA 800 x 600 46.87 75.00 +/+
7. VESA 800 x 600 53.68 85.00 +/+
8. VESA 1024 x 768 48.34 60.00 -/-
9. VESA 1024 x 768 60.00 75.00 +/+
10. VESA 1024 x 768 68.68 85.00 +/+
11. VESA 1280 x 1024 63.96 60.00 +/+
12. VESA 1280 x 1024 79.96 75.00 +/+
13. VESA 1280 x 1024 91.12 85.00 +/+
14. VESA 1600 x 1200 75.00 60.00 +/+
15. VESA 1600 x 1200 87.50 70.00 +/+
16. Mac® 640 x 480* 35.00 67.00 -/-
17. Mac 832 x 624* 49.71 75.00 -/-
18. Mac 1024 x 768* 60.24 75.00 -/-
19. Mac 1152 x 870* 68.65 75.55 -/-
* All Macintosh® frequencies are Sync-On-Green or Composite Sync

If this does not convince you, I suggest writing ViewSonics Tech department and see what they think of running the monitor to it's maximum Vert Hz. And come back to report what they say.


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"If your still stock,... ya' best stay on the porch"




[This message has been edited by MXR4LIFE (edited 15 April 2000).]

[Liquid Snake]

I can run 1600x1200@75hz (max res and refresh for my Sony 400PS) without problems. There is no point in running above 85hz (unless you are benchmarking and don't want to turn off VSYNC). On my monitor, running above 85hz makes the text blurrier and a lot harder to read.

[HDOutfitter]

G400Max pairs up with Sony F400 at 1600x1200 85Hz. Great image stability and text clarity. 75Hz is useable but scree image is not as stable as 85Hz.