I am getting a new computer in several weeks. P4, 1.5 GHz and all the other goodies.

The computer comes with a Asus V7700 32mb GeForce2 AGP video card. My present computer has a Matrox Millennium G200 AGP video card. Does any one know if Asus is as good a Matrox?

Thanks.
Sharon

S,

I have a G400 Matrox card which I consider obsolete so I would think the Asus should improve on you G200. I don't think you'll be unhappy, video card development is driven by the 'games' market when used for Photoshop work they've got a fairly easy ride.

I wouldn't be surprised if both Asus and Matrox cards fell out of the same factory !

Hi Chris,

Thanks for responding so quickly. Your information has helped me.

Sharon

:)

Speaking of Matrox... (http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/parhelia512/home.cfm)

I've searched the forums and this is the closest thread to my current decision-making-process, so I thought I'd "bump" it...

In addition to my mainboard and scanner dying on me, the video card in my husband's computer has gone bad as well. (When it rains it pours - at least it's not his monitor!!) He has graciously offered to let me choose and install a new video card in my computer and he'll take my old one. BUT - I know nothing about video cards! (Ask me anything you want about the P3B-F ASUS mainboard though, and I can probably give you an answer! ;) )

Are there any special considerations that I should look for in a video card that will mainly be used for Photoshopping? Games are not an issue for me, so 3D rendering doesn't seem particularly important to me, but maybe I just don't understand the technology. Do I need to worry about the amount of memory on the card? Or will just about anything do?

Thanks, Jeanie

Don't be shy about starting new threads :)

But anyway, if gaming is zero concern (and I do mean zero), and no other 3d apps are in the picture (pun intended), then most consider the Matrox 450 (http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/mill_g450/home.cfm) the best Photoshop card. Click the link right above your post to see the best of both worlds.

Originally posted by Doug Nelson
if gaming is zero concern (and I do mean zero), and no other 3d apps are in the picture (pun intended), . . .Hmmm - I can't think of anything I do that's 3D - unless I just don't know it's 3D. Do I need 3D for the occasional online video (Photoshop tutorials or CNN video clips)? What about Macromedia Flash? (I'm not using it now, but hope to sometime in the future.) This just isn't something I've had to think about before, so I'm pretty clueless in this area.
Jeanie

Maybe Flash, but you don't need any sort of 3d muscle for that. Games are really the only thing most people run into that need good 3d.

Btw, more memory is still better :)

Originally posted by Doug Nelson
Speaking of Matrox... (http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/parhelia512/home.cfm)


Doug: How many arms and legs for that?

80 million transistors, I remember little Japanese radios with about 5, yeah, once opon a time they were the size of a pea, and now........................

Originally posted by Doug Nelson
Btw, more memory is still better :) Meaning system RAM (as opposed to memory on the video card)? I've got 768MB - hoping that will do for a little bit. Even though it's cheap, I'm spending lots elsewhere. :(
Jeanie

Anywhere you can fit memory is good (including in your head), but I was referring to on the video card.

To come back to Sharon's original question, the GeForce chip is not made by ASUS, it's made by nVidia (http://www.nvidia.com). ASUS put their own electronics on the card, but the GPU they have to buy from nVidia. I don't think there will be too much wrong with the ASUS card as the nVidia reference drivers work with cards produced by all the manufacturers using nVidia chips. The only thing that is slightly worrying to me is that the GeForce2 is relatively "old" technology.

Since the TnT1, nVidia has produced the most popular game GPUs around. (I'm still running a TnT1.) IMHO, the nVidia chips are better than Matrox chips. (I had an incredible amount of trouble trying to get a G400 to work in a PC with a VIA chipset.)

Something else worth looking at is the ATi (http://www.ati.com) Radeon based cards (so what's wrong with buying a Canadian product ;) ).

oooh Doug.. you've done it now.. tempted me with that Matrox card. We always want the newest toy.. sigh

Just got done buying my system and it already wants improvements.

I also checked out the G450 and noticed there is a 550. Any opinions on that one?


(um... emm..ATi, but also Matrox is a Canadian company too ;) . Made right here in my home town Dorval.)

maybe I should check their trash. :tongue:

I've been running the Matrox 550 for about two weeks now and I'm using two Samsung 17" monitors. I LOVE IT! The dual screen capabilities really make setting up your workspace an easy task. I'm running both the monitors at 1024x768 @ 85 Hz and there hasn't been a single problem at all.

The 550 also allows you to run the individual monitors at different resolutions if you choose to do so. I am not a gamer, so I can't comment on the card's abilities (or lack thereof) as far a gaming goes!

For Photoshop, Page Layout or Video Work, this card is the way to go IMHO!

Randy