Club 3D ATI Radeon HD3650

[Saizou]

I was thinking of buying new graphics hard for my desktop and I came across this one, Club 3D ATI Radeon HD3650 (I found it in local store and only reason why would I pick it is that it's an AGP card and not PCI-E).

So far I have GeForce FX 5200, so I expect large improvement with it.

If anyone had any experience, knows any possible issues with it (especially Win7) or has any opinion about it, please do tell.

The price is around $95.

 

Link to the official product site: http://www.club3d.nl/products/products_ending_page_7_with_id.cfm?product_id=45

[detoren]

that card is like 3 to 4 years old and did ok in that time a new generation card for same prise like a 5770 is like 4 times faster . so maybe its time for a new mb of 50 euro instead of just a graffic card . or try find a used one for half that money ?

[milli vanilli]

it works well. i have it, and it runs BFBC2

[SkaM]

that card is like 3 to 4 years old and did ok in that time a new generation card for same prise like a 5770 is like 4 times faster . so maybe its time for a new mb of 50 euro instead of just a graffic card . or try find a used one for half that money ?

 

Yeah, but he might just end up spending about 400 $ on some other new stuff, cuz there might be compatibility issues. I remember having FX 5200 a few years ago, now I have 9500 GT. Don't know that much about ATI production but what can I say for sure is you will love that ventilator spinning if you have an open box but yes you will feel many improvements.

[OnionKnight]

Its a low profile card, that was advertised as a cheap affordable solution to people who want to watch videos in HD (has a full HD output). It isn't made for gaming so if you can find another card, you will be better off (COD4 ~ 13 fps, Bioshock ~ 23 fps). You will be able to play older games before the year 2007, but anything after will run like a slideshow. The price you are paying is quite a lot and that is probably because AGP cards are being obselete from the market (so its rarer). If I were you I would go for an PCI-e video card (the speeds are faster).

 

 

But if your computer is really old and doesn't have PCI-e slots, I suggest you either upgrade (best option) or look for another AGP card.(HD 4670 AGP --> http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=47673&vpn=AG4670%201GBK3-PV2&manufacture=PowerColor ).

[SkaM]

well, thats true AGP cards are totally out of market..last ones are going as a price for antiquary. If you don't have money to buy new pc, why don't you get a Radeon HD 3850 instead? More suitable for gaming

[RoosterCogburn]

If you have around 100 dollars, look for a PCI-e motherboard that has an onboard graphics card, the ones they have now can run better than most agp cards anyway. Just use that until your next paycheck and get a nice card that will last.

 

 

Absolutely no point in spending money on an agp card.

[Saizou]

First off, thanks for the replies, they really help.

 

I thought that at some point in time I'll build myself a brand new computer, but that will have to wait for a while (and I'd be insane if I didn't get a PCI-e motherboard this time).

I have no idea why was AGP motherboard picked (I didn't choose the components, the whole computer was scrapped from an older one; the irony is I think AGP was picked because of my current card, and I think there wasn't much choice for motherboards with 775 socket).

And if I get a new motherboard I'd probably get both new processor and memory modules, so basically that means building a new computer from scratch.

 

The basic idea was to improve FPS on ET, and possibly to get COD4 and BF2 run properly with (somewhat) decent FPS.

Either way, chart that Onion posted looks disheartening, and the fact that COD4 would run with 13 FPS isn't what I had exactly in mind. Still I'm puzzled on how it would run BFBC2 well and plainly suck at COD4.

@Milli: are you sure it's the same card?

 

As for Radeon HD 3850, I agree on it, just it is nowhere to be found. AGP cards do seem to be a relic, and I see many buying offers for used AGP cards, and the selection for brand new ones totally suck+prices are somewhat higher than they should be.

 

Sadly, NCIX doesn't ship worldwide

I'll look around few more shops to see if any can find any of those cards you guys mentioned, and post back the final decision.

[milli vanilli]

Radeon HD 3650. 1 gig DDR runs true 1080p HD. works fine for BC2

[OnionKnight]

 

The basic idea was to improve FPS on ET, and possibly to get COD4 and BF2 run properly with (somewhat) decent FPS.

Either way, chart that Onion posted looks disheartening, and the fact that COD4 would run with 13 FPS isn't what I had exactly in mind. Still I'm puzzled on how it would run BFBC2 well and plainly suck at COD4.

@Milli: are you sure it's the same card?

 

As for Radeon HD 3850, I agree on it, just it is nowhere to be found. AGP cards do seem to be a relic, and I see many buying offers for used AGP cards, and the selection for brand new ones totally suck+prices are somewhat higher than they should be.

 

Sadly, NCIX doesn't ship worldwide

I'll look around few more shops to see if any can find any of those cards you guys mentioned, and post back the final decision.

 

I got the review for HD 3650 and COD4 from legitreview http://www.legitreviews.com/article/652/8/ . If you lower it to 1024 x 768 and medium, you can run it at 25-45 fps (from youtube).

 

As for BC2 I wouldn't know. The HD 3650 can definitely run it but no one has posted any video recordings of its frame rate. Maybe ask Milli to make a recording or broadcast to xfire

[RoosterCogburn]

I bet that the 3650 can run BC2, but I highly doubt its anything playable. Some of the newer cards have trouble getting a playable FPS, let alone an old agp card like a 3650. Just IMO.

[milli vanilli]

I got the review for HD 3650 and COD4 from legitreview http://www.legitreviews.com/article/652/8/ . If you lower it to 1024 x 768 and medium, you can run it at 25-45 fps (from youtube).

 

As for BC2 I wouldn't know. The HD 3650 can definitely run it but no one has posted any video recordings of its frame rate. Maybe ask Milli to make a recording or broadcast to xfire

 

 

only i problem i have with BC2 game play is lousy pings for everyone, everywhere i go. it sometimes flickers the far background, but its barely noticeable. and tahts on high graphics. i run in on high for COD4...and still pwn nublets

[Saizou]

As I've seen the card on the review has 256MB, while Milli has one with 1GB and the one I found has 512MB. Probably the PCI-e version of the card is also somewhat faster. So the end results for COD could be anywhere in between Milli's and that on review.

Comp spec aren't good enough to run BC2 with or without this particular card so I'm not worried much about it.

 

So far the closest thing to what Onion recommended that I found in local shops is AGP ATI Radeon HD4650 Sapphire(1GB or 612MB), though this one comes at $130.

[milli vanilli]

As I've seen the card on the review has 256MB, while Milli has one with 1GB and the one I found has 512MB. Probably the PCI-e version of the card is also somewhat faster. So the end results for COD could be anywhere in between Milli's and that on review.

Comp spec aren't good enough to run BC2 with or without this particular card so I'm not worried much about it.

 

So far the closest thing to what Onion recommended that I found in local shops is AGP ATI Radeon HD4650 Sapphire(1GB or 612MB), though this one comes at $130.

 

and mine's AGP

[Saizou]

Just to let you guys know how it all turned out.

In the end I went for Radeon HD4650 Sapphire 1GB DDR2 (around $130).

FPS on ET almost doubled, with same settings I used before (most of the time I have 76 fps, still on some parts it goes down to 20). Very large improvement playing experience wise.

Also tried torrented COD4 singleplayer, and it worked fine on 1280x1024 on med settings without AA. Don't know the actual FPS, but it ran smooth all the time. Hell, sometimes I had the feeling it was running better than ET.

Overall I'm pleased with it, save for occasionally low FPS on ET but that's not bothering me too much.