the 256 mb version, CAD or gaming ?

[Admiral]

Since the 128 mb version of Parhelia is supposed to be priced at around 400$, the 256 version should be over 500$ (500-800$ ?).
Now, most games do just fine with 64mb today, 128mb should be more than enough, especially since this beauty of a card has a 20mb/s bandwidth that is also managed by that Depth-Adaptive Tessellation thingy.
But 256mb ? what would make anyone pay the extra bucks for that (from a gaming perspective) ?
The fact that it's a Matrox card and it would be a good 2 year investment for a card ?
Maybe, but there will probably be a new version of the chip, with a shrinked die, by the end of the year, that will have all the extra that was left out in the first.
So, whomever bought the 256 high priced version will find the card dethroned in 6 months by a card from the same manufacturer ?
That's begining to sound just like Nvidia.

SO, will this be a gaming or a CAD board ?

[Kruzin]

I think the 256 meg cards will be more expensive than you are estimating. Rumors indicate a "Pro" level of the card that will include more features, more RAM, higher speeds, and be targeted at 3D workstations. We'll possibly see a 64/128 meg "vanilla" variety, and a 128/256 meg "pro" series of Parhelia.

I don't think we will see too many of the "pro" beasts show up around here. I think most people will be going for the 64 meg "vanilla" cards, with a fair number of 128 meggers in here. The 128/256 meg "pro" cards will be more rare...

[Parhelia Pro256]

Well, we'll just have to see about that!

[Paulr]

I've got a feeling that the 256MB version is going to be really expensive too.
I may be able to get my hands on one, but it would be purchased in for workstations at work, they are fed up of their current cards.

I shall be looking at the 128MB version for home, although there is nothing to stop the two cards accidently being "mixed up" and the 256MB version ending up at home

[KvHagedorn]

more RAM, higher speeds

This can't hurt for gaming, though it might make the cards prohibitively expensive to justify buying one just for that. I'm sure our resident CAD people will give the games a whirl on their pro cards if they get them, and let us know the difference.. right Ken?

[Admiral]

Should I ask for a third option in the poll ?

"both"

[Kruzin]

Well, I don't know what exact card I'll be getting (not even sure what flavors will be offered)...but it will definatly be used for CAD during the day, and games at night. I know I won't be getting multiple cards, so I won't be able to compare one variety vs. another. Sure hope I end up with a high-end model though...

[bootmeup]

I preorder the G400Max from Matrox when it 1st came out and still have not upgraded, so it looks like maybe it about time to upgrade. This time I think I will wait till it out and the price maybe settle down a little and see if it comes out in a Max version, as I have waited this long already, I am in no hurry.

Plus i hope you guys are wrong about the price, $400.00 - $800.00 is a lot of money for a video card.

[ChronosZero]

256MB may sound exciting for a video card, but you're not going to see a fantastic improvement for gaming with such a beast. The reason is pretty simple and was hinted at original post. Only a small percentage of gamers have high end cards and the game programmers know that. It's too much time and effort to make a game that take full advantage of cards that only a few people actually own. They need to spend their time making sure that the majority of their custormers can enjoy the game.

Sure, one or two games might be able to use all that memory coming out in the near future... but that's speculation at this point. Since there are only a few cards that have 128MBs now and none that have 256, no games out now are going to offer you anything more.

[Dr Mordrid]

Plus i hope you guys are wrong about the price, $400.00 - $800.00 is a lot of money for a video card.

NOT FOR A CAD CARD!!

Check the 3D Labs cards. My Oxygen GVX-1 Pro ran over $500 USD and a WildcatII currently runs about $1500 USD, which is much better than the $2000+ it cost a few months ago. Add a genlock and you're up to $3500 USD

AFAIK the WildcatIII can only be had in $$$$ workstation bundles.

If the upper end Parhelia models are good at OpenGL/CAD/modeling and cost anything near a kilobuck they'll sell a ton of 'em.

Dr. Mordrid

[R.Carter]

Depends on if the 256MB flavour requires an AGP Pro slot or not.

[blacklotus]

I agree...splurged some nice dough on a Oxygen GVX420 last year on impulse...(the box was sooo cool looking......promised myself to stop doing such things now, after doing the impulsive thing on a Obsidian X24 a couple of years back as well...double )

(btw, my Obsidian X24 is still a brand new virgin un-used card fresh in the box...triple ...at least the GVX420 has some mileage to its name...)

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid


NOT FOR A CAD CARD!!

Check the 3D Labs cards. My Oxygen GVX-1 Pro ran over $500 USD and a WildcatII currently runs about $1500 USD, which is much better than the $2000+ it cost a few months ago. Add a genlock and you're up to $3500 USD

AFAIK the WildcatIII can only be had in $$$$ workstation bundles.

If the upper end Parhelia models are good at OpenGL/CAD/modeling and cost anything near a kilobuck they'll sell a ton of 'em.

Dr. Mordrid