#MGA cards
15 messages in this thread
Brian,
I'd need some advice to choose a new graphs card for my pentium-PCI DECpc.
I'm thinking in an MGA, but can't find the difference betwen Ultima and
Impression series, or what's more important for me, if they are supported by
the drivers supplied with r4, and which one will work better with 3ds4. Do
Vibrant drivers use those 3Dfeatures announced with MGA cards?
Or may be there are other brand's cards, like #9 … In one row: What would you
buy today with $500 for r4?
I hope you can asnwer to this question in the forum.
Thanks!
Ignacio:
You may be waiting a long time for Brian Massey to reply – he is no longer with
Vibrant!
Greg Pyros
PMJI, Ignacio, but I am running an MGA Ultima PCI 2+ in my DEC xl590 and
running 3DS3. Very satisfied with it.
The new Matrox board, the Impressions Plus, is very nice. Has 3D gouraud
shading and hidden line removal built into the hardware. It can be expanded to
4 MB of RAM. I'm not sure about drivers for 3DS, though. It's Windows
performance is quite good, its DOS performance (for s/w like games) is abysmal.
However, if there are special 3DS drivers, it's likely to be very good.
Loyd Case
Loyd,
I'll probably choose that Impression+. But I'd like to talk to someone using
it with 3ds. I can buy it now and wait for the specific Vibrant driver to get
the most of it, but if the 3DS performance is too bad in a standard mode like
"VESA compatibles" I'll wait for Vibrant before buying. I've seen other threads
about this card. I'll be listening.
Bye!
Ignacio
We've had reports of problems that might be related tp some PCI versions of the
MGA – so if you plan on a particular card, it helps if you have someone tell
you that they've actually run it with 3DS! Good luck.
Well, I've already seen some messages asking for Impression support. I'll
follow your advice and wait for someone to confirm to me I'll be able to use
3ds4 with a reasonable performance (maybe with a "standard mode"live VESA
compatibles) before buying. But consider me one of those waiting for these
drivers. Hope they come soon.
Thanks!
Hi Ignacio,
I bought the MGA Impression + and I love it. I won't say that the Matrox Tech
Support wasn't a pain in the ass to deal with, but I finally got the drivers
that would work well in 3DS. Actually, they are in the Matrox forum for the
pickin'.
I hope this helps you out.
Alex.
Alex –
> Support wasn't a pain in the ass to deal with, but I finally got the drivers
> that would work well in 3DS. Actually, they are in the Matrox forum for the
> pickin'.
What drivers did you find the the Matrox forum? I have the latest ACADRV
drivers, v1.42, but Matrox actually recommend the Vibrant driver from here
over their own drivers.
Dave
Hi Dave,
If you have the Impression +, then the latest drivers are the 2.01 or 2.10 I'm
not exactly sure, but the files to download are M1210.ZIP and M2210.ZIP.
Again, these are for the Impression +.
I hope this helps you out.
Alex .
Alex – ok, I don't have a Plus. Thanks.
Dave
Hi, Alex!
You've said all I wanted to hear. I'll give a good Impression to my DECpc.
Just one point: Are you using the PCI version?
I went to the Matrox library before asking here in Asoft and found nothing for
3DS (excepting drivers for the Illuminator Pro). There are drivers for Autocad.
Are ACAD's ADI drivers good for 3DS too??? If not, can you give me the filename
I need?
Thanks!
Ignacio
Hi Ignacio,
Yes, I'm using the PCI version, and like I said, I love it. If you have the
Impression +, then the latest drivers are the 2.01 or 2.10 I'm not exactly
sure, but the files to download are M1210.ZIP and M2210.ZIP from the Matrox
file area.
I hope this helps out.
Alex.