What is the top of the line AGP card available

[Code-Red]

That card is pure win.

If by winning, you mean losing, then yes.

[Eckostyle]

That card is excellent for an AGP system.

I have to say though, if you're in the market for an AGP card only, you are way overdue for a new system, even an inexpensive one.

[MKE]

I dont see why not. Your receipt you would send in with the rebate will say you purchased it on the 31st.

I have the PCI-e version of the x1950pro (256 ddr3) and i like it. might not be dx10 but for 150$ it was worth every penny. I'm going to be buying another one since i just ordered my motherboard in the next 2 weeks for a crossfire setup.

[Calavera]

I found this card Visiontek Radeon X1950 Pro 575MHz 256MB AGP 8x Video Card for $140 shipped without rebates. Seems like a good deal and I wouldn't have to mess around with rebates.

[APE]

That card is pure win.

If by winning, you mean losing, then yes.

You fail by not understanding the concept of "last agp cards of quality made".

[Cid Highwind]

That HIS card is the exact same one I have. Although mine is by Sapphire, they have the same specifications and cooler.

It's a great card for AGP, but it gets pretty hot if you don't have a good airflow. Here during intense gaming it can get almost 100C, that's ATi for you. Still, I need to clean out my system a bit, and add a fan to bring in cold air, because it used to be less warm when I bought it. Be sure to tweak the fan settings to make it go full speed!

I would definitely NOT get that Visiontek. I remember that being one of the first ones to have hit the scene, and as you can see it has a different cooler, that makes a lot more noise and has some issues.

Some games I play, to give you an impression of what kind of performance to expect:
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Maxed out settings, even the ones requiring 512mb video / 2gb system ram. 16x AF, 4x Quality Adaptive AA, 1024*768.
~50 - 60 fps at 95% of the time.

Test Drive Unlimited:
Max settings, HDR, 2x AA, 8x AF, 1024*768: ~30 fps, higher at coastal areas though.

Bumping up the resolution to 1280 forces me to lower the settings, or else Dark Messiah will run between 30 and 45 fps, and TDU will be around the 20s, which is unplayable for a race game. If you have a 22" LCD, don't expect to play games at its native resolution without compromise.

You don't have to worry if you're gaming at 1024, most games, provided they're coded decently, will be playable for some time, though not at max settings with max AF/AA.

Edit: Other system specs

CPU - Core 2 Duo e4400
Memory - Kingston Hyper X DDR400 (2 - 3 - 2 - 5 - 1T)
Asrock Dual VSTA mobo

[Calavera]

I would definitely NOT get that Visiontek. I remember that being one of the first ones to have hit the scene, and as you can see it has a different cooler, that makes a lot more noise and has some issues.

Not even at $140 shipped?

[Calavera]

I would definitely NOT get that Visiontek. I remember that being one of the first ones to have hit the scene, and as you can see it has a different cooler, that makes a lot more noise and has some issues.

Not even at $140 shipped?

Any other opinions on this card?

[Cid Highwind]

I would definitely NOT get that Visiontek. I remember that being one of the first ones to have hit the scene, and as you can see it has a different cooler, that makes a lot more noise and has some issues.

Not even at $140 shipped?

Please read up on this page of the review of this model, it might give you an idea if you'd like this card or not.

http://goodblimey.com/archives/2006/12/ ... -review/3/

Basically it doesn't have a temperature sensor, making it hard to see whether or not it's running hot. It shouldn't be an issue at stock speed of course, and it might cool even better than the ATi stock cooler, but you simply don't know. This ATi card can be a hothead.

The reason why I'd personally not want to have this card is because there is no way to turn down the fan at desktop usage. Right now my fan is running @ ~35% and it isn't audible over the other fans, just how I like it. When gaming it will need the 100%, but that isn't a problem because I turn up the volume anyway. If this Visiontek fan is indeed louder than most other fans out there, I assume it's louder than the stock ATi one, making it a hella noisy beast I'd never want in my PC at 100% while working on some word document.

I've had a stock P4 prescott cooler and a 7800GS, and both made me go crazy over the noise.