December 30th, 1999

[1:45 PM] Matrox Looking For Mac User Interest In Their Video Cards
by Kyle D'Addario

It seems that graphics chip maker, Matrox, is starting to turn an open ear to the Macintosh platform.

Matrox makes high-end graphics cards for Wintel and Linux systems, and the idea of producing cards for the Mac market is gaining support. Matrox cards are AGP based, and support dual-monitors while producing stunning 3D graphics.

There have been grumblings in the Mac world regarding Apple's graphics bedfellow, ATI. Mac users, and particularly gamers, have been clamoring for other out of the box options for graphics acceleration on Apple's newest offerings. The benefactor of users seeming lack of enthusiasm over the ATI cards has been 3Dfx and their Voodoo series. While 3Dfx is showing some support for the Mac market with their "unsupported" Mac drivers, having another company with the track record of Matrox producing quality graphics alternatives for the Mac would be a huge boost for the platform.

One Observer agrees. Frederico has been in contact with Matrox over the last year, and raises a good point:

The G4s with AGP cards will be married to ATI-only offerings if we don't act soon!

Heck, just having more and better choices for video beyond that of the ever-aggravating and slow-supporting ATI and the weak offerings of iXMICRO is badly-needed! Give Matrox a show of interest so we can all benefit from more choices.

Even if you don't own an AGP-capable Mac, and want more PCI video choices, let Matrox know you'll consider their offerings.

Apparently Mony Mandel is seeking feedback from the Mac community on the interest and viability of producing Matrox cards for the Mac platform. If you are genuinely interested in Matrox products for the Mac, contact Mr. Mandel and let him know how you feel. This is not a request for a flood of uneducated support. Rather, if you are truly interested in these products, let Matrox know.

You can contact Mr. Mandel at [email protected]. You can find more information on Matrox's offerings at their web site.

The Mac Observer Spin: : Frederico has it correct; if something is not done quickly Apple and ATI are going to become synonymous regarding Mac graphic card production. It is The Mac Observer's belief that ATI makes a quality card. It is also our belief, however, that Mac users need to have some choice in the cards that drive their systems. The bottleneck in the new G3/G4 systems is already the graphics card, and moving to fix that problem, by providing options, would be a boon for the entire Mac community.

That said, we must all remember that dollars are what developers need to develop for the Mac. If we do not buy the products offered to us (including games, video cards, USB peripherals, office productivity products, etc.), then developers will not be able to afford to develop for us. With this in mind, don't contact Matrox unless you are seriously interested in purchasing Mac products from them. If you are interested, not only should you contact them, you should buy the product offerings that best suit your needs when they are released

Matrox