Introduction
While the industry has definitely firmly attached itself to PCI Express, many enthusiasts out there are still running AGP based systems. The cost of keeping up with the pace of technology is certainly steep, so upgrade cycles for some people stretch quite a bit longer than others. Even in cases where a technophile is able to upgrade frequently, no savvy user would just throw out last year's top of the line. If that AGP box doesn't become a hand-me-down to a friend or relative, keeping an older system around for some LAN gaming when guests come to visit is definitely a nice alternative to the trash heap.
Whatever the situation, there are plenty of people out there looking to extend the life of AGP systems in one way or another. And if gaming is a primary function of the computer, graphics card upgrades are most often the way to go for users who want the most bang for the buck. Luckily, NVIDIA hasn't left the users behind. Today, the GeForce 7800 GS makes its debut as NVIDIA's first AGP 7 Series product.
Some of you may remember that we took a look at a PCI Express 7800 GS (which will never exist) when an NVIDIA partner accidentally gave away an engineering sample instead of a 7800 GT in a promotion. The specifications of the AGP 7800 GS are not very far off the part that we tested a few months back, but on the AGP platform, there is considerably less competition at the top. Add to this the fact that some manufacturers are shipping boards with higher than stock core and memory speeds, and this part could definitely push an AGP system as far as it is likely to go.
While the industry has definitely firmly attached itself to PCI Express, many enthusiasts out there are still running AGP based systems. The cost of keeping up with the pace of technology is certainly steep, so upgrade cycles for some people stretch quite a bit longer than others. Even in cases where a technophile is able to upgrade frequently, no savvy user would just throw out last year's top of the line. If that AGP box doesn't become a hand-me-down to a friend or relative, keeping an older system around for some LAN gaming when guests come to visit is definitely a nice alternative to the trash heap.
Whatever the situation, there are plenty of people out there looking to extend the life of AGP systems in one way or another. And if gaming is a primary function of the computer, graphics card upgrades are most often the way to go for users who want the most bang for the buck. Luckily, NVIDIA hasn't left the users behind. Today, the GeForce 7800 GS makes its debut as NVIDIA's first AGP 7 Series product.
Some of you may remember that we took a look at a PCI Express 7800 GS (which will never exist) when an NVIDIA partner accidentally gave away an engineering sample instead of a 7800 GT in a promotion. The specifications of the AGP 7800 GS are not very far off the part that we tested a few months back, but on the AGP platform, there is considerably less competition at the top. Add to this the fact that some manufacturers are shipping boards with higher than stock core and memory speeds, and this part could definitely push an AGP system as far as it is likely to go.
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spinportal - Tuesday, April 18, 2006 - link
Whats very strange here is that looking around on another ANAND article, for FEAR 16x12 4xAA (this vs. newer article):the X1900XTX got 51 fps vs. 43 (wow, ATi got downgraded in the future? hmm)
the 7800GTX512 got 31 vs. 40 (hmm it later got a boost? odd)
the 7800GT got 22 vs. 28 (wow, nVidia keeps getting much better all of a sudden)
the 7800GS got 13 vs. 27 (NOW THATS IMPRESSIVE!)
Seems this article was garbage as it really downplays nvidia h/w and is on the verge of craptastic fantasy for ATi.
boa49 - Friday, February 10, 2006 - link
There is definitely interest!!!!!!!
yacoub - Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - link
For those who wanted a review that shows how the stock-overclocked 7800GS compares both to a stock-clocked 7800GS and all the other AGP cards out there, check out this review:http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce...">http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evg...00_gs_co...
Very comprehensive and what I think a lot of us were looking for.
araczynski - Tuesday, February 7, 2006 - link
thanks, that's EXACTLY what i was after.i haven't been to firingsquad in ages, i guess i better start going there more often now.
Scarceas - Saturday, February 4, 2006 - link
I disagree with those who said it was pointless to compare to the x850xtpe. This let's me know which card I can top out the AGP slot with.I would have liked this a bit better if the benchmark results included something using the Source engine.
Why no overclocking results? Heck, we didn't really even get to see mfgr defaults... I'd like to see how 460 MHz scales.
araczynski - Friday, February 3, 2006 - link
comparing a middle of the line card against high end cards is pointless and quite frankly a waste of time.this card is meant for those of us that are running middle of the line systems and aren't quite ready to put down the change to scrap the whole system.
i.e. compare this to the 6800 agp line (and ati's equivalent if you want).
AND, use a realistic processor for this graphics card range, i.e. intel 2.4's to 3.2's (and AMD's equivalents).
haven't been visiting as much lately and i'm seeing the quality going down...give me a reason to come back guys.
jzander - Friday, February 3, 2006 - link
I can not stand Best Buy, and the fact that Nvidia is getting into 'bed' with them brings them down a notch in my book. As for the card, does not look like a reason to upgrade from my 6800 GT AGP, card.Alphafox78 - Friday, February 3, 2006 - link
50+ people have complained and the article STILL hasnt been updated with more cards! what gives?!stephenbrooks - Friday, February 3, 2006 - link
--[50+ people have complained and the article STILL hasnt been updated with more cards! what gives?!]--Hey, I guess if you offered them some money they might do it. :)
puffpio - Friday, February 3, 2006 - link
It's only been a day...if they do update it, it may take a few daysI think the general concensus is
1) Add some benches of AGP cards to show it's true competitors as well as give an indication of what end AGP users currently have
2) Overclock the 7800GS and show that benchmark
3) Discuss the potential of softmodding the card, unlocking pixel pipelines, shader units, ROPs