#Graphite and VGAshow
13 messages in this thread
Dear John, Thanks for the response. I have been using the Hercules VESA bios
extention since I got the computer in March. I had other problems with the
drivers then, and they sent up a new pair of Graphite card BIOS chips in about
May, with Installation Diskette release 1.31 (my previous release was 1.21).
Are you saying they are now up to release 2 only three months later? Does that
also require new chips?
By the way, what company are you with? I'm new to modems as well as computer
graphics.
I look forward to hearing from you about my problems.
Stephen,
Yea, Hercules put new VESA drivers in the Install Utilities ver 2.0, new about
a month ago. This cleared up a bunch of earlier VESA problems. They now just
came out with ver 2.1, but I haven't had to try it yet. I don't think it
requires new chips. BTW, I forgot to try the CD ROM today; I _will_ write a
note to myself tonite.
I work for an AutoCAD and Autodesk Multimedia dealer in San Rafael, CA. We
settled on the Graphite cards for in house because they were the only ones that
had Windows drivers that correctly played animations in Windows when using high
color mode to avoid pallette shift when playing back AVI files that were
derived from flics. _Every_ other card and driver set we tried left undesirable
artifacts of some kind on the screen. And support from Hercules is great. For
strictly DOS applications like Animator, etc. the Dynamite is faster, but the
Graphite serves our overall needs better.
John Schmidt (A/E/C Technologies)
John;
How does the Graphite work for 3D Studio. I was looking at that card tonight
at Fry's Electronics.
It looked good, but didn't say anything about drivers for 3DS.
I want one that works in AutoCad, 3DS, Animator Pro, and lastly Windows.
Oh, what about OS/2. Is anything special about drivers for it. I just ordered
OS/2 today.
Dennis
Dennis:
>> How does the Graphite work for 3D Studio. I want one that works in
>> AutoCad, 3DS, Animator Pro, and lastly Windows.
We have four Graphites in the office, and I have one at home. We run all
the programs you mentioned, and love it!
>> It looked good, but didn't say anything about drivers for 3DS.
It comes with the Vibrant driver for 3DS, excellent!
Highly recommended,
Greg Pyros
Greg;
Did you get one or two megs of ram on the board?
I think I would get two megs (unless they have more) to avoid some limitations.
Thanks.
Dennis
Dennis:
>> Did you get one or two megs of ram on the board?
I purchased all of my Herc Graphites when the 1 meg was the only model, we
have since ordered the two meg version.
Greg Pyros
Greg;
Thanks for mentioning about the 2 megs of ram for Graphite. I believe 3DS R3
is set up standard for 800×600 for rendering and 640×480 for the materials
editor. So I definitely want that capability. I appreciate your help.
In looking through the catalogs, it appears that there may be different models
of the Graphite.
One vendors ad says; Hercules Graphite Pro(2 Meg) $389
Another says; Hercules Graphite HG210 1152×900 $249
and when called and asked for Graphite ISA bus 2Meg gave PN HG420 at $457
Another says; Hercules Graphite $220, but
when called and asked for the 2 meg version the price was $410
Another says; Hercules Graphite 210/Graphite VLB $289/259
Graphite Pro/Graphite Pro VLB $399/399
So, what's a guy to do. Will the real Hercules Graphite card please stand up!
Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Dennis
Dennis,
>> what's a guy to do
Basically, approach it this way. 1st, Do you have a VL-bus MB? If so you
definitely want to get the VL version of the card (very little difference
between the price of VL and ISA with same memory). The benefit of the 2MB
board is that it can do 800x600x24bit. This is nice for both pre-press work &
it allows you run MS Win and image programs (Photoshop, Corel, etc) and still
have enough "desktop" to view and edit a video image ….. 512, 640 or 720 x
486 image depending on your video frame buffer card. I use and usually sell
the 1MB board _especially_ if I'm also putting in a descent frame buffer card.
I rarely do not render to the frame buffer and thus rarely use the 24-bit
capabilities of the VGA card.
Ang
Ang;
I don't have a VL-bus MB. Maybe next year. Maybe sooner. I will keep your
comments in mind. I don't have a frame buffer at all, so I need a good hi-res
card.
Dennis
Dennis,
Below are current _list_ prices for the various Graphites:
Graphite Card #HG210 (1 meg ISA) $349
Graphite Pro #HG420 (2 meg ISA) $549
Graphite VL #HG510 (1 meg local bus) $399
Graphite VL Pro #HG720 (2 meg local bus) $549
Shop around; looks like you're seeing some good prices where you shop, but be
sure you're getting the correct model number you want.
John.
John;
Thanks for clarifying what is what on the Graphite video cards. I didn't know
how to find that out. Now all I have to do is decide which one to buy.
🙂
Dennis
Dennis,
I have to echo everything Greg said; they're great! They have both 1 and 2 meg
versions on both ISA and VLB. (You need 2 megs for 800×600 true color.) It
looks like an updated version of VGASHOW is needed to view the stills on the CD
ROM if you're not already using another viewer. BTW, an Autodesk'er just came
to our office yesterday and we installed one in her Compaq portable; it was the
only card that worked correctly for true color rendering in ACAD's render
function; even in a viewport, which is why she really needed it. The Vibrant
drivers can't be beat. Be sure to check on the .CRT variables to correctly set
your refresh rates; this can be confusing at first. If you get the card, feel
free to holler if you need help.
As for OS2, they have beta drivers available for it on their BBS. A similar
card, although available in 1 meg max, is their DYNAMITE card. This uses a
chipset that is faster for plain DOS, and works out of the box with OS2 without
the need for special drivers. GO HERCULES to access more detailed discussions
about OS2 issues w/Graphite.
John
John;
Ok. Confirmation # 2.
Sounds like the Graphite is the one for me. Thanks for your input.
Dennis