which g550

[rboris]

i am in the unenviable position of having to have a new pc built because of a construction accident in the adjacent building which literally bombed my house -- through the party wall -- with layers and layers of soot.

the machine i am building to replace the damaged one will have a g550 now that I am using an eizo l685 and want to go "digital."

what is confusing me is all of the versions of the g550.

the matrox site lists:

Millennium G550
(G55+MDHA32DR)

Millennium G550
(G55+MDHA32DB)

Millennium G550
(G55MADDA32DB)

Then on EBAY someone is selling

G55MADDA32DR

Could someone please clarify what all these models are.

With appreciation.

[Chrono_Wanderer]

Millennium G550
(G55+MDHA32DR)
This is G550 one DVI-i + one analog HD15 RETAIL

Millennium G550
(G55+MDHA32DB)
This is G550 one DVI-i + one analog HD15 Buck (OEM) w/out TV-out cable and Matrox DVD Player CD. No hard copy manu, but you can get it off Matrox's website

Millennium G550
(G55MADDA32DB)
This is G550 DUAL-DVI (DVI-A AFAIK)! It uses a slplit cable to drive 2 DVI displays @ 1280x1024 max resolution... Buck (OEM) only i think... dunno what the contents are (well of course it comes with a G550 PCB of course )

[rboris]

thanks.

is the G55MADDA32DR the oem version of the dual dvi?

[az]

Correction Chrono: The DVI ports on the Dual-DVI G550 are DVI-I (else they couldn't drive digital flat panels).

rboris: The G55MADDA32DB is the bulk/OEM version. The 32DR is the retail/boxed version with all the goodies.

BTW, if you go digital anyway, there's no image quality difference between Matrox, nVidia, ATI, etc. - so if you'd compromise on performance to gain image quality with a G550, there's no reason for that. You can get the same image quality with EVERY DVI card. If you want a G550 for its dualHead capabilities, fo course, there's no alternative (except a P650/P750/Parhelia).

AZ

[rboris]

for the moment i will be using only one l685 (digital).

do you then need to plug the monitor cable into the dual matrox cable -or- can you just plug the monitor cable right into the card?

thanks.

[az]

You can plug the cable directly into the card if you only use one display. IF you use only one display, though, there are cheaper and faster cards available from other manufacturers (that is, if you don't have a reason for going Matrox - stability, driver quality, etc.), because graphics quality over DVI (digital) is the same for ALL cards.

AZ

[rboris]

stability is my priority -- don't play video games.

i do appreciate your quick responses.

[Chrono_Wanderer]

thx az for pointing out the correction

sorry rboris almost "harmed" you

@rboris: For the dualDVI version, I dunn but you may need a break out cable from Matrox call the time even when using only one DVI display. the cable comes with the bulk card. (and if there is a retail DualDVI G550 it will also come with one too).

I am not sure, but judging from the images I have seen on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2727150774&category=1244

ever considered getting an Asus? Their GeForce FX video suite lines come with DualDVI! Even the 5200 version does come with dual DVI. Sounds pretty promising to me.

[Chrono_Wanderer]

LOL nvm rboris just ignore me LOL hahaha... just follow what aw just said