G400max dual-head right for Windows NT?

[Nate]

I'm about to upgrade systems, and want to be sure I'm making the right moves. I'm not a gamer, and I use NT systems because as an illustrator (sometimes doing 3d, mostly high-end photoshop and fractal-painter work for magazines, books, etc.) I need the dual-processor setup.

My main interest in the G400max dual-head is the ability to operate 2 monitors side-by-side with the art on one and the palattes/tools on the other - superior quality in 2d is imperative.

When reading Matrox specs on the G400max, it says "limited dual-head capabilities in Windows NT" - - - exactly what does this "limited" mean. Will I get dual-monitor capabilities with NT or not?

Recommendations, ideas and suggestions very appreciated. (Please keep it simple - I'm a "doodler" - not a tekkie.)

Thanks!

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Nate Owens
artist/illustrator
webbit to: www.nateowens.com

[Satch]

Nate,
limited means that you just have little control on the way to set-up Dual-Head:
With Windows 98, you can set each monitor with it's own resolution/color depth.
With Windows NT however, you set a set a maximum resolution of 2560x1024, which actualy extends the desktop to 2 monitors, with a resolution per monitor of 1280x1024 and a maximum color depth of 16Bits: you will actually see you background image and the task bar being stretched to this resolution, where as with Windows98, you'll have a duplicate desktop.
You then have complete freedom within the application, to put wherever you want your stuff.
A couple of options can be set for controling how an application can spill onto the other monitor.
If you don't mind being limited the this resolution and color depth, then the G400 is the way to go.

Satch

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PII 412Mhz, ASUS P2B
196MB PC100 RAM
Adaptec 2940UW
2x IBM 6.4G UltraDMA, 1x IBM 2.1G SCSI Disks
G400Max, HP 21' & IBM P72 17'Monitors
Pionner SCSI 6xDVD
Sony Spressa CD-R
SB Live! Altec Lansing ACS48 & ACS95 Speakers
Iomega Zip Drive
ARCHIVE Python 4mm DAT
3Com FastEtherlink
Win 98 & Win NT4.0 SP4

[Zwisch]

If I may add... the DVDMAX function and will also not work since the DVD program cannot run... but the functionnality of what you want to do is 100% there.

Z

[Nate]

Hey - what a bunch!

Thanks for the info... certainly provides food for thought regarding my choices. The resolution is a factor I will have to think about....

I certainly came to the right place to find answers - - many thanks!

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Nate Owens
artist/illustrator
webbit to: www.nateowens.com

[RanDob]

Yes, you'll always find answers here, even if they're incorrect DualHead is not limited to 16 bpp; 32 bpp works just fine.

[Nate]

Thanks, RanDob... when you say...
"DualHead is not limited to 16 bpp; 32 bpp works just fine"... what resolution (image width and height) would you be using when at 32bpp?

Currently on a 21" (usning Windows NT, sp5) I sometimes use 1024x768 "true-color" 85hz.... if for instance I were to pair the 21" monitor with a 14" (using the 14" only to place tool palettes on)what would be the optimum setup in such a scenario? The Matrox spec sheets from the website don't seem to show anything regarding this.

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Nate Owens
artist/illustrator
webbit to: www.nateowens.com

[RanDob]

You probably shouldn't go any higher than 1024x768 on the 14", so you could do the dual 1024x768x32 mode, otherwise known as 2048x768x32. If you had a 17" as your small monitor, you could do 2560x1024x32 and not harm your eyesight. Having said that, though, tool palettes may even work fine for you at 1280x1024 on a 14". Small text will not.

[This message has been edited by RanDob (edited 13 October 1999).]

[Nate]

Thanks RanDob, and others. I'm about to embark on a rather large book illustration project and I think my present system would be rather wimpy to handle the size and number of graphics they are talking about (8x24" at 600dpi each)... the up-front deposit on the project will be sufficient to fix me up with a new system that will cook for a good while and the matrox card sounds like it would be good for the type of work I do. I really hate getting stuff that doesn't work and then trying to bail out - - so I do a lot of digging up front and annoying good folks in the process.

I appreciate the help

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Nate Owens
artist/illustrator
webbit to: www.nateowens.com