What (recent) card has the best 2D quality?

[imported_hellbringer]

Hi,

I've read tons of reviews about the latest video cards, but didn't find a single on with info regarding the 2D quality. If anyone could post his experiences with any of the latest cards in high definition CRT monitors, it'd be great.

I'm currently using an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro with a Sony F520 21" crt monitor. The 2D is _just_ ok (I work at 1600x1200@85H). If you go back to 60Hz, the image becomes incredibly sharper. The card just isn't designed to handle those frecuencies, it seems.

Best regards,

 

[3chordcharlie]

You're running into a wee bit of a wall in VGA signals... getting a truly great 16x12x85 signal through a Dsub is not the easiest trick in the world... There may be good cards for it, but I don't know any - I've never got good 16x12 at any refresh from anything I've used, though I always blamed the monitor for being at the edge of specification.

Can you set it to 75hz or even 70 instead of all the way down to 60? That might help a little... If it was an LCD 60hz wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure how good it's gonna get for you.

 

[imported_hellbringer]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
There may be good cards for it, but I don't know any - I've never got good 16x12 at any refresh from anything I've used, though I always blamed the monitor for being at the edge of specification.

Well, the f520 supports 2048x1536@85, so it seems it's not a monitor problem. On the other hand, decreasing the frequency increases the image quality...

Can you set it to 75hz or even 70 instead of all the way down to 60? That might help a little... If it was an LCD 60hz wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure how good it's gonna get for you.

Yes, I can set it to 75Hz and certainly it helps getting a sharper picture and text. The problem is that the screen flickers. I bought this monitor just to avoid working at low frequencies...

Matrox provided a better image quality, but with a low 3D profile (BTW, I wonder that Matrox is developing now)

Best regards,

 

[3chordcharlie]

That's too bad - I've never noticed flickering @75hz, but I guess my eyes are slower than yours... and it sure sounds like it isn't a monitor problem.

I don't know about 16x12, but if you have a rage-128ish card lying around you could try that to see if the quality improves, and give you a starting point. Some of the better 2D I've seen was from an Xpert98 (8mb, not gonna cut it at that resolution) and an Xpert2000 (32mb). But obviously the 3D wouldn't be good enough.

Good luck

 

[darkswordsman17]

I find the 2D on my 6800GT to be exceptional. Of course I make use of the Digital Vibrance setting which is awesome. I know the nVidia drivers give you several settings to toy with (brightness, contrast, etc.).

I use 1280x1024 @ 75 for my desktop and I don't have a problem with flickering or anything, even on my old Dell 17" Trinitron.

 

[Tenchi4U]

I *believe* Matrox is still the recognized industry leader for 2D graphics.

For 3D graphics...go with a highend ATi or Nvidia.

 

[magratton]

Originally posted by: Tenchi4U
I *believe* Matrox is still the recognized industry leader for 2D graphics.

For 3D graphics...go with a highend ATi or Nvidia.

Or get a Matrox Nvidia GPU based card for best of both worlds.

I have a Leadtek A350 Ultra (5900 Ultra) card and I have to say the 2D is terrific at nearly all resolutions that I have worked with (1024, 1280 and 1600) Usually I run the refresh rates at 75 and above as I can't stand flicker, makes me dizzy. My Leatek is currently at 1600@80Mhz and it is really crisp, bright and easy to stare at for long periods of time (like gaming or coding....)

 

[ScrewFace]

My new Sapphire X800 Pro soft-modded to an X800 XT PE has the best image quality of any card I've owned...even better than the previous best which was my 64MB 3Dfx Voodoo5-5500 AGP. Colors are brighter and the image quality is unbelievable crisp and clear!:Q