2D quality diff between two Nvidia cards?

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montana

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Dec 2, 2005
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I'm still paranoid about "back in the day" when all video cards were not created equally concerning 2D quality.

I'm thinking of upgrading my card and am wondering if I will see any 2D difference between an XFX or an EVGA 9800 GT. I really shouldn't since they are using the same chip, right? I just remember the old Voodoo/TNT wars.....
 
If your using VGA, analog, there could still be some difference in the filters the use. Digital image created in GPU, converted to analog for transmission, passes through filters, has to be converted back into digital by your LCD panel.

Using DVI to LCD? All digital, data transmitted is same data as created.
 
Today's cards are very capable of rendering 2D without fail. The rendering difference between two manufacturers using the same chip should be very miniscule to even consider an issue.

I remember "The Great 2D War" when I had my Trident Video Card in my IBM PC.
 
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montana said:
I'm still paranoid about "back in the day" when all video cards were not created equally concerning 2D quality.

I'm thinking of upgrading my card and am wondering if I will see any 2D difference between an XFX or an EVGA 9800 GT. I really shouldn't since they are using the same chip, right? I just remember the old Voodoo/TNT wars.....
Click to expand...

Both cards are actually made by the some company, XFX and EVGA just slap their logo on it.

That said, all cards today have pretty much flawless 2D quality afaik, at least for consumer monitors anyway.
 
My experience:

Analog 2D image quality on midrange or high-end cards is excellent regardless of whether you buy ATI or Nvidia. All the research has been done and optimal filters have been created, and just get reused on every new card created.

The problems only rear their heads with budget cards that approach the $100-or-less price point. Manufacturers have to cut corners to continue making money, and they tend to cut the quality/complexity of the 2D filters. It's not a given thing, but I have seen it happen before.

Example: when the 6600GT was released at $200 MSRP, it had pristine 2D quality. But as the price dropped below $150, and the card continued selling, manufacturers revised the cards to cut costs. And that meant reports of poor 2D quality in later revision cards. It's probably still happening with current cards, but high-end users don't notice as much because digital is the way to go now.

I would be a tad wary of buying a new 9800GT or 9800 GTX or GTS 250, because these cards have had to be cost-reduced to sell at approximately $100, but they still have complex PCBs with 8 memory chips and a 256-bit bus.

The biggest problem these days is hardly any reviewers test the 2D quality of a card, so you're basically walking in blind. And since I'm still using a CRT, I feel your pain :)
 
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Thx folks.

Default - I was looking at the 9800 GT and GTS 250 actually..... I am considering a jump to th ATI 4870 but man that thing is terrible at idle in power consumption.
 
montana said:
Thx folks.

Default - I was looking at the 9800 GT and GTS 250 actually..... I am considering a jump to th ATI 4870 but man that thing is terrible at idle in power consumption.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry I can't help you more montana, I've been sticking to cards at the $200+ price point for this very reason. I can't tell you what your chances are, because nobody is reporting when this sort of thing happens anymore.

You can always buy, and return it for something else if you don't like the 2D.
 
Thx.

I am thinking of the ATI 4870 which seems to beat up the GTS 250 badly across the board, but I'm worried about changing drivers. Any issue? Which card would you recommend? I can get the 4870 for $139 at Tiger Direct(XFX) and the GTS 250 for $135 at Tiger direct. I'm currently running an 8600 GT.
 
4870 is hands-down the better card. Tell me, is this a 512MB or 1GB model you're thinking of getting? You should definitely go 1GB is you're buying a 4870 today.

Switching to ATI shouldn't be that difficult, if you uninstall the Nvdia drivers, then run Driver Cleaner.
 
montana said:
Thx.

I am thinking of the ATI 4870 which seems to beat up the GTS 250 badly across the board, but I'm worried about changing drivers. Any issue? Which card would you recommend? I can get the 4870 for $139 at Tiger Direct(XFX) and the GTS 250 for $135 at Tiger direct. I'm currently running an 8600 GT.
Click to expand...

Even if you get a new Nvidia card you need to update your drivers.
 
montana said:
Thx folks.

Default - I was looking at the 9800 GT and GTS 250 actually..... I am considering a jump to th ATI 4870 but man that thing is terrible at idle in power consumption.
Click to expand...

If power consumption matters to you check out the 5770.
 
defaultluser said:
4870 is hands-down the better card. Tell me, is this a 512MB or 1GB model you're thinking of getting? You should definitely go 1GB is you're buying a 4870 today.
Click to expand...

It's 512mb at Tiger Direct(XFX card for $139).

Switching to ATI shouldn't be that difficult, if you uninstall the Nvdia drivers, then run Driver Cleaner.
Click to expand...

Thx.
 
YELL said:
Even if you get a new Nvidia card you need to update your drivers.
Click to expand...


thx. I did just upgrade to the latest Nvidia drivers on my new Win 7 install which I will be switching too in a few days.
 
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