[Zoom]

This is driving me crazy, and I would deeply appreciate some insightful responses. I've tried reading articles on the web and looking at the XLR8 pages, but can't figure out what I want.

FIRST: video/monitor problems
I've got a G4/400(AGP) with a Mitsu 900u 19" flat monitor. The system is 1.5 years old. I've had lots of trouble setting up the monitor. I should have sent it back, but it was just good enough to get by... and I wimped out. First, it's not straight. By that I mean that a grid pattern is distorted, particularly at the edges. No manner of adjustment with the 900u tools can correct it entirely. Second, I'm getting "runs" in the color. If I have a long, dark horizontal bar against a light background, the color smears to the right, with maybe a red-ish tint. Third, the colors just seem off. I'm not a graphics guy, so unfortunately, I can't give good descriptions of the problems.

My first question is: could this be the video card and not the monitor? In either case, can anyone speculate on the cause and likely cost of repair?

I'm also having lots of stutter with my video (frame rate, I guess) when I play Diablo II. I've got the ATi patch that they recommend, I've copied the sound files to my hard drive, I've dialed down some of the fancy settings, etc, etc. I still have lots of stuttering. I am using the stock video card, which I believe is a Rage 128 Pro.

SECOND: Video card comparisons
So, I was thinking about upgrading my video card to see if it would fix all of these problems, but I'm afraid it will fix none of them. I don't play the hardcore 3D games much like Unreal. All I want is good performance for regular day-to-day 2D stuff (browsing large files, large web pages, etc) and good Diablo II performance. But NONE of the game pages that rate cards even mention D2 as a standard for tests. Why? How do I know what card will be good for that particular game?

And the damn ATi cards are SO EXPENSIVE. You can buy a PC Radeon 32M for $99, but the damn Mac AGp card is still $180 everywhere I look, even though ATi just released a new card! And I see all these conflicting suggestions for video cards: this one has great HW, but horrible firmware/driver support (usually NVidia); that one is the opposite: okay HW, better driver support (ATi). 3dfx is gone, so I won't buy their card.

I'm not willing to blow more than $200 and I'd prefer to spend less. I'd like to buy a Radeon 32M for $100!

And finally, the PCI version of the Radeon card seems to be cheaper. Is it that much worse than the AGP version?

I'm so confused - someone help me out.

[Cipher13]

1. The problem is the monitor.

2. The other problem is not the monitor. It's a software problem. The reason D2 isn't used for benchmarking is... well... its crap when it comes to pushing a card hard... no 3D or anything.
It should be smooth, no less.

What OS are you running?

A new vid card won't help the first problem, and I think a simple software solution will fix the second...

I gotta go, I'll post back tomorrow with possible fixes (look at the ATi drivers and sprockets, namely; consider reinstalls...)

[Zoom]

Yeah, I figured it was probably the monitor. Damn. Now I have to either find someone to repair the monitor for some unknown cost and for some unknown length of time, or ditch it and buy a new one. I guess I have to repair it - it's gotta be cheaper than buying a new one.

I think I've tried all the software tips and tricks, but I'd be interested in anything you have to offer. I'm running OS 9.1 right now, but I'll probably upgrade to 9.2.1 soon. Just haven't had the time. I'm running the latest D2 patches and I believe the latest ATi drivers, but you can check me on that. What else matters?

If I were to still get a new card, can you (or anyone else) give me suggestions? Is it really worth it for Diablo, given what you said? Now, I may decide to get into Unreal or a real 3D game eventually, so I'll keep that in mind. But I guess I want to know specifically:

- how much better is a Radeon 32MB than the stock Rage 128 Pro for D2? 3D?
- how much better is the AGP Radeon over the PCI version?
- how do I compare the Radeon to the GeForce or other cards for D2?