Help needed with videocards (Amiga ofc)

[Shoghi]

Hi!

I have rummaged around different amiga sites (like www.amiga-hardware.com) and found no adequate information regarding my problem. I have some partial infos but more needed to make a good move buying a graphics card for my A4000 desktop.

Could someone tell me what video cards are able to the following:

- can pass through native amiga modes (AGA modes also in my case) to its 15 pin VGA header
- can do it scan-doubled so I could use my 21" inch VGA (capable of 30KHz on higher scan)

First of all: I don't want to buy a scandoubler so I really need to know what video cards are able to do that.

I already know that Cybervision 64/3D is able to do that with an optional module - unfortunately I didn't know anything about that 'optional' thing when I bought it and it's already on it's way to me (arghh). There is a Retina BLT Zorro3 card available also but I need your opinions first.

Someone told me that the Picasso IV is such a card I seek however after the Cybervision fiasko I want to make sure that my next buy will be statisfying.

Thanks for any help.

[x56h34]

If you have an Amiga with Zorro slots, and if you are looking for an all-in-one solution, then by all means what you need is a Picasso IV card. Since you have an A4000D, this card would work out great.

[Shoghi]

Ok. I have just realised that this topic is for introductions. Sorry.  :-D

[Shoghi]

Thank You for the quick answer.

I was always confused about this "flicker fixer" and "scandoubler" stuff because some say I need the first to use my amiga on a VGA while others folks say the second one is what I need. Is a "flicker fixer" actually a "scan-doubler"? As for the Picasso IV the www.amiga-hardware.com says that it has a built in "flicker fixer" but never mentions the "scan-doubler" nor the possibility of attaching it to a 31KHz capable VGA.

[x56h34]

The naming conventions are used as follows:

Devices referred to as "Flicker Fixers" have both functions, i.e. they double native Amiga video from 15khz to 30khz and remove the annoying flickering.

"Scan Doublers" only double native video to 30khz and keep the flickering.


It can get a little confusing, I know. :-)

Picasso IV has a built in scan doubler/flicker fixer <--- the proper terminology.

[Justone]

PicassoIV is a lot better than CV64

Picasso IV is the One you're looking for.

[X-ray]

I also recommend the PIV. I have it here in my A4000T, connected through a monitor switcher to a 17" PC monitor. It hasn't given me any problems (I don't know much about graphics cards and even I could install it with no problems). I have three possible video sources to choose from, output to one monitor: the Picasso output, the flicker fixed native AGA display, and the PC display. The switching of the first two is handled automatically by the PIV, and the switching between Amiga and PC display is handled by the monitor switcher (a cheap and crude manual box for now)

I am quite certain that if there was a poll about the best classic cards that pass through flicker-fixed native modes, the PIV would come out tops. I read a lot of reviews before I chose the PIV, and I was tempted by the Prometheus/Voodoo combination but then I would have needed an external flicker fixer to keep my native modes. I believe it was Karlos who pointed out that many of these flicker fixers are 15-bit rather than 24-bit, and that is what turned me off that option. There are many users here who have had problems with external and internal flicker-fixers, but I haven't seen a complaint about the PIV flicker-fixer yet.

[hikermike]

I would recomend the Picasso iv although I don't have one.  I have a Retina BLT Z3 which I use on my A2500.  (It can use both Z3 and Z2)  Nothing has been written for it in the past 10 nyears while Picasso does.  It is complicated to set up, and seems to be the source of annoying crashes.  It doesn't do all that it was advertised, and if it does, well it wasn't explained in the manuals.  I chose it because it allows you to use two monitors which I thought would be helpful in troubled times.  (which it is)  I.e., if something happens to the card, the 1084s monitor is hooked up to the Amiga port and not the card so you can problem solve.  This happens a lot so this is useful but I think the card itself is the cause of this.  When I originally got it, the only picasso was II and I thought that was to complicated.  How wrong I was.  Remember, one of the Amiga's advantages was to show more than 1 screen resolution at a time, i.e. a split screen with different res. which is very helpful, i.e., in Vidi you can have the upper screen of the picture your capturing in a higher resolution than the lower screen with the toolbox on it so that the buttons are a decent size.  On ALL the graphics boards this is lost so if you set the graphics screen to a decent res then the button screen is so small you can barely see it.  The Retina allows you to return to the Amiga graphics so you can continue to use this.  For all the trouble I've had with it, this was a  small item

[Shoghi]

Thank you for everyone for helping me out! So it turns out that a flicker fixer is actually a scandoubler also. Good to know. I think I will go for the Picasso IV. :-D

[Karlos]

The Picasso-IV is simply the best Zorro based amiga graphics card bar none. It has it's own mini PCI bus (or something very similar) that allows all kinds of add ons, including a TV module, soundcard etc.

It does lack any form of 3D acceleration however (less of a problem unless you want to play 3D games that support OpenGL etc).

Of the remaining amiga specific cards, the CVisionPPC is more powerful (based on a more modern GPU and has more memory) but it's no use without a cyberstorm mk3 / cyberstorm ppc accelerator card. It also lacks the SD/FF hardware and has no further expandibility.

After that, it's a PCI bus board if you want to use various off the shelf PCI graphics cards (as well as sound cards, NICs etc). The Voodoo3000 is particularly well supported. However, the display quality of the Voodoo is simply awful IMHO ;-)

[Shoghi]

Does anyone know if the Cybervision 64/3D (with it's ScanDoubler module installed) is able to put a flicker-free picture on the screen by any means (jumper settings etc)? There are loads of contradictory infos on the net concerning this question and nowhere I was able to find a confident answer. Some sites are describing the 64/3D scandoubler module as if it would have a flicker fixer function while others never mentioning it. Help!  :-?

[vpcs]

It is just a scandoubler...
It does not have the ability to reduce the flicker.
I have one in a 4000T it does a good job with the scandoubling function. I found no need for flicker fixer..I just use the Cybervision 64/3D for high res screens

[motrucker]

The Voodoo3000 is particularly well supported. However, the display quality of the Voodoo is simply awful IMHO ;-)

Remember that the VooDoo technology is old (6 years or more?) and completely discontinued. It can't compare to current video cards, such as the ATI and Nvidia cards with as much as 256 Mb of RAM. The new cards are available in PCI buss, AGP or the newer PCI Extreme (16x) configurations.
Why can't we get trully new technology for our Amigas?!

[pjhutch]

You can fit any new graphics card to the Amiga with PCI slots. The problem is getting drivers for it and companies are really reluctant on releasing info to write one for a different platform w/o spending vasts sums of cash...  :-(

[whabang]

motrucker wrote:
Remember that the VooDoo technology is old (6 years or more?) and completely discontinued.

Not really discontinniued. nVidia's FX-series were based on aquired 3DfX-technology.