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Best AGP Card For ~$170
Source: Tom's Hardware US – Keywords: gaming, video, cards, money
Syndication:
Best AGP Card For ~$170
| Radeon X1950 PRO | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV570 |
| Process: | 90nm |
| Pixel Shaders: | 36 |
| Vertex Shaders: | 8 |
| Texture Units: | 12 |
| ROPs: | 12 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 575 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 690 (1380 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 9.0c / SM 3.0 |
The X1950 PRO is similar to the X1900 GT, the main difference being that it is not based on the X1900 XT, but a whole new and less power-hungry core. The card's main competition is the 7900 GS, which it beats in almost every benchmark.
The X1950 PRO is a powerful card that will make AGP gaming viable for at least a year or two more, and these cards are becoming easier to find online. This is a great last stand for those sticking with AGP.
Best AGP Card For ~$260
| Radeon X1950 XT (by Gecube) | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | R580 |
| Process: | 90nm |
| Pixel Shaders: | 48 |
| Vertex Shaders: | 8 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 628 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 9.0c / SM 3.0 |
The X1950 XT - manufactured exclusively by Gecube - is simply the most powerful card ever to grace the AGP bus. This card has no direct competition; in fact, its closest competition is its X1950 PRO AGP sibling, which is much less powerful.
The price of $260 is a bit of a tough pill to swallow for a dying interface. I would only recommend the X1950 XT AGP to someone with a very fast AGP system who already has a power supply with enough juice to handle it.
It must be noted that if you have $260 to spend on an AGP card - and possibly an extra $100 for a power supply that can handle it - you might be much better off purchasing a PCI Express motherboard, CPU and PCIe graphics card.
PCI Express graphics cards are cheaper than their AGP cousins. If you upgrade your system to PCIe and sell your old components, you may actually spend a similar amount of money compared to buying an expensive AGP card alone.
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