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Does a good GeForce 2 GTS exist for high-res 2D?

SeanTek

SeanTek

Member
I've been looking at the GTS, the Radeon, and the G400 MAX. I want top-notch 2D at 1600x1200 or above, top-notch DVD playback, and decent 3D. I have a Pentium III/933, so DVD acceleration is not an issue (just as long as it looks damn good). My monitor is a Mitsubishi 2040u, which looks great when fed the right signal. But see below...

I tried the Hercules GTS 64MB and was disappointed by the bad 2D. Then I tried the Radeon, and was disappointed again by the bad 2D (there's a shimmering effect with Trinitron/Diamondtron tubes at high resolutions). I wanted to avoid the G400 MAX because I want more 3D, but it looks like it's the only option that will satisfy the 2D criteria (I'm more of a SC3K/Starcraft/AOE2 kind of fan). Plus, it doesn't even support Hardware Motion Compensation (although it's debatable how much this improves the DVD quality, if at all)...

So here's the deal: does a good GeForce 2-based card exist? I would prefer one with a TV-In or TV-Out upgrade as an option (if not on the card). MX, GTS, whatever. I have heard that output quality can vary wildly between cards, and that Hercules is one of the worse ones. If anyone can post their experiences (especially with a trini/diamondtron monitor like the 2040u, F500R, etc.), I would appreciate it.
 
With your CPU, you shouldn't have to worry about motion compensation. The G400 has pretty good DVD quality, AFAIK.
 
How about the Voodoo 5? Good 3D (early reports indicate some healthy frame-rate boosts with the latest drivers), and top-notch 2D. Not sure about the DVD quality though...anyone?
 
Not sure about the DVD quality though...anyone?

The DVD reviews didn't look that good for the V5. They said that it requires much more CPU power than other video cards and the image quality isn't as good.

You will probably be better off getting a Radeon because ATI are known for their good DVD quality.
 
Well, here's my suggestion:

For decent 3D: Get a G400Max (also a cheap solution)
Cheaper and more 3D: A good old V3
Excessive 3D: Go with a V5 (Perhaps a V4 4500 may be a compromise here...)

Excessive 3D(?) & 2D: Get yourself something cheap and wait for the G800 🙂
 
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