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Ever since I learned what an Imagine 128 could do for benchmark scores a few years ago, I've been a fan of Number Nine graphics accelerators. And it wasn't just the power of the card, but also Number Nine's HawkEye display control.
Most graphics-card vendors bundle a utility that enhancesWindows' own built-in utility, which isn't really that bad in the first place. If Windows detects a common graphics chipset, it'll usually be able to control it well. I find that plug and play sometimes gets in the way, depending on how fussy the graphics card, monitor, and system are, and it can be difficult to set the refresh rate. Otherwise, I'm content.
Sometimes a bundled graphics utility only makes things worse, and that's something I hate. But I really like Number Nine's HawkEye display control. It has been enhanced over the years, but never spoiled, and it has always made it easier to make display settings. Of course that's with a Number Nine card installed in the system.
Different graphics accelerators also create different-looking images. You can't really tell by using a single system, but when you work with dozens of systems a year, you see patterns. Number Nine cards always produce a deeper looking blue or green, depending on what you call the color of the standard Windows background. Pretty colors aside, Number Nine has always met its reputation for producing powerful graphics hardware at the high end, and the only thing that has changed today is that the high end has fallen through the floor.
That Imagine 128 I mentioned before was a PCI card with eight megabytes of memory, and it cost about $700. That card was considered a prized feather in one's PC cap, so to speak. Today my Revolution IV graphics accelerator is a much better feather, but anybody can afford one. It costs only $219.
Here's a bit of trivia for you: With most graphics cards having names that evoke fire-breathing dragons, warping spaceships, and racing cars, the names of Number Nine cards seem more conservative. But in case you didn't know it, and even if you don't care, Number Nine cards get their names from Beatles songs. "Number Nine," "Imagine," "Revolution" ... see the trend? In fact,...