quiet and fast video cards for non-gaming purpose

Sonarcade · Post by **Sonarcade** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

I work with audio and I was told that screen redraws can be severely compromised with the wrong video card so I thought I could opt for the geforce2, which I was told wasn't that impressive when it comes to 2d purposes, which is the type of environment I'm going to work with mostly. Instead I was told to go for the matrox g550 especially for its dual screen feature. Can anyone shed some light on this, because I haven't gotten a good sampling of opinions.
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Lliam · Post by **Lliam** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

If you look at the Quiet PCs built for Audio, the Matrox g550 seems to be ubiquitous. These seem to be the cards to go for if you want quiet ( the G550 doesn't have an onboard fan) twin monitor output. When you're working with Audio you just can't get enough display real-estate! (mixer on one monitor track pane in the other).
 I am planning the move to either the G550 or their new card which offers 3 monitor support and better 3D performance. I will have to get the specs of their cooling fan on the later card before I commit myself.
 
 What do the rest of you guys think about the G550?
 
 
 
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Post by **MikeC** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

I've been a Matrox user since the very first "millenium" series cards, going back half a dozen years or more. Currently own a G550, G400 Max, and G200. The 2D detail, resolution and speed are second to none. They are all great in this regard. The dual-monitor software is the best -- tried both Nvidia and ATI versions about a year ago & bailed immediately. They were terrible in comparison. (Might be improved since then, though)
 
 Between the 550 and 400 Max, there's little performance difference. 3d games I couldn't tell you much about, as I don't play any. I don't think they're any better that a Geforce MX2 card in this regard. The G400 is faster (including for 3D) than all other Matrox cards because its GPU/memory runs at higher speed -- except the Parhelia, which is so overpriced, unfortunately.
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Sonarcade · Post by **Sonarcade** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

>>Between the 550 and 400 Max, there's little performance difference.
 
 So would you say that opting for a 400 Max is a better choice because it runs cheaper than the 550 and is faster? I also take it that the 400 Max isn't the same as the g400 with a dual head feature. How about the g450? Is the performance on that significantly different from both of them? Thanks.
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Post by **MikeC** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

400 Max is discontinued. Was the most expensive till the Parhelia. Matrox sells refurbished ones sometimes, from their site. It's the fastest they made till now. There's little to choose between other 400, 450 and 550 models; pretty much the same, maybe they improved their own production costs/efficiency, as the boards seem to have got a bit smaller.
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Sonarcade · Post by **Sonarcade** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 2:32 pm

>>There's little to choose between other 400, 450 and 550 models; pretty much the same, maybe they improved their own production costs/efficiency, as the boards seem to have got a bit smaller.
 
 Since I seem to agree with you on that according to the reading I've done, I'll probably opt for the 400 seeing as how I'm on a budget and a little difference isn't really worth paying an extra $50 for. Thanks. <IMG SRC="modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">
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RTBoyce · Post by **RTBoyce** » Tue Sep 03, 2002 5:06 pm

I'm new to this forum, so this is my first post.

I'm starting to plan my next quiet computer and I've been looking at video cards based on the ATI Radeon 9000. These don't seem to have fans, unlike the PRO version.

They have full support for DirectX 8 (unlike the original poster, I am interested in games), but they also have dual monitor and TV output, hardware acceleration for DVD and other features. They seem reasonably priced too. Ebuyer is selling the Sapphire 1024-2192-03-SA for £66 inc VAT.

powdersurge · Post by **powdersurge** » Fri Sep 13, 2002 7:22 am

About the Radeon 9000 (not PRO)

I've seen pics of these with and without a fan. The Hercules/Guillemot model I've seen (Hercules 3D Prophet 9000 128Mb) has one apparently.

Can you safely run this card w/o the fan? Is the Hercules model perhaps o/c-ed and therefore makes just-another-noisy-fan mandatory, or is it just a cosmetic touch to make it appear fast?

I must admit that this gfx card looks indeed incredibly nice due to its attractive mix of crisp 2D, 3D performance, DVI interface, dual head, smooth DVD playback, tv-out, ..

Beyonder · Post by **Beyonder** » Fri Sep 13, 2002 2:05 pm

I totally agree with other posters - if you're not interested in gaming, a Matrox card is the ONLY way to go. Hell, I have an old G200 card (I think that's what it's called - it's an old 4-meg Matrox card) that STILL has better looking 2d than any other card in the house, including Voodoo cards, Nvidia (blech), and an old trident card.

Cheap.....razor sharp.....great dual monitor....it's really a no brainer. If the Parhelia was cheaper, I'd already have one.

powdersurge · Post by **powdersurge** » Fri Sep 13, 2002 2:39 pm

Every now and then I feel the need to shoot and kill too

I have a GeForce to fullfill my fragging needs, but must admit that the image quality is not on par with my medieval G200. Let's hope Matrox marketing brings us a Parhelia VE (without fan); otherwise I might have to wait a long time until a refurbished one finally fits in my budget.

The Sapphire card has the same spec (250/200) as the Hercules and ATI reference board.

Sapphire (HS):

ATI (fan):

hmsrolst · Post by **hmsrolst** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:15 am

I use lots of Matrox Millenium cards. The G550's and the G400 dualheads are passively cooled, but both G400 Max's that I have have fans.

teklan · Post by **teklan** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 6:40 am

i use a Geforce4 MX420, extremely fast, very cheap, tv-out and no fan!!

davidhooper · Post by **davidhooper** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 9:27 am

Unfortunately my GF2 440MX takes a noisy fan. I took it off but temps shot thru the roof!
If that helps ;0

kamal · Post by **kamal** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 2:45 pm

MSI makes a fanless geforce 3 ti 200, model ms-8851. I just ordered one today. It will be a huge upgrade from my tnt2.

gmat · Post by **gmat** » Wed Sep 18, 2002 2:42 am

Matrox makes passively cooled, excellent 2D cards. Try the G4x0. Got a G450 at work, it's perfect.

quiet and fast video cards for non-gaming purpose

Radeon 9000

Parhelia Lite

fanless geforce 3