PS3 -> component in on a 7800gtx

No VGA will not convert the signal. Just try simply changing the setting on your PS3 to 1080i which ALL games/ HDTVs support. ALso note that you are cannot get 1080p though a component cable only HDMI

If your tv supports 1080p though component then you can get 1080p through component.

@ OP:

My assumption is that it will probably lag as well with that setup. I would either try and turn off the filters in your tv's settings or look for an adaptor or cable to go straight to the tv. Unfortunately almost all HDTV's have the lag feeling in games. I use the VGA adaptor on my 360 and I can still feel it. I know... it sucks! lol

Best,

3Ball

Not knowing what make or model your TV is, I cannot say for certain whether or not it'd still run its filters/optimizations if it's taking input through VGA rather than component video. However, that idea does sound perhaps a little far-fetched, that it wouldn't have the same functionality just because you switched to using a different input on it.

I think your best bet might be to see if you can tweak the settings on the TV yourself; yes, such setting should exist on any TV that has such things, though chances are good that they may be hidden from the end-user.

Also, it is technically fully possible to get 1080p on component cables, just like as I've found you can get about 720i with a cheap composite cable... It's just that image quality will suffer, being incredibly blurry and noisy, given that you're compacting a LOT of data into a little bit of analogy space; 1080p has 4.5 times as much data to transfer as 720i, and only 3 times as many cables to use, though component's cables, due to how they split the data, generally will suffer less than composite.

If you are using component cable, set the PS3 to support 480i-1080i. Do not try to force 1080P. See if this helps, if 1080i is still choppy, try 720P. While some HDTVs do support 1080P over component, HDMI is the way to go with a PS3. If none of this helps, try adjusting the TV settings.

yeap HDMI best

i have all the boxes checked off for my tv: it supports 480i, sd, 720p, 1080i,1080p.

when it runs, the tv sets itself to 720p for a game like rainbow6v2. IT gives me lag. It does NOT force it to 1080p. However, it still lags. after reading the HDTV lag article at IGN i've been led to believe that it is because of filters/optimizations that happen regardless of what p/i is coming in.

When i play pc games, through the vga input, it does NOT lag.

I don't mind if the game doesn't look that great, I just can't stand the darn lag when playing competitivelY! I tryed unchecking 720p, 1080p, and 480i, now it boots up in 480sd rather than 1080i. So that was not a solution  

note that there is no lag on the ps3 interface screen, which outputs 1080p on my tv. So, i believe that my tv, when taking in any input NOT in 1080p, runs some sort of image optimization/filtering that causes the delay. It, however, does NOT force it into 1080p.

Bump

Are you 100% sure your TV supports 1080P via component? Do you have any HDMI inputs? Keep 1080P unchecked, or let the PS3 automatically detect what is best.

try 1080i