Thoughts, HEXUS.awards and HEXUS.right2reply
Consideration of a 7800 GS on AGP depends on what you've got already. If you have anything in the same class as the 6800 Ultra we tested (so X800 or X850 XT), or even one step down (6800 GT, X800 PRO), we recommend at least thinking about the 7800 GSs around, but we also suggest you keep more than one eye on PCI Express and a jump in that direction. It's a simple fact that the platform is more advanced in many ways. The £200+ buys you less than it does if you have something a fair bit slower, so it stands to reason it might be wise to spend that cash elsewhere.If you have something a bit slower (6800 standard, 5900 Ultra, X800 standard, etc) then you can start to lust a bit more. It's is a fair chunk of change, but it does buy you roughtly twice what you've got already (if not more). The sliding scale doesn't extend much lower, though, unless you honestly do leave it longer than 3 years per upgrade cycle. In that case, your system might need upgrading just to get AGP4X or AGP8X support!
Pre-empting the mind of the upgrader is a difficult one, so maybe it's best to sum it up like so: The money, at the time of writing, gets you one of the fastest AGP graphics products ever produced. Only Gainward's BLISS 7800 GS+, not reviewed in this roundup and not really a 7800 GS at all (it sports G71 with all VP and FP units enabled), throws a spanner in the works, sitting at £250 or so with much higher performance than a 'proper' GeForce 7800 GS. You then base your purchasing decision on that.
As the life cycle of AGP draws to an ever certain close, it's hard to decide whether high-end SKUs like the 7800 GS are worth it. NVIDIA tell us yes, to the tune of 'thousands of units a month' no less. And to the once high-end AGP system owner, or piecemeal AGP upgrader, we can still see their point.
7800 GS therefore slides into the void somewhat vacated by 6800 Ultra, Radeon X800 XT PE and Radeon X850 XT PE, matching or besting all in performance and offering more forward-looking features and good IQ.
The company also offers 6800 GS below, so if you're determined to stick to performance AGP you still have options. We recommend any of the tested 7800 GS boards if you're buying, depending on what's available at your chosen retailer, but with XFX leading in terms of price/performance, it's that which tops our list for this particular roundup.
HEXUS Awards
XFX GeForce 7800 GS Extreme Edition
BFG Tech GeForce 7800 GS OC™
eVGA e-GeForce 7800 GS
