GForce monitor quality

[MrJoe]

Is it just me or is the Gforce 2D monitor quality sub-par? When I had my Voodoo 3 or G200, windows seem to be much more clear and crisp. Now with my GForce, it seems to be dull and not as sharp. Is it just me????

 

[snow patrol]

Alas, it's not just you. Most people on these forums with Nvidia cards seem to be unpleased with the 2d quality - especially with trinitron monitors at higher (1152+) resolutions

 

[MrJoe]

I guess my next question is then WHY? WHY does NVIDIA put out such a awesome 3D card, but below standard 2D? Why not both??? :|

 

[Rado45]

well just great!

I was just gonna post a question before iI read this thread on this forum which was gonna sound a bit like this :

"I have just bought a Sony triniton G400 and a CL geforce2GTS for my new computer that I was setting up. Unfortunately I don't have the processor yet so I can't check image quality, what will it look like (is radeon etc. really that better)."

I was gonna take the radeon but it has issues with my monitor (shimmering problems). I was hoping to be able to have my desktop at 1600x1200. Unrealistic now?

 

[Rado45]

forgot this in my previous thread :
Mr.Joe : what do you mean with sub-par 2D quality EXACTLY?

 

[snow patrol]

Well, whilst I can't comment on what MrJoe defines as sub-par, these are some observations I have made from a friends Geforce DDR (creative) coupled with his 19" trinitron monitor. Basically, at resolutions above 1280x1024, there is quite a bit of 'ghosting'. Text also becomes quite fuzzy and hard to read and gernally things just don't look very good. On my 19" trinitron with a Voodoo 3 3000 however, 2d quality is excellent upto and including 1600x1200. I hope things are ok with you, but I don't fancy your chances getting an acceptable quality image, 2d wise, at 1600x1200.

Good luck though

 

[MrJoe]

One example would be when your in Windows desktop, the icons are not very sharp. That was the first thing that caught my eye. Then things like text and when browsing the internet. Jusy overall poor quality.

 

[Rado45]

Damn



maybe I can switch my card for a radeon (if the shimmering problem goes away)

 

[Rado45]

thanks for the info btw

 

[snow patrol]

Well, I don't think the shimmering problem affects everybody, and it seems to mainly be with the 64Meg boards as far as I can tell. Also, ATi have said that they have identified the problem and are working on a fix.

 

[Rado45]

yeah I've been reading a very long thread in the rage3d forum (213 posts!). In the ninth page Eman (the guy who reported all this stuff to ATI along with others) said he had received a phone call explaining that the new drivers would fix the problem.

 

[BenSkywalker]

"I guess my next question is then WHY? WHY does NVIDIA put out such a awesome 3D card, but below standard 2D?"

Ask all the users who complain about the 2D quality what type of monitor they have. Then, check to see what type of tube it is(you'll quickly see a pattern develop).

The GeForce boards 2D image quality is perfectly fine on my monitor, only a very slight difference when compared to a Matrox G400 at 1600x1200(can't see any difference below that), and it has been very close asking random people which looks better even at 1600x1200.

 

[RoboTECH]

I had 2 GTS cards, and both had poor 2d at higher resolution. I do have 2 Trinitron-tubed monitors, so I can verify that the GTS sucks on the Trinitrons. I can't comment on non-trinitron monitors, aside from that I don't think they look nearly as good as trinitron-tubed monitors.

 

[Rado45]

well I guess I see for myself soon enough, I'm getting the processor wednesday.

btw I'm upgrading from a P200MMX/s3virge+voodoo1/64mb to Tbird900/256mb/geforce2

mmm... that'll be quite a difference overall I think.

 

[SoUp]

Any chance someone could post pics of their desktop running in 1280x1024x32 with a Geforce 2? I'm thinking of either getting a Geforce2 or a Radeon and the only thing stopping me from getting a Geforce2 is the 2d quality. I use my computer for other things besides games, although I am a pretty heavy gamer. I have a 19" Triniton monitor and I run my desktop at 1280x1024x32 now with my Voodoo3. Thanks

 

[Laz]

I'm running 2 trinitron monitors (office and home), both have used geforce chips in the past, Asus V7700 Deluxe and CLAP DDR. The CLAP replaced an older Rage Fury when I bought the V7700. I replaced the V7700 with a Radeon 64meg, since the card was only a week old and cost $50 CDN less to boot. To be honest I never noticed how horrible the Geforce looked in 2d and 3d until I installed the Radeon. After seeing how nice 2d can look, I've sold the CLAP and plan on replacing the office video with a 32meg Radeon. The most obvious difference was the vibrant colours (colors for Americans), after seeing the Radeon my Geforce now looks washed out and text doesn't look as defined (crisp). I wouldn't say the Geforce 2d sucks, since I never noticed it for the past year, but if you spend a large amount of time on your computer reading or preparing documents you will notice a difference, unless you have not seen anything to compare it to. Oh BTW I run the Radeon on a Sony E400 and have not noticed any anomolies such as screen flickering or such, but then again maybee I just don't notice it, and the card runs in 4x AGP with sidebanding enabled and no fast writes.

 

[RoboTECH]

Laz, that's actually how it happened for me too

I had a TNT2U prior to the GTS, so when I got the GTS, I was pleased as punch

then I tried out a V5

heh....

I noticed the difference IMMEDIATELY upon booting into windows.

 

[Taz4158]

The difference between the Radeon and the Geforce shocked me as well. When my wife went on the computer for the first time after the switch she was SHOCKED! She does a lot of text and graphical work and couldn't believe that I had only changed the card. This was after bragging about the nVidia cards we used to own.

 

[snow]

Taz4158 Nice, I know exactly what you're talking about. When I switched from the V3 I was using to the Radeon, I just said WOW! and stood there like an idiot in front of my monitor for about two minutes (been a LONG time since my G400 and on a smaller monitor)

BTW thanks for getting my back in the other thread

 

[VidmanII]

I've got a Radeon 32 DDR being run on a Gateway VX900T .25dp, 16x12 19" Sony Trinitron and there is no comparison between the 2D on that and the Asus V6800 DDR that it replaced. I thought the 2D on the TNT line was better than the GeForce cards. You nvidia guys need to check out either a G400 Max or a Radeon on a nice monitor. We're not making this stuff up.

 

[RoboTECH]

or a 5500

surprisingly excellent 2d

much better than the V3, IMHO, and almost as good as my buddy's G400
(although he has a better monitor than me, too)

 

[BenSkywalker]

"You nvidia guys need to check out either a G400 Max or a Radeon on a nice monitor. We're not making this stuff up."

OK, I have. Running four different monitors of various different builds with a half dozen cards present all told. Funny that the Sony tube/nVidia combo was the only one with noticeable problems.

<Spin>Clearly this is an issue with the inferior quality of the Sony's as the Radeon does have some issues of its own to those with sensitive eyes. Bargin bin crap quality from Sony, all you 3dfx/Matorx guys need to check out other monitors to see what quality is(see how that spins so nicely the other way)</Spin?>

The above sounds just as foolish as the nVidia bashing does to everyone running a card on a non Trinitron tube who are looking at great image quality with their own eyes. Of course, some of the nV boards do have cheap filters, but that is just like the bargin bin V2s that shipped with the cheap pass through cables.

 

[RobsTV]

It seems as though the Elsa GeForce2 GTS does not have any 2d problems,
but, it is more expensive. Luckily, it looks like Visiontek is supplying
the cards to Elsa, and the Visiontek cards also have great 2d. This is
great, as the Visiontek cards happen to be one of the cheapest you can
get at around $150.

My $144 Visiontek GF2 GTS looks perfect web browsing at 1600x1200,
but I also do not have a trinitron. This card was an upgrade to a
3dfx Voodoo3 3000 that I've had for more 1 1/2 years. 2d looks the
same between the 2 cards.

 

[Laz]

Ben, I don't believe anyone on this thread is bashing Nvidia, in fact I've purchased every revision of the TNT ever made, as I was impressed with what they offered. You don't need to get defensive about the company as I'm sure everyone agrees they make an awesome product. I also mentioned that the 2d quality of the product looks fine, but if you compare the 2 side by side, I believe that the majority would be able to tell the difference. That's not to say that ATI cards are perfect, as there are issues in certain games as well as it being slower, but that's something that has to be weighed when making a purchasing decision. I believe the relative weight that is given to each feature will differ among individuals, depending on their priorities or intended use. The comments in this thread are meant to allow a person to weight such features in an informed way, and not intended as a bashing of the shortcomings of any particular feature or company. I hope were all mature enough to realize this and not get into a p-ssing contest about who makes the best card.

 

[Rado45]

ben : I haven't seen my Geforce2 with my Sony trinitron, but I have seen the G500 monitors in a computer show but they did look very good (with a matrox card), by my knowledge Sony's monitors are of excellent quality.