New ATI FireGL Z1 card for CAD...

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calpolyarc

New Member
You know, I'm really tired of these help menus or user guides that are absolutely worthless! All they do is tell you where to change each setting, but they never tell you what the setting does!? I am an architect, not a computer engineer, I don't know anything about refresh rates and synchronization?!? :confused: Nor do I have time to research them! Can anyone tell me (if it's not too much trouble) what settings I should configure on my FireGL Z1 card to run optimally for AutoCAD on dual CRT monitors, or should the settings be configured in AutoCAD itself?!? Or both!?! ATI doesn't offer any help on their website, I emailed customer service but I have a feeling I'll get the generic 'read the users guide' response! :rolleyes: Thank you for your time!!

ps. Is it better to have a higher or lower refresh rate? Right now I have it at 75 Hertz for both monitors?
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
The higher the refresh rate is, the better it is for your eyes. A minimal ergonomic value is 85 Hz.
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
75 Hz is the minimum according to TCO '95 standards, but TCO '99 requires 85 Hz...
Click to expand...
Bah screw the standards -- sit infront of a 60Hz screen for 100hours straight coding and you either adapt or you fail :p ... works a lot better when you have an assignment worth 65% of the term mark involved :p
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
sit infront of a 60Hz screen for 100hours straight coding and you either adapt or you fail :p ...
Click to expand...
Actually I did that and still no problem with my eyes... :)
But if you have a decent monitor, why not use it at its max refresh?
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
Damn marketing... :p They say what's the max resolution and what's the max refresh rate, but they don't mention that the max refresh rate is aplicable just for the min resolution...

The 85 Hz is fine. :)
 
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calpolyarc

New Member
Cool, well not cool because they are damn liars.... lol
In your opinion (I hope I don't start another 'argument' :), is it best to not adjust the width and height of the screen? I feel like it's making the resolution lower, sort of like stretching a jpeg in photoshop, it may just be my poor eyesight though (due to staring at monitors with a low refresh rate I'm sure :) I just feel like the screen is a little blurry and there is no 'sharpness' setting, just vert. and hor. sync's.
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
Adjusting the screen width and height is left to personal preference. I like to have the image filling all of the screen... :cool:
What monitor do you have? And how old is it?
 
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calpolyarc

New Member
I like to have it fill the whole screen too! Using AutoCAD, you want all the real estate you can get! I have 2 CTL 910TF's and they're brand new.
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
CTL 910TF:
-- Maximum Resolution: 1600 x 1200 at 75Hz <- Oops, that's not very much (my monitor has 85 Hz at 1600 x 1200 and the max resolution of it is 2048 x 1536 at 69 Hz)
-- DynaFlat(tm) tubes project razor sharp, distortion-free images. <- Is it?
-- 0.26mm dot pitch <- For graphics professionals, gamers and those looking for performance and a large viewable screen... :confused:
 
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Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
Yes, the CTL 910TF has a dynaflat tube. That's not bad. But that's not all: the image quality depends on the monitor's electronics too.
Never buy a monitor without testing it first. I saw a lot of brand name monitors that suck big time. For example Philips monitors are real p.o.s.
I'm in love with Flatrons (P series), never saw a bad one yet...
 
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calpolyarc

New Member
Thank you very much for your advice Lorand, I think I will get a few second opinions on the sharpness to make sure it's not just my eyes, and if it is in fact a poor quality monitor then I will take it back. Thanks again!
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
Just looked at the monitor's manual. It's no way to adjust the convergence with the OSD. That's weird... But try adjusting the v-moire and h-moire, it's a slight chance to enhance the image quality.
 
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calpolyarc

New Member
I've narrowed down the problem... The blurry area is only in one section of the screen. Since I am using dual display, and the sharpness on monitor B is perfect, I switched the monitors, thinking that monitor A was just faulty. Well now that monitor B is where monitor A was, monitor B is blurry in the same spot!! To me, this means that there is something wrong with the graphics card, an ATI FireGL Z1. Would you come to the same conclusion?? Is it possible for a graphics card to be faulty in some way that it 'distorts' a portion of the screen?? Any recommendations on what I can do about it?? Thanks.
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
You could blame the video card if the whole image on that monitor were blurry. But if only a section of the screen is bad then it could be some interference.
See what happens if you switch only the cables between the two monitors (without actually moving the monitors). If the same monitor is blurred now and after the cable switch then that monitor is perturbed by some magnetic field.
Where exactly is that blurry area of the screen? And what is the blurry monitor's position (left or right to the other monitor)?
 
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calpolyarc

New Member
Ok, last question Lorand... How do the specs of the CTL compare to a ViewSonic AF90+ ?? This weekend I ran a bunch of tests to try and determine the cause of the blurriness, I have 2 computers and 3 monitors so I hooked them up every which way, it ended up that I couldn't come to any conclusion as to the culprit. Anyways, I may try the ViewSonic if it's specs are better then the CTL. Thanks, I appreciate your help.
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
According to the specs the Viewsonic is almost the same as CTL 910TF...

I don't get it... What's the idea of 1280 x 1024 (80 Hz) recommended resolution at a 19" monitor? I had 1280 x 1024 (85 Hz) with my old 17" Flatron 795FT. Why buying then a 19" crt, just for viewing bigger pixels?

I'd rather by a Flatron F900P. If you find it too expensive, then consider the Flatron F700P. It's only 17", but it supports higher refresh rates at those resolutions.
 
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