Final Thoughts

The Radeon X1600XT using the AGP interface was not quite what I hoped it would be, for a few reasons. First and foremost it is way too expensive and even if prices go down eventually those will likely come too late. The cheaper PCIe X1600XT cards are unquestionably faster but obviously not compatible. This is perhaps proof that gamers wanting to upgrade will want to make the jump to a newer platform as there is little life remaining for AGP in the near future.

Also the cheaper GeForce 7600GS AGP card was faster in some cases, and when it came in second to the VisionTek Radeon X1600XT AGP, there was very little in it. The average AGP 7600GS costs $140, so given the considerable price difference I cannot see how anyone could justify purchasing this product. Even at $140 it's a hard enough choice to make, investing in an expensive mid-range product for the AGP platform, spending over $200 is out of the question in our opinion.

Given the original Radeon X1600XT for the PCI Express platform made its debut at $200, and is now available for approximately $130, would you really go as far as spending $220 on an AGP version that came 9 months later? Saving those extra $100 to purchase a PCI Express motherboard would be a more valuable upgrade. I know most of you are going to say upgrading from a perfectly good AGP system is too costly, but when you think about it, spending even $100 on an AGP graphics card is like flogging a dead horse.

Really, this late in the game I find it almost impossible to recommend purchasing an AGP graphics card. As I said earlier, at best they are a quick fix, and something like a Radeon X1600XT or GeForce 7600GS is going to have an abnormally short lifespan in AGP form. Converting to the affordable AM2 or even 939-pin PCI Express enabled platform should prove a much better option in the longer run.

Finally, for $220 this VisionTek Radeon X1600XT might be the only AGP card of its kind in existence, but that on its own does not make this product special. The price premium killed this product right from the get go. The cooling setup was fairly typical of an X1600XT and the bundled software was nothing exceptional. That said, I would recommend giving this one a miss.