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ATI Technologies Radeon 7000 Graphics Card 32MB

ATI Technologies Radeon 7000 Graphics Card 32MB

List Price: $79.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Graphics Card!
Review: After buying a new Pentium 4 system, I was tight for cash. Luckily enough I managed to come upon the Radeon 7000. It has one of the best image qualities I've seen and its performance isn't too bad either.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: supports 16:9 wide screen resolution.
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Perfect Card for Windows 2000/XP
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: supports 16:9 wide screen resolution.
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: cheap and fast, what more can i say.
Review: 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 [$$$].

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: cheap and fast, what more can i say.
Review: 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 [$$$].

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No Complaints
Review: This is a very good graphics card at an affordable price. I've used it with RCT 1, The Sims, and Zoo Tycoon. No problems occured with either game. It also performed well while playing video files and the installation was a breeze. If you don't need an enormous amount of memory, go ahead and get this one. It's great!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than Rodeon 7200
Review: Yes it is true because 7000 has DDR memory 7200 does not!
Plus Rodeon 7200 don't make no more.
The 7000 is better deal, very good budged card.
I have this card running with Windowx XPPro for 6 moths now, no complains I have played 18 games. Did not find anything wrong, much better from Geforce 2 MX series. Better quality comes with Direct X8.1 unlike Geforce2MX old directX7 and no DDR memory.
get this card u'll be happy for long time, also get the newest drivers from ATI website some new games requier new Drivers!
Best money can buy !!


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