Five odd years is a long time in the
computer industry, remember we're talking about a place that constantly renews
and betters itself sometimes every six months! While AGP bus is still many times
faster than PCI, it's still too slow a link to the rest of the system.
Considering how far the 3D sector has gone in the last little while, change was
really inevitable.
The Asus A9800XT/TVD/256 is a worthy last card for your
AGP slot, it's wickedly fast and full of features. There's more to the
A9800XT/TVD/256 than just a fast videocard though, it also comes with a great
software bundle. Asus include two full version games; Battle Engine Aquaila and
Gun Metal, and of course it has a coupon to download Half Life 2 when it's
available! The special Asus software utilities like Smart Doctor, Game Face, and
Video security simply sweeten the package!
With full VIVO support your PC can now be the hub of
your multimedia center, and of course Asus has included the necessary VIVO break
out box. Thrown in for good measure is a DVI to analog converter, which allows
end users to use dual analog displays should they wish.
Performance of the Asus A9800XT is excellent but we expect
that when dealing with a Radeon 9800XT based videocard. While it's a tad slower
than the GeForceFX 5950 Ultra in some of the benchmarks, it's IQ cannot be
matched. This is especially true when AA and or AF is enabled, and there the
Asus A9800XT/TVD/256 really shines. Even when one uses AA and AF, the card does
not slow down too much, and this certainly makes spending the extra money for a
good card well worth it!
With a retail price of $653 CDN ($500 US) the Asus
A9800XT/TVD/256 is quite expensive, but the best has always been expensive. If
you haven't upgraded in a while and are looking for that last AGP videocard
you'll ever need, look no further than Asus.
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