Conclusion:
If you were looking for a serious gaming graphics card, you came to the wrong review. But, if you are looking for a budget solution for multimedia or home theater applications, the XGI Volari V3XT is an excellent option. The processor runs cool enough to only need passive cooling, and the silence is ideal for an HTPC situation where even the faintest hum of fans may interfere with video or music playback.
Speaking of video playback, this is the area where the XGI Volari V3XT excels. Unique features such as an onboard MPEG-2 decoder capable of up to 20 Mbit/sec bit rate decoding, and HDTV output in either 480i/480p/1080i/720p formats set the V3XT apart from any card in its price range, and many cards considerably more expensive.
The XGI Volari V3XT sells for under $50 (US), which is quite a deal for a DirectX 9 compliant card with such rich multimedia capabilities. The one problem may be locating one. Although they are more readily available in Asia and Europe, they have yet to penetrate the North American market very well. XGI sells their graphics cards directly, but also work through partners, such as Chaintech in the USA and Club-3D in Europe.
Many of the benchmarks were included out of an obligation to show some sort of performance data, but the V3XT is obviously about something other than high performance 3D and gaming. The card could definitely handle many games, especially older titles, but it is obviously more at home in a home theater PC.
Final Rating (4.5 out of 5 stars):  
Pros:
• Excellent HTPC Video Card
• Totally silent
• Runs cool
• Outputs 1080i HDTV
• Hardware MPEG-2 decoder built in
• Low profile card will fit many mini systems
• Hardware DirectX 9 support
• Sharp TV-out image quality
• Competitively priced, under $50 (US)
Cons:
• Limited availability
• Not for gaming, but it doesn't claim to be
Special thanks XGI for providing the 128MB Volari V3XT AGP Card to BigBruin.com for review!
Please drop by the BigBruin.Com forum and feel free to discuss this review.
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