Looking for 2d quality; is matrox still best in the biz?

[foocoding]

I'm building a new PC in the fall to signify my detachment from PC gaming. I will put unix on it and a non-3d card.

I'm looking for superior 2d quality to go along with the sony G420R 19" flat I will be getting.

I can get a matrox G550 for $150 OEM $180 retail, or I can get a ATI Radeon 9000 pro OEM for $140. (canadian dollars).

I am afraid if I get the 9000, I will put windows on it and play UT2k3 or something. Which is not what I want because school is the main focus.

So anyways back to my question; is the g550 worth the extra few dollars for 2d quality and DVD decoding?

 

[MidiGuy]

I would like to know the same thing. However, you can get a Matrox G550 Retail for $114.95 shipped from www.CompuPlus.com. OEM can be purchased even cheaper. Check www.pricewatch.com (you might have to do a search for Matrox G550).

-Midi

 

[max105]

I would choose the Radeon 9000. With my system specs nowadays, I probably can't run future games very well anyways. But that's just me and I would rather save myself the money and study at the library to avoid playing games.

 

[Rand]

Matrox is the king of 2D. Few would argue about that fact.

Personally, unless you need the extra features of the G550 and most people don't, then I'd look into the G450. It's cheaper and offers comparable 2D quality.

If your using DVI-Output then any card will do, 2D quality using DVI will be very similar regardless of what board you purchase.
If your using the regular VGA out, then I'd look into Matrox if your going to be using 1280x1024 or higher. Below that a decent ATi/3dfx/Appian board should offer comparable quality.
If you intend to run at 1600x1200 or above then I'd definitely strongly lean towards Matrox though.

Personally, I find Matrox vastly superior at 1600x1200... and if you intend to work on the system for 4-6 hours at a time then I'd bet you'd really miss Matrox's quality.

It's always important to remember the monitor, cabling, connector can also have a huge impact on 2D quality. Individual eyesight can also come into play.
I've seen some swear their perfectly satisfied with MSI/PNY nVidia boards at 1600x1200... even though MSI/PNY are typically thought of to have among the worst 2D quality. Whereas others I've heard will swear up and down that they absolutely cannot using anything but Matrox as soon as they bump the resolution above 1024x768.

If 2D is the only factor then Matrox is king, and they well deserve their sterling reputation for image quality above all else.

16/32MB OEM G450's are widely available at prices between $65-85.

is the g550 worth the extra few dollars for 2d quality and DVD decoding?

While Matrox has the 2D quality crown, I'd much sooner look towards ATi, or SiS for DVD playback. The GF4 MX would also be worth a glance.
If you wanted the absolute highest DVD playback quality then the Parhelia would top the rest, but DVD performance would would be very close between the GF4 MX/ATi/SiS. ATi's got the best DVD visual quality besides the Parhelia.
The G400/450/550 can offer pretty good DVD image quality, certainly better then most but they won't match up to ATi in that respect. DVD performance is rather mediocre from the G400/450/550... but that shouldnt be a factor at all unless you expect to be doing other rocessor intensive activities while playing back a DVD.

 

[foocoding]

Thanks rand, thats exactly the information I'm going for. Thanks midiguy and max as well, I appreciate the help.

 

[BFG10K]

If you wanted the absolute highest DVD playback quality then the Parhelia would top the rest,

It was my understanding that the Parhelia had very lackluster DVD support.

 

[Rand]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

If you wanted the absolute highest DVD playback quality then the Parhelia would top the rest,

It was my understanding that the Parhelia had very lackluster DVD support.

DVD hardware playback in terms of performance isnt exactly ideal, but everything I've heard indicates it's visual quality in DVD playback is tops. Plus DVD playback would tend to be a perfect match for the 10bit RGB.

 

[nRollo]

I would get an 8500LE now, they are faster than the 9000s in general. School may be your focus, but you can't study all the time. If you can't play games, you'll drink and not study anyway.