Graphics-Card Reviews

no complaints. i play a lot of counter-strike. ok at 1024x768. at 800x600 the frame rate/response/refresh/update(whatever you want to call it)gets out of the way of the game. the 3D environment on the screen goes as fast as i can move the mouse. i also just got a viewsonic A90f+, another great value at [$$$].

if you have rare widescreen monitors(such as plasma or LCD rear-projector with VGA input). this card is a perfect match. This card supports three wide screen resolution. text won't look stretched nor blur. I use it on my 50inch Sony w9000 and the screen never looked better. highly recommand this video card.
BTW: pick up manufacturer's rebate from compusa website while at it, before it's too late.

I build my own computers, which has proved to be a mixed blessing....

Since I install nothing but Microsoft Operating Systems (OS) on my computers, I have learned to rely on the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), to ensure that all the hardware I purchase is supported in some way, shape, or form, by Microsoft. ...

I have build three computers since that experience, and I have used the ATI Radeon 7000 AGP 4x for all of them, because its on the HCL. For my needs the Radeon 7000 AGP offers the best bang for my buck! ....

What is AGP?

All of the motherboards I have purchased over the last two years have had AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slots. If you have an available AGP slot in your computer (it is usually the small black or brown slot in close proximity to the processor), you'll want to select an AGP video card over a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) video card, because AGP offer much faster throughput. But what is AGP?

The AGP standard was originally designed by Intel for Pentium II based motherboards. AGP can deliver a peak bandwidth 4 times greater than then PCI using advanced bus-mastering techniques. AGP is designed to enables the graphics cards to execute texture maps directly from system memory instead of forcing it to pre-load the texture data into the graphics card's local memory first. As a result AGP presents a much smoother frame rate and the ability to display 3D graphics and video that is much more realistic and much at a much higher quality than heretofore found on a PC. Such performance used to be limited to high-end graphics workstations.
Though AGP is geared towards the Pentium class processor and its Dual Independent Bus (DIB) architecture, you do not need a Pentium processor to take advantage AGP, since the use of AGP doesn't depend on the CPU type.
The ATI Radeon 7000 offers full AGP 4X (Version 2.0, 1.5 volt) implementation for a 1GB/sec data transfer rate, sideband addressing, pipelining and AGP texturing support. AGP 2X (3.3 volt) operation is also supported for systems / motherboards which do not offer 4X compatibility. PCI versions of Radeon 7000 are offered in both 32M and 64M DDR memory configurations.

The Radeon 7000 is available with 32MB or 64MB of onboard Random Access Memory (RAM). The older models sported SDRAM while the newer models come with high performance DDR. Unless you plan to use the card for serious game playing the 32MB version of the Radeon 7000 should be sufficient to meet your computing needs.

Installation

Installation of the Radeon 7000 is pretty straightforward; the included instructions from ATI are logical, well written, and easy to follow. Both Windows 2000 and Windows XP detected the card and installed the software drivers (written by Microsoft) for it. ATI includes a CD-ROM with better drivers and utilities designed to get the most from the card. I would skip the installation of most of the software because it offers little in the way of functionality and clutters the desktop.

First Impressions:

I love this card! Even without the installation of the ATI specific drivers, the cards performance was exceptional. The picture was clear and crisp; the colors were vibrant and true to life; the text was sharp and in-focus; and the monitor flickered not a bit. After I installed the included drivers, I noted little difference in performance, but I was able to control the functionality of the Radeon 7000 down to the smallest detail. Though through use I will probably never need to manipulate them the cards many functions and controls, it's nice to know they are there.

I am not a gamer, nor a graphics designer, so I come nowhere near to putting this card through its true paces, or realizing the full potential of the AGP technology. Video and DVD playback are both outstanding at the standard size, but predictably becomes choppier as the images become larger. It is hard to know what to attribute this to: the card or the mediums used to record them. It's not a bothersome problem, but I'll be happy when the technology finally matures.

Conclusions:

I like this card for three reasons: 1. It is on the Microsoft HCL; 2 it's affordable and; 3. it offers outstanding performance for my money. ATI is one of the oldest and most trusted names in computer hardware, and the Radeon 7000 continues their tradition off offering superior products at a reasonable price. If you are looking for a Windows 2000, or Windows XP video card look no further then the ATI Radeon 7000.

The Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra is worth every cent that you spend on it. Based on the nVIDIA GeForce2 Ultra chipset architecture, the 3D Prophet II Ultra features 64MB of 4ns DDR SGRAM, effectively clocked at 460MHz. The GeForce2 Ultra core itself is also running at an amazing 250MHz, making this the fastest card on the planet until the GeForce3 becomes availible.

It is very simply the ultimate gaming card. I, for example, am running on a Pentium III 1GHz with 512MB PC133 SDRAM. In Quake3: Arena, in 1024x768 in 32bit color with all of the details maxed, I get between 100-140 frames per second depending on the amount of activity on screen. There is simply no other card that can compete with level of speed. The graphics themselves look fantastic, though not quite as nice as those shown by ATI's Radeon 64MB VIVO.

The card is also extremely stable. I have overclocked mine to 290MHz in the core and 495MHz in the RAM; it is rock solid and never locks up thanks Hercules' well designed fan/heatsink and RAM heatsinks. That is a 40MHz core increase and a 45MHz RAM increase! The performance of this card is UNREAL!

This is one of the fastest AGP cards on the planet, and easily worth the money you spend on it. Though it lacks a good software bundle, nVIDIA's awesome drivers and Hercules' superior design quality and performance make up for that in pure speed and power. Be warned: once you play a game on a GeForce2 Ultra, you can never go back down to anything less! ;-)

God I love this card! I have used it and wondered why it's the best ever? Because I LOVE IT!! I am using it with a PF775! A top-of-the-line monitor! It's 17" and the res is 1600-1200! some people say it should be bigger but it's arm's length from my face. I fought the cult of the machine in deus ex with this monitor, and I thought: man that floor is shiny, or In midtown madness 2: this is running at 16 bit color, 16 bit!! maybe 10 polygons on this car? are they crazy? I even played tribes and it looked like a quake III at 640-480 but my thing kills the enemy troops at 1600-1200 32bit colorz!! Love this thing!!

Well it took a whole 5 minutes to install. Ran some games at max resolution. Very smoothe. I'm happy.

I needed a PCI video card for my HP, because the original 11 MB video card, which wasn't cutting it, is integrated into the motherboard - a tricky install, from what I've read. Recommendations pointed to Radeon products, but the Radeon 7500 was out of stock at the store, so I spent extra on a PNY GeForce XF 5200, which slowed my entire computer down to a standstill and locked up graphics within five minutes of gameplay. I returned it and held out for the Radeon 7500.

The install was a breeze and it's vastly improved video and game graphics. I'd recommend this product to anyone looking to zip up their graphics without breaking the bank.

This video card is really one of the best. There is nothing wrong about it, everything is perfect. I really recommend it to anybody who is looking to buy a simple video card good priced, with everything in it.

This graphics card is amazing! It goes very fast and delivers exellent picture quality, which is a must. Personally, I think it is better than the Geforce 4 Ti4200. It was extremity easy to install, unlike the Ti4200. With the Ti4200, you have to do all kinds of [stuff]. Trust me on this one! It also comes bundled with a lot of neat software, like DVD programs and multiple desktop software, which lets you hook up your T.V. or another monitor to computer. An exellent way to work with multiple displays. So far, I have experienced no problems, so if you are looking to buy a graphics card, get a Radeon 7500 or something higher. You won't be disappointed!

There is nothing better than this video card except for the new GeForce 6800 Ultra, Radeon X800 Pro, and Radeon X800XT. This card beats the Radeon 9800 Pro and it even beats the new GeForce FX 5950. My very close friend works in the CyberPower Inc. so I have whole bunch of computer stuff and I get new video cards about every two to three months. I have tried many video cards and I have to say this card beats it all. It beat all cards (except for the three cards mentioned on the top) on 3D marks and frames per seconds on games like FarCry, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Call of Duty. There is nothing that can go wrong with this card. Believe me, I might not know everything about video cards but I know what I know. Only problem that I have with this card is the price. It's about $450 on Amazon.com but the new Radeon X800 Pro will be also $450 and there is no point of buying Radeon 9800XT unless you think that the new Radeon X800 Pro will perform worse than the Radeon 9800XT. If you do think that, then you really deserve a slap because Radeon X800 Pro will beat Radeon 9800XT in everything that you can think of. Wait until this card drops its' price or if you are looking forward to pay $450 then buy the new Radeon X800 Pro. You can even pay $50 more to buy the new Radeon X800XT or GeForce 6800 Ultra. I highly recommend this card when it's like $350.

I bought this card to replace a Gforce 4200ti which I loved. This card didn't run smoothly at first because It sucks so much power. I had to up the voltage to my cpu, ram etc. Now it runs perfectly. Hit 6500 on 3dmark and 47k on aquamark. with a pentium 2.6c and 1gig of golden dragon pc3500.

Can't compare it with the geforce but i'm thinking those other guys didn't configure their system properly.

I just upgraded from the 9800 Pro to the 9800 XT and what a difference. Enough to make me replay "FarCry" to get more "eye candy"!!! And you also get a coupon for "Half Life 2"!!!
My only complaint is that I have to wait until next week when "Painkiller" is out!!!

I would buy this card again, very fast card!
No problems installing, Drivers don't work from ATI web site, so make sure u get from Hercules web site,(if neeeded).
Runs very solid, worth every penny!

I have overclocked this card up to 300Mhz Core and 600Mhz DDR, without sweat.
Runs very smooth and 3D and 2D quality are amazing, games look like in reall life.
Much better card that I had befor (Geforce 2).
This card the screen looks even sharper, I have play 10 games and the video card is so fast that did not slow me down.
Even the Newest games play at very high resolution 1200-1600 without any problems.
In conclusion this is the best card from Hercules ever produced, if you are hardcore gamer this is great card for you.

Hercules was always making best Video card.
This is really fast card comes with 4 full version games, and some demo.
This is my third video card and I must say Hecules costomer service was and still is #1.
It was installed in my PC for 4 weeks now and I did not find any problems.
Highly recomand this card for high end users.
If I had a choice again I would buy this card one more time.
Buy it, you will not be sorry!

I bought this card and have been testing it for a week. I can play all games at (1024x768) with full details with AA and AF enabled with no problems.

Yes, its bigger brothers outperform this card, yet this card is worth half (less than half in some cases) what they cost.

If you want to play your games nice but dont feel like spending 400-500 USD, this card is for you.

btw, the package offered from MSI also includes some real nice bonuses!

this graphic chip provides cuper high performance and u may enjoy the game

This is a great product from MSI, not only has the VIVO (the ability to import and export video) ability but has the impressive FX5900XT chip from Nvidia.
MSI has certainly delivered a card that has given the mainstream market what it was asking for, a graphics solution that offers all the features of the flagship cards and much of the performance, but at a price point that is much more attractive to the wallet.

Beautiful, beautiful graphics...Half-Life looks like a totally different game. Overclocking is pretty safe, and it compensates for the slightly underclocked proccessor. And it has novelty value..., this card smokes all Geforce 3 and 4 MX series!
128 MB will last for long time, also Direct X 8.1 and all the goodies are in this card its a superior card

Wow this is cheap! You can't find a retail price like this on Pricewatch site or the same one (offered by Circuit City) in Electronics store. And the best thing is that the shipping is free (and no tax for me either)!

With such a fast rendering speed and 128MB DDR memory, this outperforms many Nvidia cards out there, at a reasonable price. Plus, I didn't experience any installation problems or crashes while playing the latest games such as Jedi Outcast or WarCraft 3 -- cool!

If you are a true gamer but with a budget, this is definitely a video card to get. This gamepack Radeon 8500LE bundles with Half-Life Counterstrike and expansions (not sure if they are full-version).

The performance of this card is truly great! There is no better card in this price range. I have a friend who has a TI4200 and the 9500 is clearly superior. With the introduction of the 9600 pro, the price of the 9500 should drop considerably making it an even better value. I have even seen reviews on modified 9500's that will outperform the 9700 pro! Too Cool! The only problem I have with the 9500 is that sometimes I lose the video signal from the card. The computer isn't locked up, just no signal. This rarely happens, but I have to power down and reboot. Very, very annoying. All in all though, I would recommend this card to anyone. It Screams!

I AM a Serious, Serious Sammer!
Passed the ti 4600 thru my system.
Got me a Radeon treatment.
Read the numbers, check out the
web sites. Run the tests.
yea, yea, yea.
Your eyes don't lie.
I can see the way Croteam wanted me
to see the bangs, bursts, flashes,
flames and explosions.

This card gives me bang for the buck !
Can't afford to upgrade every time one
of them comes out w/ something new.
Dang good card.
Follow instructions and read the forums.
Dang good card.
Can't wait till the 9800 Pro 256 mg
card is within reach price wise.

I love competition.
Come on nVidia.
Top this.

Please!

This is hands down the best damn card for the money. Phenominal perfomance meeting or beating a GeForce Ti4600 card. Excelent showings agianst the GeForce FX chipsets. DX 9.0 compliant. Awesome Awesome Awesome *****

While this isn't the greatest graphics card out on the market, nor is it even the best value, I strongly believe that this is the right card for me. Both ATI and Nvidia, the two largest graphics card manufacturers, have a reputation for turning out high quality, fast video cards. But, ATI provides better TV-out support, whereas my impression is that Nvidia approaches TV-out as more of an afterthought. Thus, since I want to have the option of playing games and watching movies on my large TV, I felt this card was the better choice. Sure it's not the fastest thing around, but it's pretty good at what I need it to do.

Installed in a 4 year old Dell (PIII 500 MHz). Previous video card (Diamond Viper V770) was not fully supported by XP. Installation went smoothly and the card has been solid. The Radeon 9000 Pro has nice array of features -- To minimize clutter, I did not install some of the software that duplicates the media player and similar capabilities already in WXP. Recommended for anyone interested in a reasonably priced middle to high range video card.

I got a Athlon XP 1800+ computer with 1.25 gig of ram, 80 gigs of hard drive..just to name some of the stuff. anyways i upgraded from a geforce 4 ti4200 to this ati radeon 9000 pro...man it runs so smooth, clear and with the ram and cause athlon was meant for ultimate gaming....it runs super awesome. i suggest for u guys with intel p4s or whatever to get a athlon xp its more advanced.

This video card is great. It is very easy to instal and works well with almost everything I use. The only problem I have with it is the HORRIBLE graphics that come out of the Tiger Woods golf games from EA. I have both Tiger 98 and 2001 and this card doesn't work with either of them. It looks terrible and EA claims it is all due to the 3dfx card. All of the other games and applications that I use work wonderfully with it.

Test system - HP PIII 800, 48X cd rom, 64mb ram.

Well, I was impressed by this card. It preformes well, and wont break the bank. ( I got it 4 [price] bucks)- I had to do TONS of research.

I play alot of Diablo 2 and space simulators. This card preformed flawlessly in Freespace 1 and 2, when it got used to the game. Diablo 2 had some skips in it, but you could still play the game very easily without getting fustrated. The skips were minor in the most intense part of the game, when you get surrounded. The graphics were great, and it improved 2d windows preformance.

Instalation was easy, my first time installing anything and it WAS very easy. Im taking the card off of this coamputer and putting it on the one im building.

Overall, this is a great card that I am very happy with. If you cant afford a V5, get this card. Its great. I highly reccomend it. great card if you only have PCI slots.

Well bid farewell to 3DFX. I bought this card after my wife and I saw what kind of graphics the 810 chipset produces (horrible). I installed it in about 8 mins. The drivers had no conflict at all. I was going to get the voodoo 5500 but the compaq case wouldn't allow it. I am very pleased when I play simulators on it. I don't know how Unreal tournement plays or Quake III but the image quality is superb on all my sims. It is better then the nvidia geforce 2mx based cards. We all know that nvidia has bought out 3dfx I just hope they keep making this card! Buy it if you can find it.