Double the Dazzle
Written: Mar 10 '00 (Updated Mar 10 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Dual displays, Vibrant colors, Razor sharp clarity at the highest resolutions
Cons: Loss of friends out of envy, Matrix looking computer room, Less productivity and more DVD watching
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| eeks's Full Review: Matrox Millennium G400, (16 MB) AGP Video Card |
Dual displays have always fascinated me. I had the opportunity to play with a CAD station utilizing dual 21 inch monitors and was in heaven the entire 3.2349 minutes the AutoCAD deity allowed me to mess with his sacred machine.
Note: The G400 is a different kind of card, whose value is measured by more than just fill rate. I love this card, and plan on having fun with this review. Enjoy the ride.
Being the cheapskate that I am, I ordered the OEM version of the card for ~$140 (paid for by Pointclick). The OEM versions of products typically do not come with all the goodies retail versions do, such as full blown games and a certificate for free beer (hmmmm... maybe I wouldn't be such a cheapskate if that was true). My G400 came in a plain white box, including a driver CD and a TV out adapter. I tossed the driver CD over my shoulder (the internet is my driver CD) and then studied the TV-out adapter for a few seconds. The TV-out on the G400 uses an adapter that attaches on the second monitor out and gives the option for S-Video and typical component outputs. I threw the adapter into my pile 'o wires and shut off my computer to plug the card in.
Yay! It works: Not that a graphics card is hard to install or anything, but humor me. I booted up my computer and was shocked at how absolutely stunning and crystal clear the display was. If anything about this card blew me away, the clarity was it. Reviews I'd perused on the web mentioned the stunning image quality, but I really didn't think it would be that noticeable. After all, an image on the monitor is an image on the monitor... right? Wrong!!!! The Matrox G400s image quality makes me sorry to have to use a regular CRT monitor with it. I have to apologize to this card daily for not having the funds for two LCD Flat panel monitors.
Games: I like games. I like playing games with the G400. The G400 likes games.
Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun (Double the Display): Ok, so I already said image quality was my favorite part of the G400, but I have another favorite part too. Dual head. The G400 offers two different options for displaying images on multiple monitors.
Dual Head Clone, DVDMax, or Zoom: This option allows you to mirror the main display on the secondary display, output DVD to a secondary display (TV Only) or magnify a portion of the primary display on the secondary display. Sound useful? It is. DVDMax is to die for. It allows full use of the computer while simultaneously outputting the DVD video stream to the TV. Now there is no excuse for putting off games to watch a movie, it's possible to do both.
Dual Head Multi-Display: My personal favorite dual display mode. This feature stretches the desktop across two different monitors, and gives you the option of maximizing applications to only one display. This is great for the times when you'd like to be looking at a picture while modeling it in 3D on your primary display (I know everyone does this). I love not happing to constantly alt+tab between applications while I'm working or playing anymore.
Driver Situation: The G400 has fully featured drivers for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 9x and Win2k (although still a bit buggy). The best environment for this card is Windows 95 and 98. I use it in Win2k and am completely happy with it, although I'm looking forward to having all the functionality of the Windows 9x drivers. I really like this card.
Conclusion
This card is just plain fun. Top of the line performance, style, innovation, features, and a beautiful display, all for a reasonable price. What more could you want? If Michelle Kwan was a computer graphic card, she would be a Matrox Millenium G400.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
eeks
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Willy Holt
Location: Boston, Mass
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 157 members
About Me:
Wow--looking back on this half my articles were atrocious and embarassingly titled--all for the bling-bling.
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