GeForce2: Duo Deluxe (3/12) AOpen PA256 Deluxe TV-Out
As mentioned before, the TV-Out is handled by a Chrontel CH7007A-T chip that sits on a daughterboard attached to the card itself. You can switch between NTSC and PAL modes using a jumper. The TV-Out settings are pretty spartan, though. For example, Dual View (using both the TV and the monitor as a display) is not possible, and there are no overscan settings to adjust the display size on PAL TVs. With that kind of limited functionality, about all you can really do with this card is watch a couple of short videos. After that your patience will probably be exhausted. If you’re planning on having your computer double as a DVD player you’ll probably be disappointed by these limitations. Luckily, there is a freeware tool (you need DVCC 2000 fot the chrontel chip) on the web that allows for the adjustments that are missing from the drivers, so there is hope yet. Question: If some people can program these tools in their free time for free, why can’t a team of professional driver programmers do it for pay? It think itīs time that NVIDIA includes those functions in its refrence drivers....
Above you can see the TV output of the PA256 Deluxe. Note the black borders around the picture? The orange lines denote the maximum viewable screen area. Overclocking This is where the PA256 Deluxe can really shine – thanks to its innovative Feature called OpenBios. This is AOpen’s name for their special card bios that lets you set, change and tweak almost all settings and parameters of the card: everything from AGP sidebanding support to chip and memory voltage, and lots more. This lets you eke out a few more MHz here and there. According to AOpen, the chip alone can go about 10% higher by using OpenBiosīs voltage settings.
But there’s more! You’re not limited to using the bios for adjusting the voltage. You can use AOpen’s own VGA utility that runs under Windows. Additionally, this program allows you to monitor your card’s health, check the fan’s speed and change the clock settings for the memory and the chip. AOpen claims that all monitoring is automated, so that you always get optimal performance. Another advantage of adjustable voltage is definitely compatibility. Say your Mainboard isn’t able to supply the card with enough power. With these utilities all you have to do is increase the voltage and it should work. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to run any real overclocking tests, because the card’s fan only ran at 1800-2300 rpm, roughly half the specified speed (usually 5200 rpm). Exchanging the fan for a different one didn’t work either, which leads me to the conclusion that it wasn’t the fan that was faulty. Once I get this situation cleared up, I will of course run the tests and share the results with you. AOpen told me that they send me a new card . So Iīll definitely take a look on this! Stay tuned. Rating
More information on the card: AOpen PA256 Homepage |
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Copyright: 04.10.2000 -
RIVA
Station 2000 - Lars Weinand Translation by Benjamin Kraft URL of this Article: www.rivastation.com/gf2-deluxe_e.htm - If you want to link to it, please use this URL! :-) |
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