I Matrox a good brand?

[Cyberwiz01]

My computer here at work has a Matrox card and i want to know what everyone here thinks of them?
So is Matrox good or bad?

[Arghuin]

Do you know which Matrox card that computer has? Most people think that Matrox still has the best 2d-image quality in the industry...as for 3d speed, their latest lines of cards (Parhelia and Millenium P-series) perform adequately but certainly not as fast as similar nVidia/ATI offerings

So...for a work PC, I'd say Matrox is definately good :)

[drshivas]

Agreed. They are solid 2-D cards. A few years back, they were the BY FAR the best at higher refresh rates and resolutions, always outputting crisp text and lines due to the high RAMDAC, (3dfx was a close second.) But now, Nvidia and ATI have high RAMDACs, so it isn't an issue. Plus Matrox has fallen out of the 3-D game. Who knows, they might suprise everyone later.

They do, however have the best dual-display cards on the consumer market. I had a G400MAX a couple years ago that was just simply awesome, and it held its own in 3-D for a while too.

Another point, 1~4 year old Matrox cards are great for Linux boxes.

[mateo]

Some guys at the 2CPU forums absolutely love them. If you need more info, they could probably fill you in. They're also great at multi displays, the Parhelia series does triplehead DVI, but because of the lack of 3D capability, a lot of people use PCI versions as second vid cards for 2D-specific stuff.

[jamespetts]

Matrox graphics cards are excellent, unless you're a hardcore 3d gamer. Unmatched 2d quality, the most stable drivers out there, and the Parhellia works fine in 3D games, albeit not quite as fast as some cards that are designed primarily for 3D gaming.

But think of it this way: what do you spend most of your time at a computer doing? Playing a 3D game, or using 2D applications? If the former, then by all means buy a card that's optimised for that over the latter. But if you spend a majority of your time surfing the web and doing other things, then why would you want a graphics card that's optimised for something else?

[mateo]

Originally posted by jamespetts
Matrox graphics cards are excellent, unless you're a hardcore 3d gamer. Unmatched 2d quality, the most stable drivers out there, and the Parhellia works fine in 3D games, albeit not quite as fast as some cards that are designed primarily for 3D gaming.

But think of it this way: what do you spend most of your time at a computer doing? Playing a 3D game, or using 2D applications? If the former, then by all means buy a card that's optimised for that over the latter. But if you spend a majority of your time surfing the web and doing other things, then why would you want a graphics card that's optimised for something else?

Actually, the Parhelia series drivers with all the .NET stuff doesn't look to be as good as one might think. And about the 3D thing: either you do general stuff and play now and then, where the Parhelia isn't going to be worth it for the 2D and you can get a lot better cheaper 3D; or, you work a lot with important 2D and 3D, not necessarily games ;). True, some don't do 3D, but that's a small minority.

[jamespetts]

Originally posted by loner


Actually, the Parhelia series drivers with all the .NET stuff doesn't look to be as good as one might think.

Why?

And about the 3D thing: either you do general stuff and play now and then, where the Parhelia isn't going to be worth it for the 2D and you can get a lot better cheaper 3D;

In which case you could get a P650 or P750, if you're on a tight budget, or a G550 if you're on a really tight budget;

or, you work a lot with important 2D and 3D, not necessarily games ;).

In which case a Parhellia is exactly what you want.

NVidia, ATI and other "gamers'" cards are really only your best option if you spend most of your time at the computer playing 3D games.

[mateo]

I dont know driver specifics, but from little tidbits I picked up at 2CPU they involve .NET, which is never a good thing.

Actually, in what I mentioned, a Quadro/FireGL is just what you want. Also, you made my point by mentioning the lower Matrox models.

[HotKoala]

Most businesses I've ever talked to love dotNet. Having everything centralised to one known program rather than many specialised. In addition different versions can be installed and work side-by-side.

The only real and valid complaint I've heard was that the Parhelia doesn't support Win9X(Then again, MS doesn't either). They are pretty closed about about Linux now whereas back in the G200/G400 days they had the best Linux support.

Of course, it's easier to speak of a product when you have one on hand rather than by hearsay.