Product Reviewed:
RADEON 7500 Graphic Card
Manufacturer:
ATI Technologies Inc.
1 Commerce Valley Drive East
Markham, Ontario
Canada L3T 7X6

Product Description:
Graphics card
Retail Price:
$129.00 (CDN)
Reviewer:
Don Hughes
Date Reviewed:
Good Features:

1. High Acceleration of 3D graphics
2. Built-in support for DVD playback
3. Easy installation
4. Provides excellent resolution
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Bad Features:

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Reviewers Comments:

Radeon Graphic card requirements AGP Version: Pentium® 4/III/II/Celeron™, AMD® K6/Athlon® or compatible with AGP 2.0 Compliant BUS- AGP 2X (3.3V), AGP 4X (1.5V), or AGP2X/4X based systems, PCI Version: Pentium® 4/III/II/Celeron, AMD® K6/Athlon® or compatible with PCI slot, Installation software requires CD-ROM drive, DVD playback requires DVD drive on PCs with an Intel® Pentium® II processor (or equivalent) and 32MB of system memory , Graphics controller RADEON™ 7500 graphics processing unit (GPU) Memory configuration, 64MB DDR Operating systems support Windows® 98/98SE, Windows® Me, Windows® 2000, Windows® NT 4.0, Windows® XP Monitor support CRT Monitor: 15-pin VGA connector, AGP Version: S-Video or composite connector PCI Version: Composite connector, DVI-I (flat panel display) connector, Display support

ATI's Radeon 7500 is a powerful and versatile graphic card complete with 64MB of DDR memory. The Radeon GPU provides high performance acceleration of today's demanding 3D graphic applications. Built in support for DVD playback, dual independent displays, and even support for a digital flat panel (DVI-I) monitors. Radeon video cards meet or exceed the needs of most home and business graphic users. The Radeon 7500 is available for AGP or a PCI slot, and comes with installation instructions, CD installation disk, and a handy user's guide. The Radeon graphic card has three outputs for S-Video for hooking up to a TV, DVI-I Monitor or second VGA, and a standard IBM VGA Style monitor jack. New computer systems come with built in VGA on the motherboard, and do not require a separate video card for general home or business software applications. For most applications such as word processing, the VGA video built into modern motherboards is sufficient, and meets or exceeds user's requirements. However, if your works necessitates using graphic intensive programs such as CAD, desktop publishing or play any of the new 3D games, a separate graphic card is a necessity.

We selected an Epox EP-4G4A motherboard that came with integrated Intel 845G 256-bit Extreme Graphic Chip as part of a new Pentium 4 system for our office. The built in Intel Graphics chip preformed flawlessly with Windows XP, Office XP programs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other graphic software. The Epox motherboard with built preformed very satisfactorily during program testing, and we encountered no problems when surfing Internet pages. However, I decided to download Interplay's "Black Hawk Down" 3D demo and put the built in graphic chip 3D capabilities to a test. I clicked on the desktop icon to start the Blackhawk Down game demo. At first, the screen display looked good, and then as the scene unfolded and action switched to 3D the lack of detail was obvious to the eye. See VGA on motherboard photos.

The lack of detail in the game prompted me to install the ATI Radeon 7500 graphic card into our new P4 IBM clone. The Epox motherboard has an onboard AGP (Accelerated Graphic Port) slot. Installation was easy requiring the one to turn off the computer, open the case and insert the Radeon card into the AGP slot. Once the new video card was installed, and as the computer rebooted, the motherboard's BIOS automatically recognized the new video card. From that point onward, it was a simple matter once the Windows XP screen appeared to insert the supplied CD and install the new ATI Radeon video drivers. After the new video card was set-up, I reloaded the Blackhawk game demo. The graphic detail of the helicopters, terrain, buildings was amazing, and the overall game play greatly improved. As the old adage states, "A Picture is worth a thousand words"-Graphics after installing ATI Radeon 7500.'

The installation of a Radeon 7500 video card did enhance the Pentium 4's overall performance, loading and execution of XP office programs. In addition, any graphic programs such as Corel Draw, Microsoft Publisher, ran faster, and surfing the Internet page loading time was improved. The new ATI card did speed up graphic utilization in all programs, and improving digital or scanned photographs' clarity, and sharpness. The addition of ATI's Radeon 7500 video card will speed up graphics on any system, and provide better screen resolution for application or 3D games. If you use a PC desktop computer daily for business or pleasure the ATI Radeon 7500 is necessary accessory for any PC System.



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