256MB Parhelia... what the?

Well, that certainly didn't take long.... and we were just coming to terms with 128MB video cards. Oh well.

Matrox has announced that it will release a 256MB version of its Parhelia graphics card. The card will be targeted at the high-end

Well, that certainly didn't take long.... and we were just coming to terms with 128MB video cards. Oh well.

Matrox has announced that it will release a 256MB version of its Parhelia graphics card. The card will be targeted at the high-end graphics market, and probably won't see much action among us gamers. This setiment is reinforced by the software bundle that will accompany the card - mainly plug-ins and extensions for such programs as 3ds max and AutoCAD 2002.

Firmly pushing this card completely out of the gaming arena, is its core/memory speeds - the new card will be slower than its 128MB counterpart, the core clocking in 20MHz slower, and the memory 25MHz slower. This gives us a 200MHz/250MHz card, placing Matrox at the sluggish end of the video card spectrum.

The new card will incorporate all the standard functions that come with other Parhelia cards, including triple Surround gaming support.

The 256MB Parhelia should retail at just over $1000 once it reaches our shores.