Gahran's Lair Hardware Guide
Maitrox H2000
 
 Maitrox H2000 Review
 

Introduction

In a market full of 3D accelerators, there doesn't seem to be much differentiation among products of various companies. Maitrox has realized this, and added a whole new dimension to video display technology, introducing the first 4-dimensional accelerator, the Maitrox H2000.

Features

The Maitrox H2000 has a bootload of new features, listed below:

- Advanced 4D graphics controller running at 4GHz
- Enhanced 4D surround display output connector
- Optimized real time hardware decoding
- Support for blur-fog mapping, alpha filtering, anistropic aliasing and other goodies

- Remote display support With such advanced features, the Maitrox H2000 is sure to blow the competition out of the water, and according to our lab tests, it does!

Compatibility

The Maitrox H2000, as its name suggests, only works on Windows H2000(the Maitrox H2000 special build), which is the gamer's OS of choice.

Connection


As you can see from the above image, the Maitrox H2000 has a special 4 pin connector for optimal 4D displays. There are currently very few 4D displays out there, but Maitrox is planning on heavy promotion on these new displays, and perhaps even producing some themselves. No word on availability can be obtained as of now though, so we'll just have to wait and see what comes up.
The other connector you see is an RJ-45 ethernet port to connect to a remote display, and this supports Windows H2000's new Remote Display Setup. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Also, notice the lack of any standard VGA outputs. It seems that Maitrox has completely abandoned support for any conventional displays, because of the unique display rendering technology that the H2000 uses. What this means, however, is that current users of conventional displays, be it CRT or LCD displays, are out of luck. These users probably want to look at Maitrox's lower end video card, the H1000.

Conclusion

Maitrox's new H2000 is bound to create waves in the industry, with other companies jumping into the bandwagon. nVithia has already expressed its intentions in developing a 4D video card of its own, but whether it supports the same standards as the H2000 is unknown. In conclusion, this card is a must have for users who already have 4D displays, and demand the best in realism and performance, but users with older displays might want to look elsewhere.

Related Articles

nVithia R-Forge 512 Preview


Back to the Reviews page

Back to the Main page