P650 or ATI 9x00 ?

[thop]

I got myself a shiny new 20" TFT 1600x1200 (i love it! ), however for the best possible picture i want to get myself a DVI card ... even though my G400 does deliever a pretty good picture. But still i can see a very slight red shadow with black on white caracters when i look very closely. This was already the same with my 19" CRT running at 1600x1200.

So i've been thinking ... P650 or 9x00? The only thing that makes me want the P650 is Dual-DVI .. but i dont see myself getting a second TFT within the next few years. Same goes for the supposedly better image quality ... is there even a difference with DVI? And since i'm not so big into games anymore i might as well take the 9200 instead of the 9500 then no?

These are the three cards i've taken into consideration:

Sapphire Atlantis ATI Radeon 9500 64MB DDR(PGA) DVI/TV-out AGP8x bulk 154,9 €
Sapphire Atlantis ATI Radeon 9200 64MB DDR TVout DVI AGP8x 72,9 €
Matrox Millennium P650 DH Bulk
64MB DDR, 256GPU, AGP 8x, 2x DVI 162€

Thanks for any opinion. (PS. Might be this really belongs in General Hardware.)

[GNEP]

Do you want to do DH with a second screen (presumably your old one)?

[thop]

Nope. The old screen is going to some poor soul on eBay

[GNEP]

Then probably just go for the cheapest option

[Topha]

Yep, although you would increase the possibility of a Pitou by buying the Matrox.

And that would give you the option to get another DVI. Just try using both screens for a week, to see if you like it

[thop]

So there is no quality difference in ATI DVI and Matrox DVI is that right?
PS. 9200 is a tad faster than 8500 (but no DX9) right?
PPS. I'd certainly like to buy a Matrox .. i'm just having a hard time convincing myself

[Nowhere]

In that case, is passive cooling good enough reason?

[thop]

9200 has passing cooling as well ... or doesn't it?
Actually passive cooling is a MUST! Forgot to think about that ... so that already rules the 9500 out.

[Nowhere]

All 9200s I saw had active cooling I think.
Anyway probably you are also able to buy some large passive cooler.

edit: 9600 (non pro) has passive cooling - though it rather isn't out yet. Not here for sure.

[az]

There are no quality differences qith DVI, for ALL cards.

AZ

[Willems]

Where can you buy the P650 in germany? Can you order it already online??? Then I would be able to test it

[Indiana]

Originally posted by thop
PS. 9200 is a tad faster than 8500 (but no DX9) right?

No, the Radeon 9200 is a bit slower than the Radeon 8500.
The 9200 simply is a 9000 with AGP8x (which does, exactly - ...nothing... ).

If the card has to be passively cooled, I'm afraid you would have to choose the R9200 or an R9000 - or even a GF FX5200 non-Ultra.

[diewlei]

an unenviable position i am currently in too.
now using intel extreme graphics.
i am waiting for the p650 while reconsolidating my choices.

looking at the low prices and feature-set of the entry-level radeon cards and also your usage of DVI and seldom playing of games, i suppose the choice is rather clear - the 9200.

[Indiana]

Just take a look at the Radeon 9000 before you buy the 9200. It's cheaper than the 9200 and you really don't miss anything compared to the 9200 - the latter simply has AGP8x functionality over the 9000, which is nothing more than a point to list for the spec-sheet.

[thop]

I'm joining the dark side again and will buy a 5200 It was faster in all benchmarks i saw ... price is the same.