Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor?

In addition to my previous post, I thought it might be helpful to give a
bit of info about what display stuff I use my PC for.

I'm certainly not much of a gamer, so while I'd expect a decent 3D
performance from a card if I'm spending a reasonable amount, I won't be
running endless benchmarks or trying to squeeze high framerates out of
Quake or whatever (you can probably tell I'm not into these things can't
you? ).

What I am into is all manner of multimedia applications, particularly
video-editing, which I would have to say is pushing me somewhat towards
Matrox's Parhelia range (I particularly love the sound of the WYSIWYG
plugin for Premiere Pro). They're only AGP 4x though - should I be
worried that my next motherboard (in, say, two years' time) might not
support this? My current one (Asus A7N8X Deluxe) supports 4x and 8x, so
I was envisaging future ones only doing 8x and 16x or something! Also,
like just about every card I've seen, they have a maximum resolution of
2048x1536 - does this mean they will or won't manage my desired
2304x1440?

Anyway, all advice is gratefully received!

Thanks again,

Paul
 >> Stay informed about: Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor? 

On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 18:35:31 -0500, J. Clarke wrote:

  > > 1. Does anyone have any experience of a reasonably-priced graphics card
  > > which can reliably output a decent picture at 2304x1440 with at least
  > > 80Hz refresh rate?
....
 > Any recent ATI Radeon board should be able to do this.

Oh right, that's good to know - I take it this means that when they say
their maximum resolution is 2048x1536 this only refers to 4:3 ratio and
they can be pushed higher on a 16:10 ratio like this then.

  > > 2. Will any graphics card be able to use these BNC connectors? I've not
  > > come across them before, as I say, so I have no idea whether you have to
  > > get a particular graphics card to use them or not. If you do, any
  > > recommendations?
 > Generally this just needs an adapter cable.

Great, that's what I was hoping to hear as I think the monitor comes
with something along those lines.

Thanks very much for you response, which was so quick it beat my
follow-up message by one minute! If you have time I'd appreciate any
further thoughts in the light of my extra info in my follow-up post. If
Matrox is not something you know about I'll probably do a new post
specifically mentioning it in the subject, and taking on board your
advice regarding ATI.

Thanks again,

Paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor? 

Paul Speller wrote:

 > On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 18:35:31 -0500, J. Clarke wrote:
 >
   >> > 1. Does anyone have any experience of a reasonably-priced graphics card
   >> > which can reliably output a decent picture at 2304x1440 with at least
   >> > 80Hz refresh rate?
 > ...
  >> Any recent ATI Radeon board should be able to do this.
 >
 > Oh right, that's good to know - I take it this means that when they say
 > their maximum resolution is 2048x1536 this only refers to 4:3 ratio and
 > they can be pushed higher on a 16:10 ratio like this then.

It's actually just the highest setting the drivers list in the Windows
dialog. I don't know where the Radeons' limit is--they can drive a
3840x2400 LCD at its native resolution. When I say "Radeon" I should
qualify that--Radeon 8500 and higher--I don't know whether the older ones
can do this.

One thing to be aware of--2304x1440 is listed as the maximum
resolution--1920x1200 is listed as the "recommended" resolution. The way
that works is that the maximum resolution is set at the level where the
signal distortion hits a defined level, one which results in a noticeably
degraded image. The "recommended" resolution is generally set at a level
at which there is no noticeable image degradation--in other words the image
is going to get fuzzier going from 1920x1200 to 2304x1440 no matter what
video board you use.

To get a "nonstandard" resolution you need third party software--Rage3dTweak
<http://www.rage3d.com/?node=r3dtweak> may do the job for you, if it won't
then you'll need PowerStrip <http://www.entechtaiwan.com/>.
 >
   >> > 2. Will any graphics card be able to use these BNC connectors? I've not
   >> > come across them before, as I say, so I have no idea whether you have
   >> > to get a particular graphics card to use them or not. If you do, any
   >> > recommendations?
  >> Generally this just needs an adapter cable.
 >
 > Great, that's what I was hoping to hear as I think the monitor comes
 > with something along those lines.

The manual is available from the sony site--it indicates that the BNC cable
is not included--the Sony part number is SMF-400.
 >
 > Thanks very much for you response, which was so quick it beat my
 > follow-up message by one minute! If you have time I'd appreciate any
 > further thoughts in the light of my extra info in my follow-up post. If
 > Matrox is not something you know about I'll probably do a new post
 > specifically mentioning it in the subject, and taking on board your
 > advice regarding ATI.

I've not worked with a Parhelia, but they are also listed as compatible with
the 3840x2400 Viewsonic, so the board should be able to handle the
resolution--getting it set there might be another story--Powerstrip
supports some Matrox boards but I can't say with certainty that it supports
the Parhelia.

In 2 years time it's questionable whether a new motherboard that provides a
significant performance improvement over your A7N8X will have AGP at
all--there's a new technology, "PCI Express", that is supposed to replace
AGP over the next several years.
 >
 > Thanks again,
 >
 > Paul

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor? 

Any current graphics card will work with BNC, just have to get the cable.
Generic starts at $10 ($30 name brand)
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.pricewatch.com" target="_blank">www.pricewatch.com</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.ebay.com" target="_blank">www.ebay.com</a>
BNC cable connection gives a slightly better picture at higher resolutions.
You will only see BNC connectors on high end monitors
But you lose Plug & Play, so you have to get the latest Sony monitor .inf
file
and set the correct monitor model


"Paul Speller" <spam.DeleteThis@paulspeller.co.uk> wrote in message
news:mst220d5tvhb6p7035caap0gjgtj7fboa6@4ax.com...
 > Hi there,
 >
 > I'm thinking of getting a Sony GDM-FW900 monitor, which is a 24-inch
 > widescreen beast of a CRT display, which can do up to 2304x1440
 > resolution at 85Hz refresh rate, and has both a standard 15-pin
 > connector and "BNC" connectors which apparently provide better picture
 > quality (but are not something I have come across before so I am in the
 > dark on this!). Therefore, my question is twofold...
 >
 > 1. Does anyone have any experience of a reasonably-priced graphics card
 > which can reliably output a decent picture at 2304x1440 with at least
 > 80Hz refresh rate?
 >
 > I'm ideally hoping not to spend more than 200 GBP (preferably as little
 > as possible, the monitor is a fortune!), which I guess is around US$300
 > (but knowing how these things usually work, what's 200GBP over here is
 > probably nearer $200 than $300 in the States...). Being realistic, I'm
 > prepared within reason to pay what it takes though - no point getting
 > the monitor if I'll end up with a rubbish picture on it.
 >
 > 2. Will any graphics card be able to use these BNC connectors? I've not
 > come across them before, as I say, so I have no idea whether you have to
 > get a particular graphics card to use them or not. If you do, any
 > recommendations?
 >
 > Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer!
 >
 > Paul Speller
 > London, UK<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor? 

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 00:53:15 -0500, J. Clarke wrote:

 > It's actually just the highest setting the drivers list in the Windows
 > dialog. I don't know where the Radeons' limit is--they can drive a
 > 3840x2400 LCD at its native resolution. When I say "Radeon" I should
 > qualify that--Radeon 8500 and higher--I don't know whether the older ones
 > can do this.

Thanks for this explanation.

 > One thing to be aware of--2304x1440 is listed as the maximum
 > resolution--1920x1200 is listed as the "recommended" resolution. The way
 > that works is that the maximum resolution is set at the level where the
 > signal distortion hits a defined level, one which results in a noticeably
 > degraded image. The "recommended" resolution is generally set at a level
 > at which there is no noticeable image degradation--in other words the image
 > is going to get fuzzier going from 1920x1200 to 2304x1440 no matter what
 > video board you use.

I've read some great reviews of this monitor but yeah, I'm
half-expecting performance above 1920x1200 to be less than perfect. It's
just useful to know I can go to the higher resolution if I really need
the extra screen space.

 > To get a "nonstandard" resolution you need third party software--Rage3dTweak
 > <http://www.rage3d.com/?node=r3dtweak> may do the job for you, if it won't
 > then you'll need PowerStrip <http://www.entechtaiwan.com/>.

Ah yes, I use PowerStrip at the moment, to get 1920x1200 out of my
ageing Rage 128 Pro (whose specifications list this as maximum
resolution, but it doesn't show up in Display properties without
Powerstrip running first for some reason).

Thanks very much for all your advice in this thread, it's been most
enlightening!

Paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor? 

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 08:44:11 GMT, Tod wrote:

 > BNC cable connection gives a slightly better picture at higher resolutions.
 > You will only see BNC connectors on high end monitors
 > But you lose Plug & Play, so you have to get the latest Sony monitor .inf file
 > and set the correct monitor model

Thanks for this, I no longer feel in the dark on the matter! Sounds a
worthwhile investment in time and money, since I intend to be dealing
with pretty high resolutions.

Cheers,

Paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Graphics card to complement Sony 24" widescreen monitor?