ASUS
AGP-6800 DDR
64MB
The AGP-6800 is based on nVidia's new 64MB DDR
reference design. Luckily for Asus, they were the first company to get a
GeForce 64MB DDR board out of the door, beside Dell, which, of course,
doesn't count, because Dell only uses the board on their high-end gaming
platform. By having a 64MB board available, Asus will gain a large
amount of sales from people who want only the latest graphics
technology, and do not wish to wait until other companies ship
comparable boards. The extra 32MB of DDR memory has significant
performance advantages over existing board, as well as providing a
greater level of prestige. The extra texture memory is used to provide
storage for more graphic data, before the card has to resort to the
system memory. This configuration has very noticeable advantages in high
resolution, 32bit gameplay, especially in such titles as Quake III. For
a month or so at least, Asus will be able to claim the ultimate
performance advantage in 3D graphics.
Reviews
are available at:
Thresh's
Firing Squad
AGP-6800
DDR Deluxe
The
Asus AGP-6800 DDR Deluxe is based on the nVidia GeForce 256 reference
design, and is equipped with 32MB of DDR memory, and a few of Asus' own
features. These features, held in common with the AGP-6600 are an
s-video in, an s-video out, an RCA out, and a connector for Asus' 3D VR
glasses. The s-video in and out are useful for video editing, and the 3D
VR glasses, while not held in such high esteem as Elsa's offering, do a
very credible job in bringing true 3D graphics to your desktop.
Performance wise, the AGP-6800, because of the standard 120mhz core and
150 (2 x 150 = 301) memory, performs on almost exactly the same level as
any other GeForce DDR card. The question when buying the AGP-6800 is
whether the additional features are worth the price premium over other
cards in the same class.
Reviews
are available at:
AnandTech
Gamespot
Sharky
Extreme
Thresh's
Firing Squad
AGP-6800 DDR Pure
The
Asus AGP-6800 DDR Pure is essentially the same as the Deluxe version of
the card, except without all of the extra features. In fact, it is about
the same as any other GeForce DDR card. Curiously, though, it is
slightly faster than all of its competitors, barring the Hercules
DDR/DVI. The speed does not come with out a price, however. The AGP-6800
series has been known to have stability problems, and crashes more when
playing 3D games than any other GeForce card.
Reviews
are available at:
Thresh's
Firing Squad
AGP-6600 Deluxe
The Asus AGP-660 Deluxe is the SDRAM version of the
DDR AGP-6800, and has all of the same features. These are the s-video
in, s-video out, RCA out, 3D VR glasses out. Aside from these features,
the AGP-6600 performs at the same level as any other GeForce 32MB SDRAM
card. That is, very credibly, if not at the level of the DDR version.
The performance is also roughly the same as the S3 Viper II Z200 and the
ATI Rage Fury MAXX, with these cards surpassing it in certain
benchmarks. The added features or added cost of this card may serve to
sway the buyer's decision between this and other boards.
Reviews are available at:
AnandTech
Gamespot
Sharky
Extreme
Thresh's
Firing Squad
AGP-6600 Pure
The Asus AGP-660 Pure is the SDRAM version of the DDR
AGP-6800 Pure. The AGP-6600 performs at the same level as any other
GeForce 32MB SDRAM card. That is, very credibly, if not at the level of
the DDR version. The performance is also roughly the same as the S3
Viper II Z200 and the ATI Rage Fury MAXX, with these cards surpassing it
in certain benchmarks. The Pure performs at the same level as the
Deluxe, it just doesn't have as many features.
Reviews are available at:
AnandTech
AGP-3800
The Asus AGP-3800 is available in a variety of
configurations, which offer different combinations of video in-out, 3S
glasses, etc. Aside from these features, the board deviates very little
from the nVidia TNT2/TNT2 Ultra reference design. For those who don't
know, the TNT2 Ultra is a standard TNT2, that has higher core and memory
clock speeds. As is standard, the board is equipped with 32MB of
high-speed SDRAM. If some of the features offered are appealing to you,
than go for it, but cheaper performance solutions can be found.
Reviews are available at:
AnandTech
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