I am building the following and need advice on a suitable video card to power 2 x 17" TFT monitors with one desktop for top end 2D and 3D graphics work. CPU = 2.8ghz P4 HT MB = Gigabyte GA-81k1100 Memory = 1GB 400mhz DDr ram HD = Serial Ata 160gb I have been advised by the supplier to use an ATI Radeon 9600 pro, however I have used matrox before and was considering a Parhelia 128mb. Which would be more suitable and are there better options available? Thanks Mike
I'm not sure of actual graphics work regarding the Parnhelia, but as far a gameplay goes, it's supposedly on par with the GeForce 3. If you want to save a few bucks, the Radeon is probably the better buy, but if price isn't that big of a deal, the Parhelia is likely better for you. For professional graphics work, that Matrox card is probably the cheapest you'll be able to go without looking at Matrox G4xx/5xx cards or some low-end 3DLabs Oxygen or Wildcat card. Personally, I've not dealt with multiple monitor setups that much, but I've used the ATi software with the 8500 and found it to be fairly unimpressive, but it does do what you're looking for. The Parhelia does have the ATi cards beat in that it can support up to 3 VGA (CRT or LCD/TFT) displays, but that might be the Parhelia 512. As long as you're not gaming, the Parhelia is probably your best bet, unless you want to start looking at 3DLabs wildcats or ATi's FireGL cards, and with some of the higher-end pro level cards, you'll need an AGP Pro slot, and I don't believe that motherboard has that. Plus, they also run well over $1000.
