Cheap but very good video card...

[shodge]

ALL,

I've seen the thread about how good the 5200's video output is compaired to ATI cards. The card in my Sage server is a very old ATI Rage Pro 8MB card. It works but seems to get a random hit which makes the picture dark [brightness]. I can fix it by tweeking the overlay brightness or re-booting.

So I'm looking to replace it with a new card. The 5200 is around $71. This is only for Sage so I do not need the extra horsepower. I can also get a 440SE with TV out for $41 [I'm leaning towards it]. Anybody have an opinion on to Gforce 4 440? Vs 5200? Vs ATI?

-Stan

[shodge]

A very good quallity TV...

-Stan

[sshapiro63]

Are you going to be viewing on a monitor or on a TV?

[sshapiro63]

Get the FX 5200 for viewing on a TV via Svideo. I tried a 440 on a TV, it looked awful.

[shodge]

OK,

I can take a hint.... The 5200 is on order...

-Stan

[shodge]

Just a report back.

Installed the 5200 and all of my problems went away. Centering controls are nice, 1024x768 not bad, performance on Sage is great.

Picture quallity is at least 5-10% improved over my ATI Rage Pro Turbo [S-Video]. It just works....

-Paid $59.99 with shipping... price through pricewatch...

-Stan

[sshapiro63]

Glad you like the card! I had to turn down the saturation level to about 70% to get the best looking video. Most of the other settigns were left alone.

[JasonJoel]

So with the better tv-out sizing adjustments were you able to make the tv-out picture take 100% of the tv screen (without a ton of overscan)?

I've heard both ways on that issue... Some people say the adjustments are really flexible on this card with new drivers, some say they still have black bars (but maybe they are using old drivers??).

Just curious.

Jason


Originally posted by shodge
Just a report back.

Installed the 5200 and all of my problems went away. Centering controls are nice, 1024x768 not bad, performance on Sage is great.

Picture quallity is at least 5-10% improved over my ATI Rage Pro Turbo [S-Video]. It just works....

-Paid $59.99 with shipping... price through pricewatch...

-Stan

[sshapiro63]

I was able to adjust the picture to have virtually zero overscan. I am very pleased with the results.

[shodge]

The card does have strange controls. You have a zoom / compress feature and then complete x/y positioning.

Even though it was a bit strange, I also have it perfect sized for my 53" sony.

-Stan