2D on 6600GT vs. 9800 Pro?

[CptObvious]

I'm thinking about finally upgrading my video card (BBA 8500). I've been considering it since November, but video card prices seem to have stuck for the past 6 months

2D is the most important factor, since I only game occasionally. I was wondering how good the 2D on the 6600GT is on a VGA connection? The last Geforce I tried (3 Ti) seemed very blurry compared to my Radeon. Thanks

 

[fstime]

ATI has a bit better quality imo but the 6 series isnt bad at all. I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[CptObvious]

I'm very picky about 2D though If the 6600GT is a downgrade from my 8500 in that dept, I'll go with the 9800 Pro.

 

[cbehnken]

I can't tell the difference between my 6800 and my old 9700 Pro in 2d.

 

[SrGuapo]

I ahve heard a few people say that the GeForce4 was the best 2D card ever... I can't comment and have no idea of the validity, but definately worth a look. If all you need is 2D and the 8500 is working well, just keep it. No need to waste $200 for something that isn't a problem.

 

[Amplifier]

He must play Infantry or Subspace if he wants 2d performance .

 

[kmmatney]

The 2D is fine on my 6600GT, using the VGA connector to an LCD panel. I'm pretty Nvidia's 2D problems have been cleared up since the Geforce4 series.

 

[imported_Hi]

this day and age the 2d quality on all cards is near perfection

 

[CptObvious]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
I ahve heard a few people say that the GeForce4 was the best 2D card ever... I can't comment and have no idea of the validity, but definately worth a look. If all you need is 2D and the 8500 is working well, just keep it. No need to waste $200 for something that isn't a problem.

I've been wanting to play Far Cry and HL2 though I'll probably put the 8500 in my parents' computer.

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
I ahve heard a few people say that the GeForce4 was the best 2D card ever...

LOL. Maybe that Leadtek that FiringSquad reviewed, but (according to the reviews I've read and the forums I've frequented) ATi was still considered superior to nVidia in signal quality at the time of the Radeon 8500 and GF4.

 

[tallman45]

I just replaced a 6600GT with an X700 Pro and the 2d was definately crisper and clearer on the ATI, but in the defence of the 6600GT, that card had a problem and needed to be replaced.

I do a lot of photoshop processing on one PC and that one uses a 9700Pro and the 2D is outstanding, on par with the 2D champ Matrox cards (G450) I have used

 

[Fox5]

I heard the reason the Geforce FX cards got their name is because they combined 3dfx and nvidia technology.....
They used the 2d image technology of 3dfx's upcoming rampage chip, combined with nvidia's 3d technology, so starting with the FX cards nvidia supposendly had much better 2d image quality than their previous cards.

 

[hans030390]

if you're going to play far cry and half life 2, like you said....you really really want the 6600gt...it's about a 20% performance boost, WITH shader model 3.0, so hey, just get the 6600gt.

i have one, and i noticed no difference in 2d quality from my 9200, or from any other computer i have seen (besides the fact that some computers use nicer monitors)

6600gt

 

[Blastman]

The BB ATI cards generally have the best 2D quality followed by Sapphire among the ATI cards. There was a wide variance in 2D quality with the FX cards. I?ve seen some people mention that Leadtek had very good 2D on the FX cards.

All the current X800 series cards seem to all be very good (or more consistent) in 2D quality as they?re probably spec?d the same or close. As you go down the ladder though to less expensive cards, the quality may diminish as manufacturers use cheaper components. I read some thread where someone was complaining about the 2D of a 6600 (not a GT).

The 2D of the 6600GT?s may be ok -- good. But if you want top notch 2D (2D is a priority) -- best bet would be to wait for a X700pro AGP and buy a BBATI or Sapphire card.

Edit: Viperlair used to do 2D quality comparisons in their reviews. These days they sometimes mention the 2D quality ?

viperlair ?

Albatron PC6600GT ? X600XT ? 2D quality was by no means bad in any way, but I did find that the X600XT has the edge here; text was more defined.

 

[Fox5]

You could always get an LCD monitor if you want perfect 2d quality.

 

[ShadowBlade]

get a matrox card for 2D, i hear they suck at 3D

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Blastman
The BB ATI cards generally have the best 2D quality followed by Sapphire among the ATI cards. There was a wide variance in 2D quality with the FX cards. I?ve seen some people mention that Leadtek had very good 2D on the FX cards.

All the current X800 series cards seem to all be very good (or more consistent) in 2D quality as they?re probably spec?d the same or close. As you go down the ladder though to less expensive cards, the quality may diminish as manufacturers use cheaper components. I read some thread where someone was complaining about the 2D of a 6600 (not a GT).

The 2D of the 6600GT?s may be ok -- good. But if you want top notch 2D (2D is a priority) -- best bet would be to wait for a X700pro AGP and buy a BBATI or Sapphire card.

Edit: Viperlair used to do 2D quality comparisons in their reviews. These days they sometimes mention the 2D quality ?

viperlair ?

Albatron PC6600GT ? X600XT ? 2D quality was by no means bad in any way, but I did find that the X600XT has the edge here; text was more defined.

can you back this up?

 

[Blastman]

There?s been a few threads about 2D quality here at AT over the years. The BBATI and Sapphire were the cards that were most frequently mentioned as having very good 2D besides Matrox. I?ve also seen the same thing mentioned on other forums.

When I googled the 2D issue on graphic cards (a while back) -- those are the names I came up with too.

If you check these tests out at Viperlair they used to do various text and bitmap tests to rate 2D ?

http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/video/ati/r3xx/9600xt/index.shtml
http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/video/ati/r3xx/9800xt/pg2.shtml

In those tests you?ll find the BBA 9800 card pretty well matching the Matrox Parhelia (renowned for good 2d) in display quality.

One of the reasons I bought a BBATI (9600XT) card and was will to pay more for it than other brands, was because of their reputation for good 2D (display quality was a top priority). If you look at those tests the 9600XT was rated even slightly better than the Matrox for 2D. And my 9600XT hasn?t disappointed -- its has the best 2D on any card that I?ve seen. I?ve also have 2 Sapphire cards (7500, 9100) and the 2D is very good on those cards. Almost up to par with my 9600XT.

THG did a DVI test and the BBATI did very well ?

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041129/tft_connection-16.html

Edit: Here's another one (older) ...

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1370516,00.asp

 

[Acanthus]

all the people who say saphhire cards do not look as good as BBA cards. Throw their opinions out the window.

Sapphire MAKES THE BBA CARDS FOR ATi.

Leadtek Geforces have always had the best image quality of the Geforce Line, Evga had some serious problems with the FX series but im pretty sure it has been much better in 6000 series.

As for an ATi vs NV comparison, i cant tell the difference between an X800 and leadtek 6800 or 6600. I have seen them side by side on the same display, both digital and analog.

 

[McArra]

I changed from 9700pro to 9800pro, no IQ difference. Then I changed to 6800GT (Asus) and again no difference in 2d.

 

[Blastman]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
all the people who say saphhire cards do not look as good as BBA cards. Throw their opinions out the window.

Sapphire MAKES THE BBA CARDS FOR ATi.

Yes. But I don't think they're spec.'d exactly the same.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I doubt 99.9% of users is going to see a difference in 2D IQ between a decent 6600GT and a 9800 Pro.

 

[Goi]

It's more than just nvidia vs ATI. The vendor matters too. I have an Ares Radeon 9550 that positively has the worst signal quality I've seen in recent times, and by that I mean within the last 5 years at least. I also owned the BBA 9700Pro, 2TM 9600Pro, Hercules 8500, Abit GF4MX440 and currently a XFX 6800GT, and all produce great signal quality, but cannot be compared to one another since they were on different displays.

 

[BFG10K]

At 1600x1200 @ 85 Hz my MSI 6800U is a tad less sharp than my 9700 Pro was but it's still very good.