Video card question.

[rfrazier]

My video card is a Matrox G450. I've had it a long time. However, ever since I got my ASUS 22in LCD monitor, things have been a bit wonky. On occasion, the video jiggles a bit, and sometimes even changes colour (losing red, it seems). A good smack makes everything okay. This doesn't happen all that often, but just enough to be annoying. So, I finally decided to look into things.

I run the monitor at 1680x1050. The card is supposed to go to 1920x1200. Or so I thought. On closer reading, it says that for digital monitors it only supports up to 1280x1024. So, it looks like I'll either have to run it at 1280x960, or get a new video card. My questions.

1. Why does it only support a lower resolution with digital monitors?
2. Any suggestions on a card that will support a higher resolution with digital monitors, only for 2D, AGP 8x and, preferably, passively cooled?

Best wishes,
Bob

[Glamdring]

Passive cooling is the problem. Any video card these days has to be capable of running the 3D in Vista/Windows 7 and Mac OS X. That means heat which necessitates a fan. There are passively cooled cards but they're either high end stuff with fancy physics involved in heat transfer or very low end stuff but then that's all you need.
Additionally all cards are capable of running at x16 PCIe though any will run on x8.
More programs are using the graphical capabilities of the cards to boost 2D work.

I found this one which might do the job:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/NVIDIA-Quadro-2 ... 402&sr=1-1

Bear in mind it's more than possible to buy a card with a fan and swap the fan for a third-party heat sink or other passive system.

[rfrazier]

Passive cooling is the problem. Any video card these days has to be capable of running the 3D in Vista/Windows 7 and Mac OS X. That means heat which necessitates a fan. There are passively cooled cards but they're either high end stuff with fancy physics involved in heat transfer or very low end stuff but then that's all you need.
Additionally all cards are capable of running at x16 PCIe though any will run on x8.
More programs are using the graphical capabilities of the cards to boost 2D work.

I found this one which might do the job:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/NVIDIA-Quadro-2 ... 402&sr=1-1

Bear in mind it's more than possible to buy a card with a fan and swap the fan for a third-party heat sink or other passive system.

Thanks. Are you saying that a card with a PCIe form will work in a AGP 8x slot?

Best wishes,
Bob

PS In any case, now sorted (I hope): Nvidia 6200 chip in a Gigabyte card. 30 quid.
RLF

[hogthrob]

Thanks. Are you saying that a card with a PCIe form will work in a AGP 8x slot?

It won't. I think he must have missed the AGP bit.


Edit: A quick rummage through the garage has revealed that I have quite a collection of old video cards


Nothing passively cooled, but you are welcome to either of these, free of charge:

PNY GeForce 6600 256MB
Hercules ATI 9800XT 256MB

[Glamdring]

You're right; I did miss the AGP bit. Okay, there are still a few AGP cards on the market. Passive cooling, here goes:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showprodu ... subcat=411

or

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129962

Same basic card but different manufacturer. Should work as you require. I recommend the second because it's slightly faster.

[rfrazier]

Thanks to both of you. I'll see how I get along with the Geforce 6200 based card.

I only got 6 or 7 years of use from my Matrox video card. I'll have to see if I can do better with this one! :)

Best wishes,
Bob

[Bionic Man]

Buy a gamers graphics card something thats now cheap like an nvidia 8800 even a used one will last you forever especially if your only running 2d.
Gamer cards are fitted with better cooling fans so any cooling probs are instantly forgot about and they are also much faster in terms of graphics processing and normally support more resolutions.

[rfrazier]

Buy a gamers graphics card something thats now cheap like an nvidia 8800 even a used one will last you forever especially if your only running 2d.
Gamer cards are fitted with better cooling fans so any cooling probs are instantly forgot about and they are also much faster in terms of graphics processing and normally support more resolutions.

Thanks for the advice. And, I suspect that it is a reasonable move. However, I've already ordered one.

But most importantly, what would I tell my brother's children (not having any myself) about my carbon footprint? :)

Best wishes,
Bob

[rfrazier]

However, ever since I got my ASUS 22in LCD monitor, things have been a bit wonky. On occasion, the video jiggles a bit, and sometimes even changes colour (losing red, it seems). A good smack makes everything okay. This doesn't happen all that often, but just enough to be annoying.

I took the monitor to work, as I do little photo editing at work, and thought I could put up with the jiggle/colour shift, with a few smacks now and again. It was getting boring. So, I took the back cover off the monitor, and reseated the VGA cable connectors on the monitor's internal board. It certainly seems fixed. :)

Best wishes,
Bob