Which card to get? Oxygen VX1?

[djbacklash]

I'm currently using an SGI 1600SW 17.3" Flatpanel hooked up to a #9 Revolution IV-FP 32MB AGP (yes I know it sucks for 3D gaming, but its 2D is great and I don't play games). Anyway, it's got some major probs with Photoshop under Win2k, and so I'd like to get a new card. The monitor is now being bundled with a 3DLabs Oxygen VX1 32MB card, and SGI sent me a msg saying I can order it now. However, the MultiLink adapter box which allows the SGI to hook up to any DVI card is now available (but I can't find a Radeon 64MB with DVI and would rather wait for Matrox's nextgen card then get a G400Max). So what do you all suggest I do? Like I said, 2D performance and visual quality is most important to me (I'll be adding a second SGI flatpanel soon for even more workspace). Good video playback is also a plus.

Option A: Buy the Oxygen VX1 32MB (anyone know anything about it performance?)

Option B: Buy the MultiLink adapter box for $450 and a DVI card such as the Radeon All-in-Wonder or G400 Max for an additional $200-400.

Money is not a prob so the $500 difference between the two options is not really a concern. 2D performance is of utmost importance. Does anyone have any experiences with the Oxygen card? Will getting a Radeon or Matrox card provide better 2D quality?

 

[IvoryGrail]

Matrox has the highest 2d quality but I don't know about it supporting flatpanel. Anybody?

 

[EvilDonnyboy]

I forgot if the G450 supported DVI or not. If it does, consider it. Its as good as the Max at 2D but a bit cheaper.

But it'd be interesting to see what matrox has up it's sleeve.

 

[Klosters]

I'm going on what I read, OK? I've never even seen a professional Vidcard in action. The 3DLabs Oxygen series has a good reputation, however the VX1 16 Mb card lists for a measly $105. Perhaps a Matrox Marvel or Productiva would be more of a real pro Vidcard. Dunno how costly the nVidia Quadro is, but you can hack a GF2 into darn near a Quadro. I think real deal pro cards start at ~$700. Hold on to your hat, they go up to $30,000. And more!

 

[djbacklash]

Ya the 32 meg version with the flatpanel-out will probably run $200 or so. I found some pretty good reviews for the board here:

http://www.creativepro.com/hardware/review/928.html

It looks like it'll do everything I need it for. The #9 card I'm using now would do fine if it didn't get all screwed up in Photoshop and other gfx progs under Win2k. I'll probably just buy the Oxygen card now and wait for the G800. Thanks for the input!

 

[djbacklash]

Geeezus..I just called SGI and their price for the Oxygen VX1 32MB PCI card is $399!! The version without the flatpanel connector sells for around $150 everywhere else. I guess I'll be forking over the $800 for a MultiLink adapter and All-in-Wonder Radeon or G400Max/G450.

 

[whooosh]

The speed for the VX1 is about the same as the TNT2. Its not too great for 2d..g400 is best The VX1 is geared towards the 3d field, but it good enough for 2d. I believe that Toms Hardware have compared the VX1 32MB version a while back with other cards. If you want DVI the some versions of GEFORCE MX have DVI support.

whooosh

 

[djbacklash]

I was considering the new GeForce2 Ultra but from what I've read on this forum, the Nvidia cards don't have the best 2D visual quality. I'm going to be using two SGI flatpanels, each at 1600x1024, so that's why I'm hesitant in getting them. The Matrox G400Max is starting to sound like my best bet, since they recently released drivers that support the lcd's resolution. Anybody here know anything about the Quadro(2?) cards? Are they worth the high price?

 

[Sword]

I have a 3Dlabs OXYGEN VX1 32 Mb(about 150-200US$) and i could say that that quality is much better on this card compared to a GeForce 256 DDR (i have 2 computers side by side with the same monitor).

Both 2D and 3D are much better on the OXYGEN.

Good luck

 

[djbacklash]

Have you had the chance to compare it to a Matrox G400 card? I wouldn't mind getting the Oxygen card at this point, but SGI is charging an arm and a leg for it just b/c their version natively supports the SGI 1600SW lcd. What do you mean when you say the 3D is just as good as the Geforce 256 DDR? Are you talking about speed or visual quality (I assume you're referring to 3D gaming)? Thanks!

 

[djbacklash]

Oh and one more thing..the Oxygen has hardware MPEG so how's the video playback quality? Just outta curiosity, what made you get the card? Most of the pro-Nvidia gamers here would be horrified at putting an Oxygen in a high-end system such as yours I've spent over $7.5k on my comp but people with $300 vid cards still feel the need to trash it cuz of the #9 card sittin in it!

 

[ET]

I would imagine that flat panel quality and CRT quality are different, since DVI is digital (right?) and the normal monitor connection is analog, and therefore affected by the RAMDAC. Therefore I wouldn't draw conclusions from the CRT quality comparison between cards. So, basically, I see no great reason to stick to a specific brand.

That said, I concur that Matrox has always had good 2D, and something like the G450-DVI could be a good choice, if you find it. You'll be getting two video outputs, which could also be of benefit (although I think only one will be DVI). As for video playback, the Matrox cards don't have any acceleration, but AFAIK are still considered to produce pretty good quality if you have the CPU power.

 

[Sword]

djbacklash

I was talking about image quality...OXYGEN VX1 32 mb is about 8 to 10 times slower at 1024x768x32. In fact, its much slower than a TNT2 : my friend had a PII333 with a TNT2 and he was 4 to 5 times faster that my VX1 with PIII550 !

The onlty reason why i bought a OXYGEN is for CAD. In fact, a Geforce will crash CAD application more often than a OXYGEN. And in CAD apps, speed is not everything...

If I were you, i would not buy a OXYGEN if you dont do CAD at least 2 hours a day....

So to answer your question I would choose option B, because money is not really an issue !

Good luck

 

[djbacklash]

Sword~
Thanks for the helpful info! Do you all think there will be a big difference in visual/2D quality between say the G400Max and Geforce2 Ultra since they'll be outputting via DVI? I was under the impression that the Nvidia cards were somewhat lacking in that department, but would it be an issue since it'll be outputted to a digital lcd? I know for sure that SGI-compatible drivers for the Matrox and Nvidia cards are finally available, so that's why those are my two main options (aside from the Oxygen card). Radeon drivers are still "pending" unfortunately. Thanks again guys!

 

[ET]

Since you're not going to play games or do 3D work, I think that the GeForce2 Ultra would be somewhat of an overkill. I think that the Matrox will have a slight advantage over the nVIDIA chip, assuming that you have enough CPU power (the GeForce family does have motion compensation, but its DVD image quality isn't considered that great).