RoundUp - Matrox G Series Intro

Welcome to the first hardware roundup on the site. We are going to grill the lead pack of Matrox video cards. This is the most complete roundup for matrox cards I have seen on the net.

Matrox must have the biggest product line in production today out of any in the upper ring of card mfg's.  They have a total of 8 different variants of the G200 and G400 core based cards being produced and sold today.  (Not counting the G100 MMS cards)  Along with upgrades and attachments to these cards Matrox makes the most versatile, and broad selection of cards on the market. In the entire spectrum of Matrox goodness, you see a strong progression in technology and features as you go from the G200 to the G400MAX core. 2D has always been a strong suite for Matrox, and is still. They have always had a RAM DAC that's one step ahead of the industry, providing resolutions, and quality that's unparalleled by any other company. But on the flip side 3D has never been a very strong area,  and never really a core focus of Matrox.  That is starting to change with the next gen. of cards.  The G200 was the first attempt for 3D acceleration in the actual core of the card, it was not a big hit and is not even an option for serious gamers. The G400 makes an OK but very CPU limited 3D rendering engine, that many people use happily for gaming. 

With this said lets get onto looking at these cards:
(Click on the individual links below, or at the bottom of each page go through the entire series)
 

The Cards: (Quick overview and specs)
Millennium G200 8mb
Millennium G400 16mb
Millennium G400 32mb
Millennium G400 MAX 32mb
Marvel G200-TV 8mb
Marvel G400 16mb
Rainbow Runner Upgrade Kit
 

The Tests:
2D tests
3D tests
DVE tests

Features and Comparisons:
Feature Comparison Chart
Marvel G400 16mb Vs. Millennium G400MAX + Rainbow Runner GSeries

Conclusions and Ratings