Sacrifices Speed for Quality
Written: Jul 31 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: awesome image quality, tv outs, multiple desktop support
Cons: not as fast as a tnt2u or geforce, some win2k driver issues
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| nquinn's Full Review: Matrox Millennium G400, (16 MB) AGP Video Card |
I am a computer enthusiast who has put in many hours worth of
research when choosing a video card. I have compared the g400
with the TNT2u, voodoo3000, and more. (read on...)
The Matrox G400 is a 32mb video card that is an excellent performer.
The card targets professional and high-end users who want the
best image quality they can get out of a consumer card.
Here are the advantages of the G400:
1) TV output - this feature is great for watching DVD movies
on your bigscreen TV. The quality is top notch.
One minor caveat: I had some problems with brightness
fading in and out while watching movies.... an update
to the software fixed this problem.
2) Multiple Monitor / Screen support - this is the best feature.
With this turned on, you can extend your desktop across 2 screens...
either 2 monitors, or a monitor and a tv, etc. Once you
can work with multiple monitors, you'll never want to go back.
Ours was tested on 2 17" monitors, which I found to be far
more useful than a single 21" monitor.
3) Image Quality! - this card keeps up with the tradition of matrox
cards such as the g200. This time around, the almost got the
speed right. Colors are rich and vivid. Game designers, such
as the ones that made 'rollcage', stated that they could
"finally play the game and see it the way they intended."
4) Drivers are finally better. Unlike the g200, the g400 actually
has good openGL support, and of course, awesome D3D acceleration.
Disadvantages:
Just one - although the image quality is superior, and the speed is
good, the card does not quite keep up with newer cards. The g400
tested against a tnt2ultra (similar price range) could not keep up.
Games could be run at about 1024x768 @ 16bit comfortably, rather than
1280x1024 @ 16bit like with the tnt2u or newer geforces.
A more expensive version of the g400 exists, called the g400 max.
This card runs on par with the tnt2ultra, and looks awesome. This
is the card to get, if you can afford it.
Overall, the g400 is a great solution for high-end users
who want Quality over speed. Drivers are finally better supported,
so your games will run just fine. If you want to keep up with
the nvidia chipsets though, you'll want at least a g400 max.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nquinn
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Member: Neil Quinn
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 2 members
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