What's the best PCI Display adapter out there?

[kjwise]

I want to set up my computer for Dual Display, looking at my rig which you can see in my signature, you
can see that I'm not looking for some s3 virge to screw up my stable system configuration.
And no, I'm not going to upgrade the AGP card, so please, in your oppinion, what's the best PCI display
adapter out there?

 

[BCinSC]

From my research, PCI options are regulated to older/lesser technologies. There is a GeForce2MX from Creative and Visiontek and of course there's the 3Dfx VooDoo 5500, not to mention various Vodoo3's. I don't know ATI's last PCI card.

 

[Noriaki]

Best for image quality?

Get a Matrox G200, they are excellent excellent cards. With 8MB of RAM you can have any desktop size you want. They have good refresh rate and very crisp text.

If you want something a little better on the 3D front a PCI GF2MX or Voodoo5 would be the best option. But remeber your secondary display can't do alot of thnigs, so personally I'd look for something cheaper like a G200.

 

[Shmorq]

I used to have the G200 and it was perfect for 2D stuff. The 3D performance doesn't matter since you're AGP card will be handling those duties.

You can also try the Voodoo 3 2000. It's for $32 + shipping. Found it in the Hot Deals forum. This card should be more than sufficient for you needs since it's image quality is better than most newer cards'.

 

[Zach]

Yeah, get a Matrox card. Maybe ATI, I went with a Xpert98 only to find it can't be #2 in Win2K, but an Xpert99 would work well. Most people don't need much more than that for a second adapter, I ended up keeping my Viper V330 in there, an old 4meg NVidia chipset! Anyone remember the Riva 128? It was hot..

 

[wolf550e]

whats about Voodoo 5 5500 PCI?

and yes, matrox has unbeatble 2D quality

 

[V]

My voodoo 3 3000pci had very nice 2d quality.

 

[Zach]

But why get a Voodoo or other 3D card for the second adapter? How many games even let you specify the use of the second card? Waste of money.

 

[virtuamike]

I'd go with the Matrox G200, fantastic picture quality. I have an old Viper 330 sitting around, maybe I should try it. I really want to run at 1024x768 32bit @ 75Hz or higher, does the 330 support that? Only 4MB of RAM, I'm guessing that's enough though.

 

[Tideman]

I used a Voodoo 3 2000 16 mb PCI card for quite a while, until I upgraded to an AGP motherboard. Now my son has it. Nice, stable...never had a problem with it.

Good solid piece of hardware.

 

[Noriaki]

virtuamike:
1024x768x32bit = 3MB, your 4MB card has enough. I don't know if it will let you set that res or not, but it should and 4MB is enough.

 

[bacillus]

the mATROX G450 is now available as a PCI card. first class 2D & reasonable 3D & not forgetting its dual head feature!