Pathetic check before choosing P650 over P750 or ATI

[shanebrooks]

P650? P750? ATI?

Im looking to upgrade the ol' G450. at 1280x1024 my G450 is a little muddy. I run 1280x960 X 2 right now - just OK.

would a mid-end ATI card get me the same 2D quality as the P650?


--fine print--

Dual 19" CRT monitors. rarely game, no 3D, no Video

- only text, web coding, email browsing etc 2D junkie is me I guess.

I cant find any compelling reason to choose a P750 64MB over a P650 64MB card apart from Matrox listing the 2D and 3D performance as a little faster.. faster clock in the P750? - cant see a use for a third head right now. Are ATI up there yet for the 2D at 1280x2048 (dual)

I looked around this forum a fair bit but few people seem to have the P650.

[K6-III]

Few people have the P650 because availability has been low for a while...

For what you describe, the P650 is PERFECT.

And no, ATI is still behind in 2D....

[az]

... especially on the 2nd head.

AZ

[shanebrooks]

talked me into it.... now for the price it looks like I'll have to import from the USA. AU$380 is just too high.

[Sasq]

thats better then here, its close to $380USD to get it off the shelves here.

HK are you listening?

[The PIT]

Re: Pathetic check before choosing P650 over P750 or ATI

Originally posted by shanebrooks
P650? P750? ATI?

Im looking to upgrade the ol' G450. at 1280x1024 my G450 is a little muddy. I run 1280x960 X 2 right now - just OK.

.

G450 muddy at that res I'd check your monitors.
ATI cards are still behind in 2D quality.

[Zao]

$380 USD?

Here the 650 is available for $230 USD, which includes 25% VAT.
It's the bulk version though, but does that matter?

[GNEP]

There is only a bulk P650 AFAIK.

[Sasq]

sorry, probably closer to $320 ~340USD. Parhelia from most stores is still just under $500USD - of course we have a pricewatch equivelent, but most people don't like ordering online.

Dan

[Zao]

I've got to order online, haven't got a decent computer shop in the nearest 400 km or so.

And we have the lazyness factor too, just click on buy, get the stuff delivered to the closest postal service place, in my case the local convenience store, where you pay cash for it.

[shanebrooks]

Re: Re: Pathetic check before choosing P650 over P750 or ATI

Originally posted by The PIT
G450 muddy at that res I'd check your monitors.
ATI cards are still behind in 2D quality.

1280x960@85Hz is sharp. 1280x1024@85Hz is not so sharp (two heads) and to me 1200x1600 is not acceptable. Many people would be dead happy but Im pretty fussy as I stare at the damn things upwards of 12 hours a day. 2 x Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 900u 19" Natural Flat trinitron tubes and still the best I have laid eyes on. If the P650 can put the crisp edge back into the higher resolutions that is enough for me.

[dwood]

Where are those prices coming from? They all seem a bit wonky......

Just checked the shopmatrox.com site, and they're listing the P650 and P750 respectively at:

US$169 and US$235 for US sales
Euro 169 and Euro 249 for European sales
C$235 and C$326 for Canadian sales

I've found retail version listed even cheaper (C$) at some of the Toronto area shops.

[brokenwallet]

With shippingwithin US, the P650 is closer to US$180 from Matrox. But if you're in the US, you can find a couple online vendors on pricewatch.com selling them around US$165 shipped (one close to $160, a few closer to $170).

[Sasq]

dwood, for me those prices are me walking into a PC shop and looking at the price tag. As for where look at the location under my avatar.

Dan

[Taylormade]

I just purchased an ATI Radeon 9600 Pro as an upgrade from a G400 Dual head. It was immediately obvious that the ATI still can't compare when it comes to 2D quality.

Can anyone recommend a card that would be good for gaming that does have quality 2D? I just don't think the Parhelia is worth 2X the money over the 9600. For the difference, I'd keep the ATI card and have much better 3D performance. If they were equal price, I'd pick the Parhelia.

I am not a big game player, however, so perhaps the P750 would be a good alternative. The few reviews I've found on this card seemed to imply that the 3D performance was pitiful but I'm sure it's much faster than the g400.