Fragging in Style - with ASUS V7700
Written: Jan 31 '01 (Updated Jan 31 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Blazing Fast 3D, TV-in, TV-out
Cons: Cheezy software
The Bottom Line: Great for intensive 3D applications/games and if you need TV capture and light TV output capability.
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| aurigus's Full Review: Asus AGP-7700 |
So what your gaming experience hasn't been what it used to be. So what if you are playing a 3D First Person Shooter (FPS) and when you shoot it takes a few moments for it to appear on screen. So what if you can't watch TV on your computer, or watch your DVDs on your Television. Well, if these apply to you, then this video card is the answer to all of your problems!
Summary
Key Features (from Asus's website)
-Powered by the NVIDIATM GeForce2 GTS - the World's First Per-Pixel Shading Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
-Built-in 32/64MB DDR Frame Buffer (SGRAM) - Provides more resolutions and color depths with up to 5.3GB/sec bandwidth
-NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer (NSR) - Brings realism to live via seven simultaneous pixel operations that deliver advanced per-pixel shading capabilities in a single pass
-Dual-texture pixel-fill capacities - Sets a new milestone for realism with four new Hypertexel pipelines
-1.6Gtexel (Gigatexel) fill rate - Performs up to 3x improvement over GeForceTM with over 25M triangles/sec through T&L/Setting
-ASUS SmartDoctorTM Technologies - Provides the greatest security to your valuable system with functions like Smart Cooling, Dynamic Overclocking, Overheat Protection, Fan Speed Monitoring, and AGP Power Level Monitoring
-Maximum True Color Resolution - 2048 x 1536 at 75Hz.
-ASUS DVD2000 Software Player Bundled - DVD, VCD, MP3, and Karaoke support.
-Optimized for DirectX® 7 and OpenGL® Features - Ensure broad application support
-3D Games Bundled - Soldier of Fortune (full version), 3DEEP (with True Internet Color)
-Other Key Benefits of AGP-V7700 GeForce2 GTS Series - QuadPipeTM Rendering, 2nd Generation of Transform & Lighting, and AGP 4X with Fast Writes, etc.
Now, I will break down the features, and tell you what I think of them.
3D Performance
The 3D performance on this card is absolutely amazing. Great framerates, full color, and stability; all together great performance. I would go on and on about framerates but there are many other reviews out there that do this and I'm not one to re-invent the wheel! You will not be let down by it, trust me.
The Detonator drivers by Nvidia are top notch. You download one driverset, which contains the drivers for most of Nvidia's chipset. These are typically the best driver to be using with this card.
TV in
The software included with this card is video "security" software and also Ulead Video Studio SE. Although I really have no use for it, the video "security" software would have its place for certain people. Ulead Video Studio SE is adequate but I've seen better. It is pretty strait-forward to use but is not good for more advance effects.
TV out
The TV out on this card works. I haven't had much experience in TV out hardware but it was pretty easy to use. It is meant for a TV which is next to the computer, but for our purposes of watching DVDs and surfing the net on the downstairs TV, we routed an S-video and audio cable downstairs. Switching between the 2 was tricky, having to press enter at the computer to confirm that the video switched, else it would time out and switch back to the monitor. TV output resolution, due to restrictions on current TV specs, is set at 800x600. The computer screen on the TV set looked interlaced, and the edges were cut out. However I suspect that this was the fault of the TV having rounded corners. When DVDs were played, the image was much more crisp than the desktop.
DVD playback
DVD playback was through "ASUS DVD" which is just PowerDVD with the Asus logo. I have used Power DVD before and I am very happy with its performance and GUI. It has an intuative setup and is easy to use.
3D Glasses
The 3D glasses seemed like a nice addition at first, however actually using them was rather awkward. First, the glasses were large and bulky. What makes these do 3D? In 3D mode, the card displays 2 sets of images on the monitor, one for each eye. The glasses are actually polarized screens that allows your eyes to see one image at a time, in different positions. This tricks your brain into thinking that you are in 3D! The effect works, but I found the constant flickering on the glasses/screen hurt my eyes after a few minutes of use.
Besides the eye pain, there were 2 more downsides to the 3D glasses. The cable which connected it to the card was way too short. It may have been due to technical restraints, but the cord definately should have been 3 or 4 feet longer.
Also, due to the way the 3D images are displayed on the screen, one one person is able to view it. Forget showing it off to your friends while you are playing!
Bundled Games
the following software was bundled with the Asus V7700 card, along with my opinions of them.
-ASUS DigitalVCR -- OK, amateur
-ASUS DVD2000 Software Player -- very good
-Ulead® VideoStudio -- OK, very amateur
-CyberLink VideoLive Mail -- no experience
-3DEEP Reality Tuning Tool -- stinks
-Soldier of Fortune -- fun, but extremely violent
Installation
Anyone who has any experience installing PC cards should have no problem installing this one. It supports resolutions up to 2048 x 1536 at 75Hz. Make sure your monitor supports this though if you plan on going up that high!
Summary
This is an overall great card. I would definatly recommend it for someone who is looking for great 3D performance, but also wants to occasionally create movies or output their display to a TV. Heavy duty TV in/out users may want to stay away from this card however. If ASUS would include some better software and work on some small details, I would give it a 5. As I received it though, I think I will have to go with a 4.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300+
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aurigus
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Location: Coatesville, PA
Reviews written: 18
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