2D Quality Of 9800Pro

[nubis]

I've been using Matrox cards since '96 because their 2d quality is so
good but have been interested in switching to an ATI 9800Pro and was
wondering if its 2d quality can match that of Matrox. A friend has a
9600SE and commented that he didn't think its 2d was as sharp as
Matrox. Thanks

 

[Sham B]

Yes it is, at least for the sapphires. I used matrox for years on my 'photoshop machine'. I had a
9500 pro last year, ad that was rubbish (banding on pure whites) but the 9800 pro is rock solid and
sharp. As good as the matroxes I used to use.

The only issue that might be worrying for you is that in XP my max refresh rate seems to be 85 hz. I
think that may be the designed in max for the 9800 pro (although I can get ut up to 100hz here).


I use a 19 inch iyama vision master pro.

S

 

[fish]

That has nothing to do with the Radeon or the ATI software. Its your monitor
profile.

There are tons of things you can do about that. Radlinker has a built in
utility that lets you set the Refresh rate for your monitor at any
resolution then it 'makes' (rewrites) a new monitor inf file which you can
load in device manager.

 

[mudz]

I've been using Matrox cards since '96 because their 2d quality is so
good but have been interested in switching to an ATI 9800Pro and was
wondering if its 2d quality can match that of Matrox.

For a second there I thought I was reading my own post. I too had been using
Matrox cards...my most recent being a G400 Max. I recently switched to a BB
Ati 9800 Pro and have been having continuous 2D problems that I am unable to
fix. The Matrox did *not* have this glitch. My problem is very apparent when
you open two different program control panels on your desktop (say AdAware
and Spybot S&D...DVD Xcopy is also a good one) and then drag one control
panel over the other. A combination of two things happens. Portions of the
inactive window are briefly erased, leaving white areas that then take up to
half a second to fill in again...or the active window leaves 'trails' over
top of the inactive panel. My computer is all quality parts...nothing
overclocked...it also does this with a Sapphire 9800 pro...it seems a 'bit'
better with the cat 4.7 drivers over previous versions....and remember, the
Matrox in this same computer...didn't do this.

I did find other postings in newsgroups from people having similar and
identical problems...but no suggested fixes...so I am NOT the only person
with this problem

So...to answer your question...if 2D matters...ATI is not the solution.

HTH

M

 

[OZMAN]

I have the same concerns that you have. I've probably haven't had a Matrox
since about '97 but I remember the great 2d performance/quality of the card.
I've been looking to purchase a 9800pro also but I'm hesitant because I've
returned every ATI card I have bought in the past because the 2d
performance. The reason I switched from Matrox was the 3d
performance/price. I started using Voodoo Cards for the gaming performance
but my last 4 cards have been Nvidia. I have been happy with Nvida's 2d &
3d but because of ATI's current 3d performance, I'm considering them once
again. I hope I'm not sorry.

 

[maggot]

For a second there I thought I was reading my own post. I too had been using
Matrox cards...my most recent being a G400 Max. I recently switched to a BB
Ati 9800 Pro and have been having continuous 2D problems that I am unable to
fix. The Matrox did *not* have this glitch. My problem is very apparent when
you open two different program control panels on your desktop (say AdAware
and Spybot S&D...DVD Xcopy is also a good one) and then drag one control
panel over the other. A combination of two things happens. Portions of the
inactive window are briefly erased, leaving white areas that then take up to
half a second to fill in again...or the active window leaves 'trails' over
top of the inactive panel. My computer is all quality parts...nothing
overclocked...it also does this with a Sapphire 9800 pro...it seems a 'bit'
better with the cat 4.7 drivers over previous versions....and remember, the
Matrox in this same computer...didn't do this.

I did find other postings in newsgroups from people having similar and
identical problems...but no suggested fixes...so I am NOT the only person
with this problem

So...to answer your question...if 2D matters...ATI is not the solution.

HTH

M

I just tested this on my ATI 9800pro and I don't see any such
behavoir. Do you use transparent windows when dragging?
I do.

 

[Pip]

It depends on the resolution. From the back of my 9800Pro box:

Monitor Resolution Hz
800x600 120
1024x768 120
1280x1024 120
1600x1200 85
2048x1536 60

 

[mudz]

I just tested this on my ATI 9800pro and I don't see any such
behavoir. Do you use transparent windows when dragging?
I do.

I'm not entirely clear on what you mean by 'transparent'. I have mine set to
show window contents while dragging, if that is what you are referring to...

M

 

[First of One]

What Matrox card are you using right now? If you are coming from a Parhelia,
the 9800Pro will appear less sharp on a high-end monitor above 1600x1200. A
G550 or G400 should be comparable.

If 2D really matters to you, get a LeadTek card. Check out this article:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/parhelia/page5.asp

LeadTek has been using premium 2D filters since the GF3 days. The company's
latest FX5900 cards are comparable to the 9800Pro in 3D performance.

 

[maggot]

I'm not entirely clear on what you mean by 'transparent'. I have mine set to
show window contents while dragging, if that is what you are referring to...

M

Yes, that's what I'm referring to. Change it to not show contents.

 

[mudz]

Yes, that's what I'm referring to. Change it to not show contents.

The problem is...that kinda defeats the whole purpose of a what a graphic
card is supposed to do. Is similar to saying "my eye hurts when I stick my
finger in it"..and the solution is "don't stick your finger in your eye
then"...while THAT makes sense...it doesn't in the case of a graphic card
whose sole purpose is to display graphics...you are supposed to be able to
drag your window with contents showing...I could do it with my, now lowly,
32 MB Matrox card and it is somewhat insulting that I cannot with my 9800
Pro.

man am I wordy today..

M

 

[maggot]

The problem is...that kinda defeats the whole purpose of a what a graphic
card is supposed to do. Is similar to saying "my eye hurts when I stick my
finger in it"..and the solution is "don't stick your finger in your eye
then"...while THAT makes sense...it doesn't in the case of a graphic card
whose sole purpose is to display graphics...you are supposed to be able to
drag your window with contents showing...I could do it with my, now lowly,
32 MB Matrox card and it is somewhat insulting that I cannot with my 9800
Pro.

man am I wordy today..

M

Well, it's quicker to drag windows around if you don't show the
contents. This is true on *any* video card.

 

[Ed Light]

Well, it's quicker to drag windows around if you don't show the
contents. This is true on *any* video card.

My lowly ti4200 does it effortlessly with contents showing. I can't drag it
any quicker.


--
Ed Light

Smiley :-/
MS Smiley :-\

Send spam to the FTC at
(e-mail address removed)
Thanks, robots.

 

[J. Clarke]

My lowly ti4200 does it effortlessly with contents showing. I can't drag
it any quicker.

Terminal Services does it effortlessly going from my server with a
first-generation Radeon board to my Linux box with another first-generation
Radeon. That's across the wire with a virtualized display and no hardware
acceleration at all.

Also works fine on my XP box with a 9800 Pro.

Sounds to me like either there's a configuration problem or something's
busted on the machine that is having problems with that.

 

[M]

Ed Light wrote:


Sounds to me like either there's a configuration problem or something's
busted on the machine that is having problems with that.

I do agree with you...I am as certain as I can be that there is nothing
broken on my machine, because I can put my Matrox G400 back in and have it
work fine...plus a different 9800 pro card did the same thing...and since I
am using default settings with no overclocking...I can only assume it is a
driver thing...(I did try numerous non-default settings with no impact at
all...neither better, nor worse)

M

 

[J. Clarke]

I do agree with you...I am as certain as I can be that there is nothing
broken on my machine, because I can put my Matrox G400 back in and have it
work fine...plus a different 9800 pro card did the same thing...and since
I am using default settings with no overclocking...I can only assume it is
a driver thing...(I did try numerous non-default settings with no impact
at all...neither better, nor worse)

If you have Matrox drivers still hanging around it could very well be a
driver issue. Generally speaking removing the old drivers in their
entirety, which can be difficult, is advisable before installing either ATI
or nvidia boards.