P650 vs G400 for htpc

[gt40]

I've currently got a trusty g400 running an XGA projector on it's second head using dvdmax ( currently thru Svideo connector)
The s/w uses harware overlay to display the on-screen channel display.
as you know there are certain limitations to the g400's capabilities - ie resolution and colour depth of primary display.
My question is will a P650 be better suited for my application - ie lower cpu loading during overlay, higher main screen colour depth and resolution etc.

[gt40]

Well after finally being able to get some info of the matrox site (could be either an Opera bug, or problems with the site) I've determined my minimum option would be the p750
are there any non-matrox alternatives. I've played briefly with a few nvidea and ATI cars, but was not impressed with the IQ on the Svideo out.

[Whirl-Secret]

I'm confused - You need 1 monitor and 1 projector? P650 can't do that?

[gt40]

Sorry, you're right. It does support TV-out.
With an optional Tv-out cable

[Whirl-Secret]

You probably know better than me but I have never been impressed with s-video, composite video etc quality compared to a nice juicy rgb cable. Can your projector take hd-15 input?

Here's a nice comparison of the Matrox crop: http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstatio...s_parhelia.cfm

You're right in that tvout is only an option for P650 there. Just as a side note, my P650 really cannot handle those new high-def (hdtv?) trailers that apple has. Too choppy - so maybe consider how long you want this new card to last. Gl.

[gt40]

The projector does take hd-15 as well as componet video.
I've tried using the hd-15, but found vertical banding lines thru the picture - possibly a refresh rate problem. Also, as the projector is 15ft plus from the pc at the moment, the svideo makes the most sense.
As for the stuttering - I would think the p650 should be more capable the my g400.
Maybe I'll have a go at one of those hidef trailer and see what it does with my g400.

[Fat Tone]

@GT40, have you tried the P650 with XP MCE? I have one laying around and fancy trying it in place of my 9250 in my HTPC (perhaps just as an interim) because I think the 9250 is faulty. Would the DX9 Beta drivers work with MCE? I can't find an answer that doesn't predate the latest drivers (Matrox say the DX8 ones don't support VMR so won't work). The P650 has 64MB RAM, so maybe its not worth trying anyway.

[lecter]

The latest drivers don't include any MCE-related functionality, no Matrox product will work with the MCE interface for videos.

[Fat Tone]

Thanks Lecter

[Mehen]

i've used a couple different projectors with just the regular ol' analogue VGA cable, looked great and had no problems with it.

[gt40]

Going to have a p650 this week, so I'll see how, if any, better it is than my g400.
I'll report back

[gt40]

Just got my p650
It did allow me to run my main monitor@1280x1024x32 AND still have video out on the second head.
It marginally increased performance during video out with overlay.
I never tried HD content with the G400, but my current setup allows me to watch 720p content with minimal 'hiccups'
One thing I did notice is that motherboard temperatures dropped between 5-8 degrees under similar tasks