unhd (Roger Gonzalez ) (10/08/90)
I'm thinking about getting a Zeos 386-33 in their $3695 package deal, except that I would get the NEC-4D monitor instead of their stock VGA. I would also like to get a better (i.e. non-interlaced) video board, but I don't know what to look for. I read the article in PC Magazine on 768x1024 non-interlaced boards/cards, but was left feeling confused. All I want is 768x1024 with a jillion colors and no flicker, without having to rob a bank. Any suggestions? I'm interested in hearing any advice about this configuration. Thanks, Roger -- "The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim" - Edsgar W. Dijkstra rg@unhd.unh.edu | UNH Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory r_gonzalez@unhh.bitnet | Durham, NH 03824-3525
dan@rna.UUCP (Dan Ts'o) (10/15/90)
In article <1990Oct7.203309.27723@uunet!unhd> rg@unhd.UUCP (Roger Gonzalez ) writes: >I'm thinking about getting a Zeos 386-33 in their $3695 package deal, >except that I would get the NEC-4D monitor instead of their stock VGA. >I would also like to get a better (i.e. non-interlaced) video board, >but I don't know what to look for. I read the article in PC Magazine >on 768x1024 non-interlaced boards/cards, but was left feeling confused. >All I want is 768x1024 with a jillion colors and no flicker, without >having to rob a bank. Any suggestions? I'm interested in hearing any >advice about this configuration. I think the two to consider are the Video 7 VRAM and the Orchid Prodesigner II. The VRAM is about the most expensive, at $350. But it seems to have perhaps the best driver support and good reliability and tech support. It is also fast. The Orchid is slightly cheaper and for $320 can even give you a full 1Mb for 1024x768 at 256 colors (the VRAM can only do 16 color at that resolution, having only 512K). It is also suppose to be fast, but PC Mag rated Orchid poor in reliability and support. However that report was in part based on the earlier Prodesigner. Orchid claims the new version is much better. You can get cheaper boards, (my favorite, despite some problems) is the ATI VGAwonder with builtin mouse port for $300, but these are interlaced at 1024x768, whereas the VRAM and Orchid are not. The flicker of the ATI is generally only noticeable when using graphics/fonts that depend on single pixel transitions. For 95% of the time, you will not notice any flicker. But tiny fonts, single pixel line drawings, etc, will produce some flicker. I rate it as quite tolerable, but if you're going to spring for the NEC 4D (actually I might recommend the Nanao 9070S instead), you might as well add the extra $50-100 and get a real non-interlaced board. (If you have more money, consider a 8514 emulator...) Cheers, Dan Ts'o 212-570-7671 Dept. Neurobiology dan@rna.rockefeller.edu Rockefeller Univ. rna!dan@nyu.edu 1230 York Ave. tso@rockvax.bitnet NY, NY 10021
ljg@ecosoft.uucp (Lowell J. Gray) (10/25/90)
I have an excellent 16" display which is capable of going up to 1280x1024,
if I spend the money for a new video card. I definitely can recommend:
Mitsubishi HL 6605TK - programmable multi-scan color monitor
It costs less than the NEC 4D or Nanao 9070U and has a larger viewable area.
I'm currently using an Orchid Prodesigner w/512K at 1024x768x16 non-interlaced
with their new Windows 3.0 driver. It doesn't have any noticeable flicker,
but the scrolling in Terminal is reallll slowwww.
I agree that Orchid's support is not so hot - it took almost five months for
them to release the new Windows driver. But you get what you pay for; it
wasn't a bad deal for the $250 I paid. I've seen the Prodesigner II and it is
much faster and also a good price.
But if you are serious about high res color for something like Windows, I
suggest you skip the VGA boards and get a coprocessor-based card like the
new Hercules 1024, currently selling for about $850. I'm hoping prices will
be even lower and the cards faster (maybe TI34020 instead of TI34010?),
by the time I get fed up with my current VGA speed,
- Lowell
--
Lowell J. Gray UUCP: {cfi.com,uunet}!ecosoft!ljg
EcoSoft, Inc. tel: +1 508 651 8722
13 Priscilla Path, Wayland, MA 01778 USA