Radeon 9200SE Graphics Card
Written: Feb 20 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great resolution, accurate color, responsive, stable, useful software with excellent driver
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: Reasonable price combined with high performance, this card is a must have.
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| paulphoto's Full Review: ASUS Radeon 9200SE 64 MB (DDR SDRAM) Graphics Card |
The ASUS ATI Radeon 9200SE is an entry-level graphics card in the 9200-series. Featuring a video memory capacity of 64MB and a maximum operating bus speed of 8x using an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), this card offers quite a unique performance. It is well equipped for general use and video entertainment, including 3D games.
The retail package includes:
- ASUS Radeon 9200SE/T/64M Graphics Card (PAL or NTSC)
- Driver and Utility CD-ROM
- Quick Reference Card (General Specifications)
- User Manual/Software Reference Booklet
- Installation Guide (Booklet)
No bundled software included. The card carries a 3-year warranty.
Specifications: ASUS Radeon 9200SE
Chipset: ATI Radeon 9200SE
Engine Clock Speed: 200MHz
Video Memory/Clock Speed: 64MB DDR / 333MHz
Memory Interface: 64-bit DDR
Bus/Interface: AGP 8x Max.
Port: VGA (15-pin out), TV-out (S-Video), Composite (RCA)
Support 3D API: DirectX
Max. Resolution: 2048x1536 pixels
Color: 32-bit depth max.
System Requirements
Intel CPUs or AMD CPUs
AGP slot
Microsoft Windows 98SE/Me/NT4/2000/XP
64MB RAM system memory
13MB of hard disk space
CD-ROM drive for installation
Key Features: ATI Radeon 9200SE
SmartShader provides hardware-accelerated support for DirectX 8.1 programmable vertex and pixel shaders to enable realistic texture and lighting effects
SmoothVision generates the sharpest and clearest images through full scene anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering modes
HydraVision provides flexible and user-friendly interface for multiple display settings
FullStream removes blocky artifacts from streaming Internet video
Video Immersion supports digital and high-definition video
Built-in 64MB Double Data Rate frame buffer provides more resolutions and color depths up to 2048x1536 at 85Hz
AGP 8x support maximizes the 2.1GB/s AGP 8x bandwidth for more realistic graphics
Supports Microsoft DirectX 8.1 and OpenGL 1.4
INSTALLATION
Hardware: Hardware installation only involves inserting the video card into the AGP slot on the motherboard. In most cases, it is straightforward. One side of the video card has a notch that matches the break on the AGP socket. This retaining clip should be pulled out open. Once the video card is completely pushed into the socket, the retaining clip snaps back into place and secures the card. The rear panel of the card can be secured onto the rear panel of the computer chassis by a screw.
The 15-pin VGA cable from the monitor can be connected to the 15-pin video output port at the rear panel of the card. Or, if you want to watch movies on a regular TV monitor that supports an S-Video plug, such cable can be used on this card. A composite (RCA) cable can be used as well. For example, it can be connected to the VCR and then to the TV.
Software: Software installation involves a few straightforward steps. The enclosed CD only supports Windows 98SE/Me and 2000/XP, and installation procedure for Windows 2000 and XP is discussed in detail; no discussion for 98SE or Me.
There are certain precautionary steps to take when installing the video driver. If this ASUS Radeon 9200SE card is used to replace an old graphics card, the manual suggests the necessary steps that involve setting the display to “Standard,” to avoid any conflicts between the old driver. I think it is best to uninstall the old driver completely, which the manual fails to suggest. After all, we are not going to use the old card. Why keep the driver that can create conflicts with the display setting?
In my case, the ASUS card is used on a new computer (using ASUS P4P800-VM as the motherboard). It is therefore easier to start with a fresh installation using the enclosed CD-ROM. Since Windows 2000 operating system is installed after the card has been put onto the AGP slot, it readily detects the card and configures it to standard display setting (in 16-bit 800x600 pixels). So I start the installation with putting the CD-ROM in the drive and select the appropriate driver to install.
However, if you replace the old card, your system may detect a device and asks to install it via the “Found New Hardware Wizard”. In this case, we can just click “Next” and follow the steps proceeded by the installation program.
The CD contains a few software applications, such as DirectX, AGP Gart driver, WDM (Windows Driver Model) Capture driver, and Update Display driver. The ASUS Radeon 9200SE does not support the WDM capture and therefore the driver cannot be installed.
In addition to installing the display driver, I also include the DirectX and AGP Gart driver.
Display Configurations: Once the driver has been successfully installed, an ASUS icon is placed on the Windows taskbar. Clicking on it will display a control panel with options on the display settings, such as color (bit-depth color) and resolution.
This is the quickest way to configure the display, rather than going through all the procedure using Windows Control Panel, then to Display and to Settings, or via the Right-Click procedure on Windows to Properties and then to Settings.
Double clicking on the ASUS icon, a “Help Topics: Desktop Help” box also appears, with options on how to further the improvement on screen display, including hooking up video cable to a TV monitor, etc.
If you perform a fresh installation of Windows XP Pro, the system will automatically recognize the card and configure the display accordingly, with options on display resolutions and bit-depth color. With this auto detection and configuration, it doesn’t seem necessary to install the video driver from the CD-ROM after all. And everything seems to be working normally. I have explored this alternative and discovered no problems with software and applications compatibility.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t hurt to install the driver. Furthermore, with the video driver installed, the system performs a test on the display screen/resolution and capability after logging on to Windows. With the SmartGart software, the system is kept in checked, particularly the AGP bus speed and operation.
Performance
It is fair to say that performance also involves the combined work from other components. For example, the motherboard should be able to support the bus speed of the graphics card. The following is a list of items that make up the complete system:
ASUS P4P800-VM motherboard (supporting 8x AGP)
Pentium P4 2.4GHz CPU (FSB 800MHz)
Kingston 512MB RAM (DDR 400)
Sony DVD/CD-ROM drive
Western Digital 80GB HD drive
AcerView 34T UVGA (CRT) monitor
The machine is basically used for educational purposes. No heavy gaming involved. Only educational games that merely require a simple 256-color (8-bit) setting at 800x600 resolution, and, sometimes, 16-bit color. Mostly the system is used to watch DVD movies, surfing on the web, viewing photo albums, etc. For those intended purposes, this graphics card fits very nicely with the features and capabilities it offers.
The resolution is available between 640x480 and 2048x1536, and color depth in 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit. With the AcerView 34T monitor, resolution is limited to 1024x768. The comfortable setting is between 800x600 and 1024x768 resolution with display color set at 16-bit and 32-bit depth with refresh rate at 60Hz. The 800x600-resolution is used for text editing, while the 1024x768 for watching DVD movies or viewing high-resolution photo albums.
This graphics card provides excellent screen resolution, great picture definition and realistic color. However, the monitor is a little bit outdated with a modest supporting resolution, and does not do justice to convey the true power of the card. With an excellent monitor, this card is outstanding. I have tested it on a Sony SDM-S73/B LCD monitor, and found the display color absolutely stunning, vivid and accurate. Picture quality is truly amazing.
The video output ports can be connected simultaneously to a TV monitor, either via an S-Video or composite RCA cable. But one or the other must be used. If both are connected to the TV, the S-Video takes precedence.
To test it out, I hook up the RCA cable to my TV monitor. [Needless to mention, the connection procedure is done with the computer power off.] Several problems were encountered after boot up. The resolutions behave strangely on both monitors. The display resolution on the computer monitor is messed up. At the same time, the display window is too large to fit the TV screen. It appears that the incompatibility between the graphics card and the TV, which takes its root in resolution, also affects the computer monitor but in the opposite manner. The display on the computer monitor appears somewhat distorted, similar to pincushion effect. After a few adjustments, I was able to get both displays working, by setting the right resolution supported on the TV monitor.
Watching DVD movies was possible for both on the TV and computer monitor. Understandably, the image quality (in terms of resolution—sharpness) displayed on TV is inferior. Color is excellent, but the computer monitor is no doubt better. I suspect that even with an S-Video cable hooked up, image quality will not improve much or compete with that displayed on the computer monitor.
Knowing very little about the electronics associated with the combined display, I decided that it was not worth the effort to pursue such a risky exploration with the S-video cable scenario. Ultimately, we should be content with the high image quality displayed on the computer monitor.
The card is configured and run at normal specification and normal operating speed. However, I have tried running it at 128MB and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
I have not attempted to explore the Video Security feature available on this card. To use this feature, a software application must be installed.
Conclusion/Recommendation
This graphics card produces accurate display color. I obtained consistent results on both Windows 2000 and XP. Its graphics mode is responsive and very stable, even after many hours of continuous use (even at overclocking mode). During operation, the temperature is nominal, very well managed.
The graphics driver, in addition to many features for options on video output, provides an easy method to adjust display setting in a flash. With its wide support of Windows operating systems (98SE/Me/NT4/2000/XP), the ASUS Radeon 9200SE is an excellent choice.
nVidia and Radeon are probably the two thriving graphics card companies that continually put out various types of video cards to meet the need of every computer user from high-end gamers to regular users, like myself. The ASUS Radeon 9200SE represents an excellent example that combines high graphics performance at an affordable price.
With its outstanding image quality that produces realistic video output, this card should be well suited for any graphical applications, including 3D graphics games.
What is so impressive about the ASUS Radeon 9200SE 64MB card is that it does not show any hint of inferior performance to the other card—ASUS Radeon 9200SE 128MB—I have on my ASUS P4P800-Deluxe machine. Apparently, the difference between these two is the 64-MB video memory versus 128MB. Watching DVD movies, I have been unable to tell them apart, not to mention that the ASUS 9200SE 128MB is running on a faster computer with 1024MB RAM and CPU 2.8GHz.
If the card is not intended for intensive graphical applications that require 128MB or 256MB memory, the ASUS Radeon 9200SE 64MB is definitely a great buy.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 42.50
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