#Matrox Impression
9 messages in this thread
Hello John,
thank you for your help. I just downloaded some infos from MATROX area here on
CIS and seems that the MGA Impression 3MB/2MB Z-buff ISA will be the best for
all my needs. Thank you for your help
PavelK
Pavel, have you heard about the Impression PRO? It will support
higher res (1280×1024 @ 24bit) because it's got more memory. It is
only a few hundred dollars more, and probably worth it if you've got
the $$$. I love my MGA, but I don't use it for 3D Studio right now.
When the new drivers come in (one or two months) I will, though. I
have a network, and use one station for 3DS, and the other for
Windows apps like Fractal Painter, Photostyler, etc… and AutoCad.
That's the station with the MGA in it. Then I just use a switch box
so I've got both computers on the same monitor and keyboard, and can
flip back and forth between Windows or Acad and 3DS without worry.
And file transfer is taken care of by Lantastic. It's really an
ideal setup if you've got more than one computer.
John – what are the new drivers you speak of? I bought a VLBus 3Mb
Impression last fall, and while it's great for most Windows stuff,
it's a disappointment as far as AutoCAD goes, for both Windows and
DOS versions–it's much slower than my last card, a Rasterex Lazer.
I've heard that he MGA drivers are not as fast as some, I'm speaking
of the 3D real-time viewing capabilities, which are of utmost
importance to me. If it weren't for that I'd probably only open Acad
once a month or less. Also, Matrox updated the drivers, mainly for
speed, and they have been available on their BBS since last fall. I
don't know if you have the latest version. There may even be another
update, I haven't checked. I find the drivers quite fast, perhaps
you've got an older version. The MGA is my first high-end CAD card,
so I don't have much to compare it with, anyway.
I use Acad only for 3D modeling, and then only as an extension of my
3D Studio needs, so speed is important, but 3D is more important.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
John – I have the second issue of drivers, 1.1 I think.
I find the Dynaview driver slow in regular AutoCAD when changing to a
flip screen and when clearing away its own dialogue boxes. Also,
entity colours change when you copy things around the drawing; a
redraw doesn't cure the problem–you have to erase and oops to fix
it. Also, there are artifacts left when you erase objects that take a
redraw to clear. Also, Dynaview kills some zoom macros I have in my
menus.
Right now I'm working on adding my *good* AutoCAD board, a Rasterex
Lazer to the soup… but that would mean 3 video boards (both the
other two require a separate VGA) so I don't know if it will work.
I have not experienced any of the problems you state. Perhaps you have other
conflicts at work, or a bad version of the drivers. BTW, I just downloaded
version 1.11 from their BBS last night. I'm going to try it out in the next
day or two (when I get time) and I'll leave a message about what I think.
John Tissavary (La Luna cie)
John – Maybe I'll DL the new drivers and see if they're any better.
Dave
If they are, please let me know. You are more knowledgeable and
critical, and have more reference to base your opinions on, and I am
interested in the MGA drivers' performance in all areas.
John – will do! By the way, I'm using Rasterex's AutoIcon for Windows as the
display driver for ACADWIN with the Matrox, and it's great!
Dave