2D vs 3D Performance in Today's Video Cards?

CliffH asks: "Has anyone else noticed a serious decline in 2D quality versus 3D quality in video cards? I routinely work on older systems right beside newer systems on the same monitor (Dell P1110) and it becomes blaringly obvious to me that 2D quality is starting to take a backseat to 3D quality. For example, my main system is a dual-boot Shuttle XPC SS51G with an added GeForce2MX 400 card in for the times I do want to play some games. A little, nasty, ready to be thrown away system I have on my bench at the moment is a K62-500 with my favorite card of all time, a Matrox Millenium II 4MB job in it. The 2D quality between the two is just shocking. Where the Matrox is nice, crisp, extremely easy to read at 1280x1024, the GeForce2 is kind of blurry, not as well defined, and the colors aren't as vibrant. I would be skeptical if this were the only newer card I have seen with the results, but it has gone through the GeForce line (last one I tested was an MSI branded 5900 Ultra) and a small handful of ATI Radeons with similar results. So, the question stands. Am I going nuts or has there been a definate tradeoff between 2D and 3D quality in recent years?"

Comments

Matrox is an outlier

[the quick brown fox]

No, Matrox was just always way out in front in terms of 2D image quality. That was their chief advantage for a while, after everyone else surpassed them in performance.

I have the impression that within the last 12 or 18 months, 2D image quality has become a priority (maybe a prerequisite) among enthusiasts again. In any case, I recently got an nVidia FX 5200 card (I think the vendor is eVGA) and the quality is superb on my 19" Sony Trinitron--better than the Matrox G400 I used to use.

DVI

[zsazsa]

You're not crazy. If you buy a Matrox Parhelia, it'll look a lot better on a CRT than a GeForce. GeForce boards' analog sections are made to lower quality specifications than Matroxes, hence the cheaper price. If you want crisp 2D on a CRT, you're going to have to pay, just like how you paid for your old Matrox -- I'm sure it wasn't cheap when it was new.

If you want crispness with GeForces (or Radeons), go DVI with an LCD monitor. Since it's all digital, there'll be no degradation.

Different manufacturers

[Fluffy the Cat]

To a large extent, 2D quality will depend on the quality of the digital/analog conversion on the graphics card. Traditionally, Matroxes were very good in this respect - I've no idea if this is still true, but given their target market I'd guess so. Nowadays, with large numbers of different companies making basically identical cards, one avenue for cost reduction (and so seeming more appealing than your competitors) is to use cheaper parts in this area, with corresponding reduction in quality. As a result, it's quite possible that one Radeon may have dreadful 2D quality while an almost identical looking card using the same chipset from another manufacturer may have decent 2D quality.

Of course, this all becomes much less of an issue once you start using DVI or some other purely digital connection (in laptops, the limiting factor in 2D quality is generally the screen)

Change in Market Focus

[jamessan]

The newer cards that you mentioned are mainly geared towards 3D performance because their biggest market (the gamers) want the utmost 3D performace they can get. If you want good 2D performance, you'd probably be better off buying the cards that are geared towards the workstation market (like nVidia's Quadro NVS line) instead of the gaming market. Also, as has been mentioned, DVI-capable cards and an LCD will give an improvement.

Analog signal quality

[pagercam2]

It sounds more like the problem is not 2D but basic signal quality. 2D refers to drawing boxes on screen without the coordinate transforms and shading involved in 3D. Clarity of text is more an issue with signal quailty between the video card and the display with the possible exception of some anti aliasing that helps smooth 3D graphics but blurs text. Quality of the analog drivers, using the correct signal levels, sheilded cables so that parts of the green signal don't become part of the red (or which ever combination) and termination on the signal many times severe ghosting can be seen with copies of images or text a few inches to the right of the image. There is no reason other than anti alias filtering that text will look any more blurry from a 3D card as compared to 2D. As clock rates get faster the quaility of the signal becomes a bigger issue and the standard connectors and cables should be improved but have basicly remained the same since the 80's. Is your monitor really capable of the refresh rates? Newer cards have improved update rates but those higher speeds are near the limits of older monitors.

Use an LCD for crisp 2D.

[Tom7]

Switch to LCD and DVI. The monitor cable you use to connect to your card, if analog, can also make quite a big difference.

Also, "definite" is not spelled with an 'a.' Think, "finite."

OP: Your answer.

[Glonoinha]

Actually you are running into a (not so quite) well known issue with the GeForce cards that has been addressed here :

How to fix a fuzzy GeForce card

Get out your soldering iron and you can get a crystal clear display on your GF2 while voiding the warranty and pissing off the FCC at the same time.

Wrong conclusion

[NanoGator]

"The 2D quality between the two is just shocking. Where the Matrox is nice, crisp, extremely easy to read at 1280x1024, the GeForce2 is kind of blurry, not as well defined, and the colors aren't as vibrant."

Geforce 2 cards were known for having cheap-o filters that weakened the analog signal to the monitor. It has nothing to do with 2d vs 3d quality, you bought a card with cheap parts in it. (I did too, that's why I know this.)

Recent Geforce Cards are a lot better. I have dual monitors running at 1600 by 1200, quite clear and readable.