To Geforce or not that is the question

[gplracer]

I have a voodoo 5. I want to upgrade my video card. In the past I have tried to buy one of the top cards on the market. Now I am confused. Should I get a geforce 3 or not? I mean it is the fastest, but a lot of people complain that the 2d of the card is not that good. What do you guys think? Will I think the 2d of my voodoo 5 was much better? Also what would be a good alternative? I keep hearing the geforce 3 will be awesome when games that are optimized come out for it. Where are these games and when will they come out. I hope this is not another marketing ploy like hte T & L of the first gefoce card. Essentially game developers did not come out with optimzations for that card for the games. Thanks for your input.

 

[m2super]

I never had a v5 so I cannot compare, however my gf3's 2d is much improved over the gf ddr, gf2 ultra and gf2 pro that I have owned!

"I keep hearing the geforce 3 will be awesome when games that are optimized come out for it. "
Play Q3A or UT with FSAA enabled at 1280x1024x32, games are out that take advantage of the GF3! My gf2 ultra's frame rates tanked with fsaa enabled!
Doom3 and Unreal2 will take advantage of dx8 features which the gf3 will be able to produce! These games are on the horizon!
The only alternative to the GF3 is the Radeon 200 which isnt out yet! It will support dx8 when those games arrive performance is even between the 2 the new 20 series detenators will boost performance 20-30% however. Plus Ati hasnt had the best track record for producing drivers for their cards! Only time will tell if that changes.
If I were you I would hold off 1-2 months the GF3 ultra (which may push gf3 prices down) will be out and the R200 will be out.
Good luck

 

[gplracer]

Thanks very much that was informative information. I thought I would wait for the release of the ultra. Then I could either get it if it is a lot faster or the regular gf3 if it is cheaper

 

[lebe0024]

Don't worry about the "bad 2D" my friend. That has nothing to do with the GF3 chip; it has everything to do with what quality filters the board manufacturers put on the card. If you check roundups (including Anand's) you'll find that some have WAY better crispness than others. I can tell you though.. don't scimp on this. Make sure you get one with nice filters, as it always makes your computing experience enjoyable (in games and mostly in windows).

 

[Rand]

2D visual quality varies from board to board, some manufacturers GF3's are very poor 2D and some are quite decent. As for whether you'll notice the difference... that really depends on the quality of your monitor and resolution your running in.

I will say the V5 presents better 2D then even the best of GF3. IMHO The V3/4/5 is second only to the Matrox G400/450/550 in 2D visual quality. Edging out even ATi Radeon which generally has very nice 2D as well.

 

[CaiNaM]

if you're going to get a gf 3, get the gainward or titan 3. 2d should not disappoint. I have yet to see a complaint regarding the 2d IQ of either of those brands.

my gainward is just as crisp as my radeon and G200 at 1600*1200 @ 75Hz.

 

[lebe0024]

OOOO get the Titan if you like to OC. I saw a review for it on Sharkyextreme.com