On Tue, 27 Nov 2001 08:47:08 -0500, in
internal.mailing-list.computers.pc-build you wrote:

> I've got a basic 4meg Trident 2D/3D card.  I don't play games it's
> strictly business.  Lots of graphics, digital images and Photoshop.
> 
> Would I gain anything by going to a 16 or 32 meg card?  Is it speed or
> clearer images I would obtain?

If you have a large monitor (17" and up) or if you just want to run
higher resolutions with higher color depth, then yes, a newer card
will help color stability for digital image editing and graphics.  I
know my friend's old computer had a 4-meg video card and it produced a
horrible display.

I run a 19" monitor with a 1600x1200 resolution, 32-bit color and a
75Hz refresh rate (I can't use 85Hz because it makes rolling, fuzzy
black lines for some strange reason).  Anyway, there is no way I could
run that resolution and refresh rate with my old 16 megabyte Creative
Labs video card.  It just wasn't capable.  I now use a 64 megabyte
card which can handle this without breaking a sweat.

So that's my story.  Perhaps it will help you judge what kind of
graphics card you want to upgrade to.  I would think that doing image
editing, you might be using a fairly large monitor.  I do some image
editing, too, and for me, screen real estate and detail is very
important to me, hence the high resolution setting.  Just think of it
this way.  Most people seem to run their monitors at 800 x 600 because
that's what Windows defaults to.  Since I run 1600 x 1200, I can fit
FOUR of their screens onto mine, so that gives me plenty of room to
"spread out".  As I type this message in Agent, I'm looking at a
10-point Andale Mono fixed width font at a 74 character space line
length.  It takes up only the left 1/3 of the screen.  If I were
running 800x600, it would take nearly the entire screen. :-)

So that's the main benefit.

But remember that if you're using something like a 13" or 14" monitor,
it might not be capable of displaying resolutions above 800 x 600.
When I had a 15", the best it could do was 1024x768 @ 60Hz.  Then I
got a 17" monitor and the best it could do was 1280 x 1024 @ 60Hz.
Now I have a 19" trinitron CRT and the best it can do is 1600 x 1200 #
88Hz.

And yes, I do plan to get a larger monitor in the future.

Ethan

        The NOSPIN Group provides a monthly newsletter with great
       tips, information and ideas: NOSPIN-L, The NOSPIN Magazine
           Visit our web site to signup: http://freepctech.com