I’m planning a show that requires high-resolution video output. My current card maxes out at 800 x 600. I’m looking for the least expensive card that has a video-out resolution of 1024x768, and will equal or outperform a Geforce3 in 3D apps. I’ve been having trouble tracking down video-out resolutions, is anyone familiar with them?
(Shameless plug for the company I work for. 
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Er… scott evil:
Lowest price I can find for a Parhelia is $321. It’s a great product, but probably not what cainxinth is looking for.
I would suggest any of the nVidia GeForce4 Ti4200 cards. They can be had for just over $100 and most have two outputs. Dual monitor action, here I come!
Jpeg, I was looking at the Ti4200’s. Do you know of a specific brand/model that offers a TV chip that outputs 1024x768?
scott evil, I wish!
Well, cainxinth, I’m a little confused about what you’re looking for now. I’m not sure how to respond to “a TV chip that outputs 1024x768”.
I can guarantee that any modern video card can send a signal to your monitor of up to 1600x1200 and sometimes higher. Some cards have a TV out, but I believe the resolution there is limited to standard TV resolution (not sure what that is exactly, but it’s not that high).
You’ll also need to be sure that your monitor can do 1024x768 at a decent refresh rate, anything above 75Hz will look fine.
I think you’ll find what you need in the Ti4200. It’s currently the best bang for your buck. You might want to spring for the 128Mb version for a little future-proofing.
I think I found what I need. The problem was that my current card had a Phillips TV out chip that maxed at 800 x 600. Both Conexant and Phillips make newer VO chips on a few cards that output at 1024 x 768. This article was one of the only places that included the spec for the TV chip in its review. So I think I’m going to go with the MSI G4Ti4200-TD.
The latest ATI cards can output at 1024x768 to a tv. Now, whether that will make much difference to the television is another matter entirely. Pity I don’t have an HDTV to experiment on. Anyone care to lend me one? 
FWIW, I have a Radeon 8500LE, which does do 1024x768. The performance is at about the same level as a Ti4200, with better image quality. Cheap, too–got mine for about 130 or so a few months back.
Oh it makes a difference believe me. My old laptop had an ATI rage mobility that would output 1024x768. Its not that the picture quality is so different, its that the 3D app I’m running won’t render higher than 800x600 on my existing card and looks rather, well lo res. I’ve been looking at the Radeon products but I don’t think they quite match up to nvidia. The 8500 has better image quality, dvd playback, and tv out quality than the Ti4200 but its not nearly as fast. I think it equals a GF3 Ti500 in 3Dmark.
change of plans, I just bought the Radeon 8500LE afterall. The Geforce wasn’t worth an extra 60 bucks.
I doubt you’ll regret it. My 8500LE is plenty fast. Just be sure to go to Rage3d and check out the Omega drivers–they’re a lot more stable than the ones that came in the box.