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From: nyet@nntp-server.caltech.edu (n liu)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Trident SVGA, CTX monitors and Quantum IDE HD's experience?
Message-ID: <1991Mar27.232143.20390@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Date: 27 Mar 91 23:21:43 GMT
References: <wp.670073618@iddth2> <3698@d75.UUCP>
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Lines: 39

woan@nowhere (Ronald S Woan) writes:

>In article <wp.670073618@iddth2> wp@iddth.id.dk (Wiesiek Pawlowski (900415#GUEST)) writes:
>>does anybody have any experience with the following pieces of hardware:
>>  - TRIDENT Super VGA with 1MB video RAM

>While reliable, these are very slow especially in the the Super VGA
>modes under Windows 3.0. I think you'd be much better off with a Tseng
>Labs ET4000 based card at roughly the same prices.


I have both a Trident 8900 1Meg and a CTX monitor - the monitor is 
fairly good, considering its not a "real" multisync; its a trisync.
It IS far superior to many other trisync monitors are concerned, as far
as dot pitch and sync speed is concerned. I do have to bitch a little about
the Trident 8900 card though - yes, the old windows 3.0 drivers were
REAL slow for 256 color modes, although there is a beta version out
on trident's bbs in sunnyvale (can get # if you want it, but don't have it
handy). The beta version is supposedly "up to 5x faster," which makes it
pretty tolerable. I use the 800x600x256 mode because the 1024x768 interlaced
mode is TERRIBLE. This is due to the card (i think) because i did some 
mixing and matching with my friend's Swan (Tseng ET4000) card and his NEC 3d.
Essentially, the Swan looked GREAT on the CTX and the Trident sucked hard
on the NEC 3D.  Of course, i think the Swan has about 5 separate
timing crystals as opposed to the Trident's one 40Mhz crystal (with 
probably a dozen different dividing circuits). This no doubt is a vital
difference in the interlaced modes where precise timing is critical.
The only advantage my trident card had was a non-interlaced 1024 mode,
although i'm told the new Swans have it too now. I didn't have a monitor
that had the 1024 non-int. mode, so i sadly didn't get to try the mode out
on the Trident.  Overall though, its a pretty decent card as far as speed
and reliability go.

One word of warning - since the CTX is not a true multisync make SURE
that all modes on whatever video card you buy have scan rates that the
CTX can sync to.

Good luck!
nye