Matrox Parhelia APVe 128MB PCIe x16 Dual 400Mhz 1x Dual DVI 1x TV Box RoHS. Video Card

I am rarely the person who complains about a product such as this because there are so many variables with OS, software applications etc. but after spending literally 40 hours trying to get this card to work and half that with tech support from Matrox, I've concluded this card is a HUGE waste of money. The reason I purchased the card was to specifically view PhotoShop and After Effects previews on an external monitor. That part is a big enough pain with all the additional downloads of drivers, plugins and settings within the Adobe apps and even then it still doesn't work in PhotoShop because it can't find the device! I finally had to remove the card because the Matrox tools setup the dual display + 1 feature display 'once' and then after rebooting I was no longer given the option for 2 monitors. NOTHING changed, the system just started up with a single display. That's been the problem with this card, it's inconsistent even as a failing piece of junk. Complete and total waste of time and money. It's too bad you have to give at lease 1 star rating because 1 is 3 to many.

Yes, this card isn't the easiest to install and configure (most of it because you have to be VERY careful to plug the right connector in the right order to your monitors etc) but once it's done, you never have to re-configure anything. I have been using this to run 3 monitors and also 2 monitor + 1 preview (Photoshop, Premiere, etc). It's a wonderful card ! I just change for the much more expensive RT.X2 and let me tell you, the only difference is the RTX2 does real time acceleration preview. The Parhelia APVe even had more function and played video (avi to mkv) perfectly on my export monitor and home theater. I really loved this card and it's been my jump before going "pro" editing. I would recommend it but with patience required for the installation :)