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Daniel W.

Daniel W.

Joined on 03/01/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
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Most Critical Review

Not for Win x64 Platform

PowerColor Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Graphics Card 26PRO512M AGP
PowerColor Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Graphics Card 26PRO512M AGP

Pros: Good value for the x32 owner who wants DVI - HDTV support. Doesn't seem to cause heat problems or demand a great deal of current to operate.

Cons: It isn't mentioned in the product page or in PowerColors literature but this card failed WHQL testing for 64-bit systems. ATI only supports the HD2600 Pro chip for x64 in a PCIe architecture. PowerColor's support people really threw me a curve, denying their was a problem, and insisting all I needed was to install Catalyst 8.4 for a solution. I'll never buy one of their products again.

Overall Review: If I were running XP Home only instead of a dual boot system; I might have been thrilled with this card. Problem is; I bought this card so I could begin a changeover to 64bit computing on my AGP compatible motherboard. I would have just stayed with the Radeon 9200 64mb card which does a respectable job of desktop/movie display. Now I've purchased the OS and other software and will need to upgrade this card along with the hassle of a RMA and the expense of a restocking fee. Now that most off the shelf computers sport a 64-bit processor; it is time for hardware vendors and manufacturers to denote EVERY product's compatability with X64, or the lack of it.