7/19/2005 7:52:47 AM

Hey!

me <=== new to the forum

Anyway, I was wondering if some of the users could post a few things...
 
1.  Their current video card model
2.  Their satisfaction with the card (especially in regards to high end features)
3.  Any plans to upgrade within 6 months?

Thanks much! 

.-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-. .-.*.-.

As for us...

1.  We just bought SSP and we have a Matrox G450, and Matrox G200 QUAD.
2.  They are not sufficient (to say the least)
3.  We will upgrade both based of feedback and research

- Andrew

7/19/2005 9:36:27 AM

Andrew,

Steven actually just covered this in his "ssplog" which can be found here.  Generally, the better the video card you purchase the more effects you'll be able use in your services. 

Although I would like to see what our users here are using.  I know in my systems here I am using an Nvidia 5600 FX and a Radeon X700 Pro.  Both seem to work quite nicely although the X700 Pro is definitely the more powerful (and therefore faster) of the two. 

7/19/2005 10:26:31 AM

I Have the Abit NVidia 5600 that came with the FowlerInc provided system in one machine, and a Saphire Radion 9600 in a workstation PC. Both have 256MB DDR ram, and both work well. Both of them have a bit of choppyness when using the MPeg WorshipScapes that used to download with SSP. SSP downloads now send those files as AVI (or is it WMV?), and they work much better.

If you are looking to purchase, be aware that there are driver/XPSP2/SSP issues with the ATI cards. Also be aware that the newer cards coming out will require a MoBo change, as they are using PCI-Express16 technology. Unless someone knows how to convert a standard PCI slot to PCI-X16. "THAT would be AWESOME" credit Bill Engvall.

gap

7/19/2005 1:25:42 PM

ATI 9800XT Pro 256MB.

7/19/2005 1:35:17 PM

PCI-Express is an entirely new protocol.

7/19/2005 2:18:46 PM

you'll basically need a new motherboard (or computer) to get a PCI Express slot.

We got a Dell with a PCI Express slot that had an ATI Radeon X300 SE with 1287MB in it. Bad news. Upgraded drivers helped a lot, but the machine was never stable.

We upgraded to an ATI Radeon X700 Pro with 256MB of RAM, and we're happy with the performance of the card.

The only oddity is that we have to turn on the projector before we turn on the computer, or the video card won't activate. No signal to either the monitor, on plug 1 or the projector in plug 2.

But as long as we turn the projector on first, we don't have troubles. We are looking at putting a DA between the computer and the projector to see if that will fool it into thinking that a live monitor is in plug 2, w/o having to turn on the projector.

The one word of advice I have is to say away from ATI's SE cards. Those are made from chips that couldn't pass the test to be on a PRO board, so they are basically defective. Just not quite defective enough to throw away.

7/19/2005 8:10:29 PM

We're using a Nvidia GeForce FX 5600 and we really like it.   Do I understand you guys correctly in that you are saying if we want to upgrade our cards, we need new motherboards???  Ouch!  I haven't had this laptop very long and the computer at church is only a year old.  I hate to have to get a different motherboard already. 

7/19/2005 9:41:57 PM

You should only have to change mother boards if you want to switch from AGP to PCI express.  You should be able to put in a faster board if it uses the same slot and your board has enough power to support it.

7/20/2005 7:22:45 AM

Right. As long as you want to stick with an AGP card, you can use the same motherboard. And there really is no pressing reason to change at this time.

Video upgrades on laptops, otoh, are pretty much limited to what the laptop manufacturer makes available.

7/21/2005 1:46:41 PM

The future is Pci - Express.
but it is not necessary for SSP. I doubt that it will take full advantage of it. For now i know AGP will fulfill its needs.

I use a randeon 9200. Before i reinstall windows, the videos are choppy, but after it is very good.
Works great with SP2.

Future: No Plans.

7/25/2005 8:06:21 AM

No program/video card, even high end, takes advantage of the full bandwidth of AGP 8x, much less PCIe, PCI-X, and other flavors.  Now, the objective is not to saturate the bus, but as it stands 70% of the bandwidth is wasted under most circumstances. 

The challenge for SSP will be moving into RT video capture and rendering without adding expensive hardware.  Can't be done?  We shall see...

Anyhow, thanks for all the input so far and keep it coming!  We here have determined that our current hardware is wholly inadequate for SSP and that if we want to take advantage of the full capabilities of the program we are going to have to build an entirely new system, which we are happy to do BTW.  We currently have 1.3 AMD Durons and while they work for PPT (mostly) they can't handle motion background rendering under most/any circumstance.

7/25/2005 12:42:01 PM

I just know you will be very happy once you upgrade.  We did that and had a guy build a computer specifically that could handle SSP and wow, what a difference.  We love it!

7/27/2005 7:28:21 PM

8/5/2005 2:51:21 PM

Lol

8/11/2005 1:27:10 AM

We're using ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (128 MB) and we really have no problems. The pc is a 2.4GHz Intel with 512 MB ... although I would like to add more ram ... cuz having more programs running at once eats up the whole ram :p

    Good luck to those building up their systems for SSP