Need advice on video cards for work

[Master]

I'm looking for something that can handle the same as this barco video card....

http://www.barco.com/en/products-solutions/image-processing-presentation/medical-display-controllers/pcinbsp;display-controller-for-coronis-display-systems.aspx?tab=specs

I'm interested in the ATI/AMD Radeon 6850 gaming card with dual DVI by NCIX on sale this weekend. Are these comparable? Looking at the specs, the barco card has 2560 x 2048 whereas the 6850 is lower.

Any ideas if the 6850 will work on two 3megapixels monitors? Will there be distortion?

Any opinion appreciated.

Thanks a million

[infamouskid]

your going to want something stronger.
the 6850 supports the following.


DisplayPort 1.2
Max resolution: 2560x1600 per display
Multi-Stream Transport
21.6 Gbps bandwidth
High bit-rate audio
HDMI® (With 3D, Deep Color and x.v.Color™)
Max resolution: 1920x1200
Dual-link DVI with HDCP
Max resolution: 2560x1600
VGA
Max resolution: 2048x1536

what you want is a card like an NEC or a Mitsubishi.
not sure what os you have but drivers will be an issue if it ain't windows for sure.

[Kwirky]

AMD FirePro V5800 will get you that resolution: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195105&nm_mc=OTC-PricebatCA&cm_mmc=OTC-PricebatCA-_-Video+Cards+-+Workstation-_-ATI-_-14195105

[Master]

Thank you guys. The price of V5800 hurts a little... Wonder if there's anything cheaper.

[Mark77]

I'm looking for something that can handle the same as this barco video card....

http://www.barco.com/en/products-solutions/image-processing-presentation/medical-display-controllers/pcinbsp;display-controller-for-coronis-display-systems.aspx?tab=specs



What's this for, if I may ask? That particular Barco card, with the 10bit outputs, seems to be targetted for medical imaging applications. If there's a very specific interfacing requirement, it may not be a matter of simply buying a fast off-the-shelf PC video card.





I'm interested in the ATI/AMD Radeon 6850 gaming card with dual DVI by NCIX on sale this weekend. Are these comparable? Looking at the specs, the barco card has 2560 x 2048 whereas the 6850 is lower.


Again, what's the screen, and what's the use? 2560x1600, and not 2560x2048 is what is common in the PC realm for displays. At those sorts of resolutions on a VGA interface, that may very well be quite problematic for a good chunk of the hardware out there.



Any ideas if the 6850 will work on two 3megapixels monitors? Will there be distortion?


Running VGA even at 2MP (ie: 1920x1200 or 1080p) gives rise to a fair degree of jitter which is caused by phase imbalance between the RGB lines. That's certainly going to be even worse at 3MP.

[Master]

It is for medical imaging. It will be used to drive two of these monitors

http://www.barco.com/en/products-solutions/displays-monitors-workstations/medical-displays/diagnostic-displays/3-megapixel-premium-diagnostic-grayscale-display-system.aspx?tab=options

Now, looking at all compatible video cards under options. It seems that the firepro V4900, V5800 are all compatible. But they are expensive. So, the run of the mill 6850 definitely won't work then? How many bit is the regular gaming card like the 6850? Fewer bit means lesser gray scale differentiation?

[Mark77]

It is for medical imaging. It will be used to drive two of these monitors

http://www.barco.com/en/products-solutions/displays-monitors-workstations/medical-displays/diagnostic-displays/3-megapixel-premium-diagnostic-grayscale-display-system.aspx?tab=options

Now, looking at all compatible video cards under options. It seems that the firepro V4900, V5800 are all compatible. But they are expensive. So, the run of the mill 6850 definitely won't work then? How many bit is the regular gaming card like the 6850? Fewer bit means lesser gray scale differentiation?


Okay, so it takes dual-link DVI. 8-bits = 256 potential gray levels, 10-bit = 1024 levels. In a medical imaging application, i would have to assume that this is a meaningful distinction.

Just a few quick Internet searches tell me that the actual chips used on cards like the 6850 are capable of 10-bit, but it is disabled in drivers because it is a premium feature.

http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/10-Bit.pdf

As for price of the Firepros.....that's just the cost of working with such high-end equipment.


So, the run of the mill 6850 definitely won't work then?

If you hook one up, it will work, but you'll only be at 24-bit (8 bits per colour) depth. Depending upon the application, this may or may not be an issue. The screen may have been selected for the application because there was a legitimate need for the fidelity inherent in a 10-bit system, or the screen may have been selected for another reason. Obviously the engineers who designed the system had their reasons... I've seen 12" CRT screens that cost more than a small house each...very specialized aviation applications they were used in.

The other problem with a 'run-of-the-mill 6850' is that it may or may not be compatible with the thermal envelope, or the overall reliability specification of the equipment. We're talking about cards built of consumer-grade components, versus the enhanced reliability components that may be in the medical equipment. I'm kinda interested in knowing more about your project -- PM me if you don't feel comfortable discussing it in depth, because worrying about a $400 video card is totally not characteristic of what I'd expect.