Cheap ATI Technologies Inc. Xpert 2000 AGP 32MB (Electronics) (Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 95) Price

A video card with 32 MB of RAM and a good 3-D chip from a respected manufacturer for under $100? Do you even need to read the rest of this review? ATI has a great reputation for making a range of video cards to fulfill all needs and budgets, but the XPERT 2000 AGP is a real piece of work. In addition to a heap of video memory and a Rage 128 chip, users get hardware DVD support (along with the software to use it) and a full version of the game Expendable to show off the capabilities of their new hardware.

The card uses a 2x AGP interface and is plug-and-play compatible. We had no trouble installing the hardware or the included software on our test machine. The bundled software includes several multimedia programs, such as a CD player and a limited video editor. The highlight of the package is the DVD software, which provides smooth playback with few artifacts when used in conjunction with the XPERT 2000's DVD acceleration hardware. Playback was still a little blurry, so this is no replacement for a dedicated DVD decoder card.

If you only work with 2-D applications, such as Windows, this card can serve you well, regardless of the monitor you use. At a standard resolution of 1,024 x 768 and a color depth of 32 bits, the XPERT 2000's refresh rates go all the way to 160 Hz. Bump the resolution to 1,280 x 1,024, and the maximum refresh rate is 120 Hz--more than enough to guarantee a sharp, flicker-free image.

As for 3-D acceleration, the Rage 128 processor at the core of this card is decent for gaming. The XPERT 2000 is capable of producing 3-D resolutions as high as 1,920 x 1,200 in 32-bit color, although that figure is well beyond the acceptable performance envelope for this card. We found its sweet spot at 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024 in 32-bit color, depending on the game. At those settings, nearly everything we threw at the card ran smoothly on our 350 MHz Pentium II test system, from Unreal Tournament to NASCAR Racing 3.

Image quality in nearly all applications was excellent. The only exceptions were certain flight simulators, such as MiG Alley, where smoke effects were a little weak. In other simulations, such as NASCAR Racing 3 and Jane's WWII Fighters, smoke effects were wonderfully rendered, so this shouldn't be a big problem. We remedied all the minor gripes we had with this card by looking at the receipt. It truly is a bargain. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Dirt cheap
• 32 MB of video memory
• Outstanding 2-D performance
• Decent 3-D acceleration

Cons:

• No TV input or output

PLATFORM:	Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 95
CATEGORY:	Electronics
MANUFACTURER:	ATI Technologies
FEATURES:	32-bit true-color 3-D graphics up to 1,920 x 1,200, 32 MB of powerful memory, 128-bit RAGE 128 graphics engine, Incredible 3-D and 2-D graphics, Hardware DVD video playback
TYPE:	Graphics Cards, Video Cards
MEDIA:	Electronics
MPN:	100-416196
# OF MEDIA:	1
ACCESSORIES:
UPC:	727419405393