Sapphire HD 4650 AGP Video Card

   In conclusion I have to say that the 4650 is a good upgrade for and older AGP system. That is if you are running an older AGP setup and feel you need a graphics upgrade.   I can say that without worry but one: if you already own an HD3850 graphics card.  If you currently are running a HD3850 there is going to be no real graphics gain switching to this card.   Unless Sapphire comes out with a 4850 AGP there isn’t a better card in this format than the HD3850 for gaming.   Yes it runs hot and is less power efficient than the HD4650, but it also will Overclock like crazy and has the numbers to back it…IF all you care about is numbers.   Now if you don’t mind a small drop in performance but you WANT a quiet, efficient system THEN I would recommend that upgrade path.    You really have to gut check and decide what it is that’s important to you.

  If you decide you would like to turn your old AGP setup into a media center or HTPC with some occasional gaming.  I can’t recommend this card enough.    I didn’t talk to much about it in the observation section but this card is well suited for the Home Theater environment.  With the HDMI adapter and Unified Video Decoding for Blue Ray, Accelerated video transcoding, and Enhanced DVD upscaling you can begin to see why I think this card is marketed more toward the media center.   The small size and power efficiency will make a quiet yet powerful media tool.