Better card : Matrox G400 or Asus Geforce V6800 256

[Xtem]

I'd like to know everyone's opinion on this subject, plus the reasons for these opinions. I'm planning on buying a new computer with either one of these, and I'd like to know which one is better.

At this stage please disregard prices as being a "weighting" for which is better.

Also, any advocates of the V6600 and why it is better than the V6800....??

Finally, between Asus and Creative - which one??

Thanks for everyone's input on this

[dionp]

If you want a really good card you should wait a few weeks for the Voodoo4 & voodoo5. The will be far better than the geForce

[Xtem]

So the VooDoo 4 AND 5 are coming out in a few weeks? I didn't know that. Question is, do they have the capabilities such as the S-VIDEO input and the great software package?

[DataOrb]

happy to help,
first,
it really matters if what you want is a "Hardcore" gaming card. if this is true, the the best one avilable today is the ASUS V6800 Deluxe. a DDR GeForce card.
now, if gaming is still something you would like to do, but only at a "medicore" setting, the an SDR geforce card will do the job great.
between the SDR GeForce cards avilalbe today, there isn't much of a preformance gain. so any card will do.
I presonally (While don't own that cards) can recommend of the Elsa Erazor X (it got niffty drivers and can overclock pretty well) or the ASUS V6600 Deluxe card (best SDR card around , if you can pay DDR money for an SDR card, then this is a great choice).
it is also importent to know what "Extra" features you are looking in a video card.
do you need TV out? Video In? Flat Pannel Connector?

now if you are NOT a gamer, and looking for a more "2D" and graphics work card, then the best around is the Matrox G400. FANTASTIC image quality, but it's preformance trails behind GeForce based cards in 3d.


Xtem please tell us the specs you are going to buy in your new system (i.e Dvd or not? PIII, Celeron? or Athlon? system mem... )

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DataOrb 2000
-Reality is Relative.
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[Freon]

Well, unless the dualhead thing is important to you (it really is nice if you have two monitors), theres not a whole lot of reason to buy a G400 over a TNT2 Ultra.
The Asus Deluxe has the fastest 3D (a good step from the G400), tons of features, but a price tag that shows it. It's a good $100 more than a G400 Max (about $300 vs $200). And if TV-in and 3D glasses don't mean much, you can always get a more vanilla DDR, like the Leadtek (TV-out only) or Creative (no extras at all).
You're really not going to notice much difference between the Asus, Creative, Leadtek, etc. boards other than their base drivers which you're going to update to the Nvidia reference drivers anyway. The features, warranty, and tech support are the only realy difference.

If you want image quality, get a better monitor. Both cards look superb. Its doubtful you could tell the two apart, even with a $1500 20" Triniton.

[Strutz]

I prefer the Geforce over mthe G400. The G400 Max has a beautiful picture, especially Quake2, but I couldn't get half the demo games I downloaded to run. Descent 3 for exapmle. I took it out and put a Leadtek Geforce DDR in and have had no trouble since. I agree with Freon, if you go with the Geforce, use the Nvidia reference drivers.

[Splatt]

Don't go for the tnt2 unless cost is really an issue. The g400 (not max) can be purchased well under $200 (my father got one retail for $180). It's a great card (have one as well myself) and can easily be o/c to max speeds. Mine is. Also, if gaming isn't #1 issue, and you want to do any input/editing, go matrox. The g400 plus the rainbow runner G-series make a great combo
Check out www.matroxusers.com

[Xtem]

Man, thanks for the input guys.

First off, DataOrb : The computer will most likely be a P3 500 with a 10x DVD. At this stage I'm not too sure what the mother board is - but I've become aware of the problems the Geforce can have with some of them.

Secondly, I am a gamer, but probably not "hardcore" - ie; I'd probably only use it for my favourites such as TFC and obviously awaiting TF2 - so although gaming comes into consideration, it's not that big a deal. As long as the card works with the games, and I can pretty much chuck in what I want, then I'm happy.

I'm looking at doing a bit of video editing, and that's why I'm interested in the Video-In/Out capabilities - actually, it carries the same importance as the games do - so now you know what kind of perdicament I'm in!

I've heard that the G400 is unbeatable in Video editing - and the Geforce unbeatable (at the moment anyway) in speed, especially in 3D. Eeek. Decisions decisions.

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Get paid to surf. Visit
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[Xtem]

Anyone else wanna comment?




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Get paid to surf. Visit
http://www.alladvantage.com and say CEN-128 refered you on.

[terence]

IMHO the G400 has the best picture quality around. I've used a G400, Viper V770, Voodoo 2000, ATI Xpert 2000 and the G400 is noticebly different. I've also used all these cards on games like Quake3, TFC, Half-Life, UT, etc... and the G400 is right up there with the TNT2 card. But in TNT2's favor is that you can get on about $10-$20 cheaper then a G400 I believe.

[Luke-Skywalker]

The Ge-Force DDR is thebest card at the moment. Also think about drivers !!!! they are what makes and breaks cards. Considering the amount of time and poor quality Matrox drivers carry, nVidia are a clear choice.

Add to that fact T and L, DDR ram your cpu being at 500 mhz the Ge-Force would be the best. Look for a Creative Ge-Force since they will be very cheap, but if you want tv-out look else where.

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I am changing my name to Num-Chuck ...
http://www.overclockers.com.au

[Dave_B]

Since you're not a gamer and have a DVD player, it's really a simple choice: Get the Matrox. It has excellent DVD hardware support for flawless playback, the best image quality you can get, and decent 3D performance. The only reason to spend all that cash for a GeForce DDR is if you are into extreme on-line gaming.

[ETSEAN]

Hi!!

Care if I say something also??

OK, the G400 is very good in both 2D/3D. It may not be the best card in terms of gaming speed, it is certainly the best or second best at least in terms of image quality, the other being the Geforce.

Since you say that speed is not the most important, then you should consider this card(G400) very seriously. This card do not have video editing functions, but the G400 Marvel TV has!!
But one poor thing, that is it is in MJPEG format before you can compress into MPEG 1/2. Thus you will need very big HD to take the recordings........

But you can always get another Video capture card to do the video editing.

I am looking closely at the ATI All-In-Wonder 128 as the card to record VCD. The 2D/3D is rather limiting.....

[Zealot]

I am real happy with my G400. But then again I am not a hardcore gamer.

Lots O luck!

[ETSEAN]

Hi!!

I think I have to correct some things in my post:

The G400 is very very poor, swear by all my sister's classmates when they use it for 3D Studio Max.

It is slow(very likely) as it is better than the TNT2 Ultra when using the TurboGL.

Go for the TNT2 Ultra, and get a good video editing card like the Dazzle's range of products.