April 1999 Super7 3D Video Accelerator Comparison

Just like Intel owners, everyone else out there deserves to know which card/chipset will provide the best in 2D output quality. There are a number of factors that go into determining the 2D-output quality of a particular video chipset/board. The thing to remember is that the quality of the 2D signal produced by a video card is dependent on the speed/quality of the board’s RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital Analog Converter – the unit that converts the digital signal from your computer to an analog signal capable of being displayed on a standard monitor) however the images you see on your screen are influenced by the quality of the filters present between the RAMDAC and the card’s VGA output. Just like a motherboard, video card manufacturers place capacitors and other "filters" between the video chipset (if the card has an integrated RAMDAC) or the RAMDAC (if the card has an external RAMDAC – which is quite rare now) and the VGA port on the back of the card, in order to keep the quality of the signal being transmitted as high as possible. Chances are that the signal your video card’s chipset is sending out and the signal that leaves the VGA output port on the video card are quite different, with the latter being a much more noisy signal than the former.

Most video card manufacturers will skimp on the type, quantity, and quality of the filters used in this critical spot on a video card in order to save a few dollars on the retail cost of their board. The motivation behind this is simple, if you see two TNT cards sitting side by side, with their specifications and game bundles exactly the same, yet the one on the left is price $5 cheaper, you’ll naturally go for the cheaper card. Because of this, the 2D image quality of two cards based on the same chipset yet manufactured by different companies can be drastically different as has been the case with many nVidia TNT based cards. The difference usually can’t be seen at resolutions of 1024 x 768 and below, however where the true test comes in is at 1280 x 1024 and above, especially when using higher refresh rates where the screen is updated more frequently from the RAMDAC (more info is passed through those filters in the same amount of time). If you never run your video card at anything above 1024 x 768, then you probably won’t notice any difference between the 2D image quality of the video cards mentioned here; and if your monitor won’t allow you to run at 1280 x 1024 or higher at a refresh rate greater than 60Hz for example, the same applies.

If you do happen to have a higher end monitor, and if you do happen to run at those higher resolutions, then this may interest you. Out of the video cards compared, the best in 2D quality came from the 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 whose 350MHz integrated RAMDAC produced the clearest pictures at 1280 x 1024 and 1600 x 1200 in AnandTech’s test lab. The 2000 model, as discussed in the Voodoo3 Review, featured a 300MHz RAMDAC and did provide an almost equal level of 2D image quality. The third runner up for best 2D image quality out of the roundup would be yet another 3dfx entry, the good ol’ Banshee whose integrated 2D core inspired the improvements found in the Voodoo3’s integrated 2D. Relatively speaking, 3dfx has excellent 2D output on all of their newer 2D/3D cards (Banshee/Voodoo3), however in comparison to the Matrox G200, 3dfx still has a bit of climbing to do on the ladder to reach the top.

ATI’s Rage 128 provides what I’d like to refer to as average 2D image quality, where it isn’t nearly as crisp as that of the Matrox G200, however it doesn’t utterly disgust you while you’re working with white text on a black background, etc… If the Rage 128 were to be called average, the Voodoo3 would be dubbed slightly above average, the G200 being excellent, and then the TNT following with a not-so-dramatic slightly below average rating. The TNT is unique in this comparison because nVidia is the only manufacturer in the aforementioned informal roundup that doesn’t manufacture their own cards, therefore the 2D image quality can vary greatly from one board to the next. NVidia has no control over this portion of the manufacturing process, so if you’re purchasing a TNT based card and want the best possible 2D image quality your best bet is to stay away from cards that don’t adhere to nVidia’s reference design (such as the Canopus Spectra 2500). Generally speaking, Diamond’s V550 has had some of the greatest success in terms of 2D output quality, however even when comparing the V550, the TNT is only on par with that of the Rage 128, and no one wants to have just "average" quality.