ant, is this the official release?

[Olivier]

Ant,

G800 Q1 2001 !? But but but but Matrox (??) said that the G800 will be released when DirectX is released... And this is soon now

[Joel]

I think the rumor of the G800 being released when DirectX 8.0 releases is just that a rumor. Matrox has never stated that the G800 would be released with the release of DirectX 8.0. I think that rumor got started because the G800 will fully support DirectX 8.0.

I personally feel that the G450 will be nothing more than a G400MAX with some nice additions. I also feel that with the .18 micron die and the DDR memory that we should be able to overclock it better than we did the MAXs. As usual I may be wrong but this is my 2 cents worth.

Joel

[LAMFDTK]

Will the G450 be "faster" (hate that word) than the Max? And what will the MAX offer over the G450? I'm confused here, the Max would have to dropp in price big time if the G450 is a better card right??

[AJ]

"G800? I'd be thinking Q1 2001 myself"

Argh! Well that pushes the G800 out of my time horizon for buying a new Vid Card (which I will in Q4 2000 because I'll need more horsepower for Tribes2). Bummer. The G450 just isn't going to cut it.

From what I've read on SI and elsewhere, looks like there's a good chance the next 3dfx chipset won't be out till 2001 too!

That leaves, uhm, NVidia, or _maybe_ 3dfx, if the Napalm LC (.18um VSA-100) gets here in time. I won't go near ATI, I don't need a driver nightmare.

No wonder NVidia is ruling the roost, they're the only ones who are pushing out timely design updates.

Again, rats. I was really hoping that Matrox would field something decent within the timeframe that I'd be buying.

-AJ

[Ant]

Just remember that Matrox have never publicly said a word about the existence of the G800, everything so far has been rumour, although rumour generated by some very real Far Eastern leaks from Matrox Those rumours were along the lines of an April relase for the G450 and a late summer release for the G800, so seeing as we now have a Q3 relase slated for the first version of the Millennium G450 that makes my tiny little mind think Q1 2001 for the G800.

BUT they could be concentrating more on the G800 and you never know it could pop up any day now It's all rumour and speculation, they tell me next to nothing!

[Himself]

You never know, seems cards come up out of nowhere these days. I expect NVIDIA will be really to launch the Geforce 4 when the G800 shows up though.

[Pace]

So what's all this about the G800 in the drivers?

And if it is just a dual-G450 or something close then it could be made available soon.

And - this brings me to another point - does any dual-chip cards (whether AFR or SLI) support Windows 2000? And could this be a stumbling block for Matrox?

Paul.

[xortam]

Wouldn't be at all surprised to see the G800 come out in Q3 (or latest Q4) as a dual G450 chip card.

P.S. Let me correct that ... This may not be what is expected as the G800, but yet another video card offering (I don't know, maybe call it a G600?) which will provide increased performance. I would think that the "G800" would still need to attack the DX8/T&L market demand and perhaps FSAA. That's a lot to ask for with competitive performance and Matrox visual quality and that may take still longer, allowing the G600 to fill the gap.
Does Matrox have the engineering resources to do all of this work?

[This message has been edited by xortam (edited 15 June 2000).]

[Pace]

I was just referring to the G800 lines appearing in the new driver set - it looks like Matrox's next card (well after the G450!) will be called the G800 - there's no mention of a G600 - or were you just meaning that the G800 won't be a real next gen but more of a stop-gap before the super-duper G10K or something?

Paul.

[Olivier]

Forget the G800 for now, and tell me when the final w2k driver will be released for the G400 ??
I want to use all the power of my G400 Max before buying the G800 !

[xortam]

Your summation is correct Pace ... the G800 being noted in the driver would indicate that its the next card out and I'd speculate that it will be a dual G450 card. Matrox needs to come up with something substantive (more than the incremental G450) every 12 months and these multi-chip cards and faster memory subsystems seem like an economical way to deliver a performance boost. The multi-chip implementation may have been a design consideration in the G450 chip (developed in time frame when competitors were announcing such boards). I don't think simply adding HW T&L will offer Matrox enough to carry them forward. Though, with the upcoming DX8 release and past expectations, I think T&L is a requirement. DH and EMBM are good differentiators and have a real market demand and I think they'll be continued in future high-end Matrox graphic cards. FSAA seems to be really building up a demand as well. Matrox really has their work cut out for them to provide these features and performance along with their renowned quality and still be profitable. I doubt Matrox will be able to develop a new chip and deliver on all these expectations in a timely manner. I think the dual-chip board would help them get there

[Barbarella]

Dyre : i hope you're right but if i heard nothing about G800 in september i ...

... Well, i could take a id at Nvidia's forums

[xortam]

Hee, hee!!! I just read Ant's comments about the Fusion card ... http://www.murc.ws/

[Cmag]

You know, it would be really sad to see Matrox fall a generation behind. I really love my G400, even through all the little tiffs we've had. I can't tell you how much i'm not looking forward to giving up my dual head support and unparallelled image quality. There is no question that I will keep the G400 in the system until Tribes2 comes out, after that, I just don't think she's gonna cut it anymore. Unfortunately, with the anouncement that the G450 should be in Q3, I just don't think that Matrox will have a card that will compete in the gaming market in time.
I really don't think the "You'll find out about the next card when we release it." attitude is going to do them any justice this time. The truth is, if I had a pretty good idea (actually, if I had a half assed idea) of when the G800 was coming out, I might wait it out.

I've been here on the Murc forums for a long long time. I may not post much, but i'm always reading. I read your posts every day, and though I may not be a part of your lives, alot of you have become a part of mine. I have no urge to leave this forum.
So in a final plea:
Matrox, please give us just a tidbit of info! We will stand by you if you just let us know that you're going to come through for us.

Cmag

------------------
Consequences smonsequences, as long as I’m rich


[This message has been edited by Cmag (edited 16 June 2000).]

[Dyre]

Lets just all hope that my previous post in on target. I really hope so. 3dfx almost commited suicide by falling a little more than 1/2 a generation behind. I know 3dfx and matrox are totaly different in company structure and target group, but this doesnt make a difference to 'gamers' who spend alot of money (look at nVIDIA's stock!!!) and dont have much loyalty. Face it, MURC cant support Matrox's gaming cards by our selfs. Matrox can not afford to fall behind much more if they hope to be in the 'gamer' market. It they DONT plan on, would you please tell me Matrox, so i can get a GeForce2 or something, which really is the next best thing to a G400....

Oh well, i still have faith. REALLY!