Are Vertex Buffer Objects worth using in a purely quad/2d context?

Or would 开发者_如何学JAVAit be better to batch immediate mode calls?

Ditching immediate mode is always a good idea, but this doesn't mean you have to go through the full stretch of Vertex Buffer Objects. For a long time there have been Vertex Arrays (which form the foundation of Vertex Buffer Objects). You'll find that Vertex Arrays make a lot of things way easier, even for the "just drawing a few quads" case.

VBOs are supported only by newer cards. Those cards won't have any problem rendering simple scene using OpenGL 1.1. Unless you are rendering a lot of primitives, there is no reason to use VBOs.