Considering buying a 1600sw

RealityMage · Apprentice Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 151

Hello,

I've been looking to replace my 17" CRT with a nice 17" LCD for some time.

Something on Ebay caught my eye - namely the SGI 1600sw monitor. It seemed to be a very very high quality and large monitor. Since it's so old, and most people aren't smart enough to get it working (given the unusual connection to the PC), it's selling on Ebay for about 400 dollars - which is around the price of standard 17" LCDs.

Anyone around here have experience with this display? Can you get this monitor to the highest resolution? Does it scale well?

How good is the Revolution Nine card for gaming? What Geforce is it comparable to?

Thanks.

John5788 · Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 1:21 am Post subject:

ive never heard of a revolution nine video card. could u post a link?
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John5788

RealityMage · Apprentice Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 151

cayenne · l33t Joined: 17 Oct 2002 Posts: 945 Location: New Orleans

RealityMage · Apprentice Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 151

I decided that it was not worth it. And now, I'm even more convinced of my decision. Comparable LCDs have been dropping steadily in price.
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0ctane · Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:09 pm Post subject:

The 1600sw is a sweet monitor. Try to find another 1600x1024 resolution 17" monitor. Connecting it to a PC is a pain however since the Number9 graphics card is not great for games (~ 5 years old). You need to get a "multilink" which is about as expensive as the 1600sw on ebay. The multilink converts the signal from the monitor's special adapter to a normal VGA port.
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A.S. Pushkin · Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:06 pm Post subject: 1600SW

This post is a bit late, but I do very much like my 1600. My complaints are limited really to just two points. One is that on mine there is a stuck pixel, but as I understand this is within their spec. It's not normally noticeable, but worth asking if buying used monitor.
For a .23 dot pitch this is a minor complaint. (I have the MultiLink as well as DVI adaptor, which is not currently being used due to the MultiLInk.)

As I'm a relative newbie on setting up X I find configuring it very tough. I may be leaving out something , etc.

My only other complaint seems not to be with the 1600 so much as my g400MAX. It seems I can not run 3D accel.

I would buy another if given the chance. Watching a movie or doing cadd is great and the power savings - yes it saves me on my electric - as well as desk space is nice.

Or there is one other complaint. I suspect, but I am not sure, that preping powerpoint presentation might be a slight problem due to the 16:10 ratio. Most monitors do't fit that so I think you would have to plan for that.
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