It comes in a large box with an analog to digital adapter, installation manual, overclocking specifications, a driver CD with MSI's software, bundled with Adobe Reader and other free programs.
This review summarises the product's advantages and disadvantages for a user with an older AGP-equipped motherboard. If your computer has PCI-E support, skip this card. All criteria in this review are regarding AGP cards only. So is the rating.
AGP?
Some of you
might wonder what's the point in getting an AGP card these days. The answer is simple: some users simply do not wish to buy a new motherboard just for a PCI-E slot. Moreover, AGP cards still can provide you enough performance to boot and run games on high quality settings.
Size
With computers scaling from huge towers with plenty of cooling space to tiny boxes with mATX motherboards, it is important to assure this card fits. Yes, the MSI GeForce 7600 fits in a small mini or micro tower and does not cramp your mATX mainboard. You should only worry if your computer case was built specifically for minimal space and your current card barely fits with only one monitor socket covering the entire rear panel's width. Otherwise, worry not, all measurements are basic and fully compatible.
Memory
Being suitable for an older slot, this graphics card uses its bulky 512MB memory supply as a great advantage. It lets the user visualise extremely complex textures and high-quality images that would cause a dramatic drop in performance otherwise. A memory cycle within the VRAM is an amazing number of times faster than having it transfered to the mainboard's RAM, as would be an issue with 256MB and TurboCache variants. The amount of memory is more than enough to enjoy scenery or tense moments in detail whilst playing modern games. Among AGP cards, this is top-notch.
DirectX Support
This card supports DirectX 9.0c, but not DirectX 10. It will take 2-3 years for graphics designers and games to utilise and force consumers to switch to DirectX 10, meaning this graphics card should have a lifespan as long as a regular computer's without skipping on volumetric lighting or other glaring software specs. Waiting for 3 years for change would be less rational than getting this card now to enjoy what the industry has to offer now. The AGP market does not offer a single DirextX 10 card among the GeForce models. If your slot wishes to survive longer than the aforementioned time period (meaning that your computer will not be disposed of for 5 years), ATI should be on your horizon, as it has a less powerful 10th version card on offer that would prolong the lifespan of the GPU, at a price of drastically dropping performance.
Anisotrophy & Antialising
This is the card's weak spot. Tweaking anisotrophic filtering above x4 will kill the GPU (will cause a crash or the machine will restart). However, you can play Half Life 2: Episode Two, Quake IV, and Left 4 Dead with antialising with this card. The GPU can take it and provede satisfactory FPS rates.
Overclocking
This card supports overclocking technology that can be easily tweaked with any available tools online. Some cards come overclocked without notice and score 10% above the benchmark score provided on the box. The GeForce 7600GT has plenty of room for overclockers to fill.
Noise, Heat & Power
This is where MSI's card can take the crown. The 512MB version comes with passive cooling and heatsink that replaces the cooler for an extra 3 pounds. It means this card is one fan less in your computer, which means no noise, a smaller electricity bill and increased environmental friendliness that modern PCI-E cards lack.
Same thing can be said about heat the card produces. It can be given plenty of work, and it would only marginally increase the temperature inside your computer case. Bear in mind, a PCI-E card such as the GeForce GTX 260 would melt under conditions the 7600GT works without a bead of sweat.
The two factors above mean that this card is user-friendly when it comes to power. A generic 350W power supply that is available even for mATX computers is enough for this card to work under a heavy load if you have a basic equipment list that is a DVD-ROM, a large HDD and a power-hungry processor. Though, I would recommend having 400W just in case (some wattages are calculated in unfair ways).
Verdict
MSI has a good card on offer this time. 512 MB is plenty of memory for modern games, and you'll be enjoying most if not all visual trinkets the market has to offer for at least two years. That AGP slot can still be useful, and buying this card would currently save you a lot more than rushing for a new noisy computer. Bear in mind, PCI-E will, eventually, knock out what is left of the old slot, and you will have to consider buying a new computer. This card prolongs your current machine's lifetime. If money is the object, this card is your subject.
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