dual monitors

[mbetea]

been looking at dual head cards. i'm thinking about the matrox g550, but i'm not quite sure. i'll be doing mostly 70%-80% video/2d design(after effects, premiere, photoshop, freehand) and some 3d work(hash: animation master), but nothing really extensive compared to video. i know it'll handle the 2d stuff. but i'm just wondering if it'll handle the small 3d work i will be doing. any recommendations would be great. thanks.
ps. i would LOVE a jeronimo 2000, but i'd rather spend the money on camera gear at the moment.

 

[igottaknife]

Well the new RADEON out next month is supposed to be a hot little piece of dual ouput ass.

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[igottaknife]

really though hardware acceleration isn't all it's cracked up to be in animation. With the right system I find that even software acceleration is doable. I have a Quadro2 converted from a GeForce2 GTS and it does have better quality but the end result is due to rendering which has nothing to do with the vid card. Matrox doesn't look like they are making any sound decisions in marketing (look at head casting for example), but the price of these cards are nice I like the real dual display (unlike the crappy GeForce MX dual disply) the G550 allows separate resolutions and thus you can maximise windows in separate monitors which, from what I've seen, you can't do with the Geforce2 MX's. Try doing research on the ATI Radeon VE. It is cheaper than the Matrox and has more real world features and from what I've seen ATI has a better following of customers so it may have better support in the long run. If price and time aren't to much of a concern you might want to wait for the Radeon 8500 which will have the power comparable to the GF3 but dual display and more features. It looks as though it'll cost anywhere from $400-$600 and be available in late September.

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[arsend]

I have installed the Radeon VE and seen it work on several computers so if you buget is around $100, it is the card to buy, however, if you buget is higher, I would recommend the Raedeon 7500 or 8500, as they will both have dual monitor support and offer more 3D power for now and in the future.

If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[mbetea]

hey thanks for the info guys. i did some reading, and found that the radeon 7500 seems like it's going to be a good choice. and for only $200 or less! thanks!

 

[Guest]

will you be running identical monitors? i'm not positive but i think that matrox cards are the only ones to support different monitor settings for each monitor.

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[igottaknife]

ATI state that theirs do too. I know for a fact that the GF2MXs don't though.

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[mbetea]

yes, the radeon does in fact handle indepent res/refresh, but i will be running the same monitors sony g400(19").