Pci-express, Radeon HD3450, 512MB 64BIT, Ramdac 400MHZ, Engine Clk 600MHZ, Memor

List Price: $62.99 Discount Price: $40.99

Customer Reviews:

More than expected for a very low price [Posted on 2008-09-15]
While this card is obviously not intended for the extreme gamer, I give it four stars because of its low price and a comparison to my older far more expensive card. Surprisingly, it easily embarrassed my old GeForce 6800 512MB. I purchased this because it is very inexpensive and it is recommended as a cheap upgrade to use in hybrid crossfire mode with my Asus M3A-78T 790GX MB (HD3300 IGP). I intend to purchase an ATI 4850 GPU (or better!)in the near future, so I thought this card would hold me over until I make a decision. I wouldn't call myself an extreme gamer,...yet, but I'll buy some new games and get used to their performance so that when I do get a new card I will hopefully see an obvious difference. I was surprised that even without the crossfire mode this card outperformed my 6800 on my 22" Viewsonic 1050x1680 LCD. Movies are much cleaner too!
With the exception of gaming, I use the HD3450 on my 22" LCD and the IGP (the motherboards integrated graphic processor) on my 19" 768x1024 CRT. If you do decide on a IGP based MB (the HD3450 is one of the few GPUs that work with the 780G/790GX MBs) it is cool how easy it is to switch back and forth between Hybrid (both GPUs running the 22" LCD) and standard Surround View (both monitors on - independent GPUs) mode. In a few seconds I can go from the fast hybrid mode to the standard mode....no need to re-start and change things in the BIOS.
The 3450 runs Google Earth so much faster and smoother on my 22" (by itself) that I thought my less than stellar cable internet connection was the limiting factor with my 6800, nope, it was the old card!
The 600Mz core clock on my HD3450 easily over-clocked to 750Mz. This is done through a very easy to use utility built into the ATI Catalyst 8.8 Control Center. Brave novices will not be intimidated as there is even an auto mode which slowly increases the speed in 10 Mz increments, tests it, and then goes to the next speed. It took about 3 minutes. It did crash (as it tells you it will...without damage) on the ram test after a 30 Mz increase, but that is more common. Then you will know the limit of "your" card and set it without fear of screwing something up. I only play a few race car games and older FPS's for now, so I don't have any frame-rates to give you, but the Vista gaming performance index is about 3.3 with the card by itself and 4.5 in hybrid mode. Even by itself many improvements over my older 6800 are obvious and this Asus card does a great job for its intended price range.

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