Well, like I've replied on Studiostriver's thread for his HD 2600 I have a Sapphire 2600XT AGP DDR3 AGP version (with the picture of a girl with goggles), and it really pairs up well with the AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.2Ghz socket 754 XP build that I have. Sure the drivers were a pain for a day or two and there definitely were some non-identified incompatibilities but once I found the tutorial it worked well, just had to start over from scratch. Reading this thread made me realize I unknowingly stumbled upon the DDR3 version, I wasn't even aware that there were other possibilities. As for his HD 2600 sure they're different cards but it should be blazing fast and snappy for what he's trying to use it for.

I've never seen the DDR2 variant in action but the DDR3 version is worth it for someone who's looking for a mix of period correctness within the XP era and some extra power for the time. I have a Win7 build anyway so that mix was more than welcome to complement the XP build. No idea about pricing nowadays, I was recommended this card here on Vogons only a few years ago and I was happy for the advice as even at the time I was having trouble finding an affordable Nvidia card.

Around 2005 I had a Nvidia 6600GT or something of the sorts on the same build (that had a Sempron originally) and performance aside, paired with the original AMD cooler, it was the loudest PC I've ever had. I'm sure today most of us almost can't believe how we put up with that at the time but I guess we just did and didn't even think about it. When I got the HD 2600XT I've cleaned it, repasted it and lubed the fan as you do, and decided to finally retire the AMD cooler for good, installing an OCZ Gladiator cooler and a Gelid fan controller. It's not silent, but it's quite close, and I would have been marveled with it at the time. Plus the HD 2600 XT is very compact and thin compared to the Nvidia's which helped a lot with cooling the case as the OCZ Gladiator is BIG.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles and I'm not emotionally invested at all into any of this, it's just my experience. My socket 754 build was always solid as a rock stable and maybe that foundation helped getting over the humps at the beginning. I've since changed around some other components and it's been all smooth sailing. I probably wouldn't think of the card as a default option to go by, but as a worthy option it in the right circumstances (XP era period correctness).

andre_6 wrote on 2025-07-17, 17:09:

Well, like I've replied on Studiostriver's thread for his HD 2600 I have a Sapphire 2600XT AGP DDR3 AGP version (with the pictur […]
Show full quote

Well, like I've replied on Studiostriver's thread for his HD 2600 I have a Sapphire 2600XT AGP DDR3 AGP version (with the picture of a girl with goggles), and it really pairs up well with the AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.2Ghz socket 754 XP build that I have. Sure the drivers were a pain for a day or two and there definitely were some non-identified incompatibilities but once I found the tutorial it worked well, just had to start over from scratch. Reading this thread made me realize I unknowingly stumbled upon the DDR3 version, I wasn't even aware that there were other possibilities. As for his HD 2600 sure they're different cards but it should be blazing fast and snappy for what he's trying to use it for.

I've never seen the DDR2 variant in action but the DDR3 version is worth it for someone who's looking for a mix of period correctness within the XP era and some extra power for the time. I have a Win7 build anyway so that mix was more than welcome to complement the XP build. No idea about pricing nowadays, I was recommended this card here on Vogons only a few years ago and I was happy for the advice as even at the time I was having trouble finding an affordable Nvidia card.

Around 2005 I had a Nvidia 6600GT or something of the sorts on the same build (that had a Sempron originally) and performance aside, paired with the original AMD cooler, it was the loudest PC I've ever had. I'm sure today most of us almost can't believe how we put up with that at the time but I guess we just did and didn't even think about it. When I got the HD 2600XT I've cleaned it, repasted it and lubed the fan as you do, and decided to finally retire the AMD cooler for good, installing an OCZ Gladiator cooler and a Gelid fan controller. It's not silent, but it's quite close, and I would have been marveled with it at the time. Plus the HD 2600 XT is very compact and thin compared to the Nvidia's which helped a lot with cooling the case as the OCZ Gladiator is BIG.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles and I'm not emotionally invested at all into any of this, it's just my experience. My socket 754 build was always solid as a rock stable and maybe that foundation helped getting over the humps at the beginning. I've since changed around some other components and it's been all smooth sailing. I probably wouldn't think of the card as a default option to go by, but as a worthy option it in the right circumstances (XP era period correctness).

Well, you've won the lottery twice - got DDR3 and it ended up working fine with your motherboard. If it also works well for the games you want to run that's a match made in haven.

But yeah, DDR2 versions are annoying when trying to shop for this card. Some people simply do not know, some do it on purpose and there are a bunch of offers with DDR2 version for the price of DDR3. And it is not necessarily easy to tell one from another...

Overall they are still pretty common, at least where i live, which probably has something to do with hardware compatibility and cards being resold over and over instead of getting stuck in someone's system.

I guess it is also all a matter of comparison, especially coolers/noise. Here is my card:

The cooler is indeed relatively quiet at idle when the fan is in ok shape and heatsink is clean, but that does not last and it gets hot/noisy under load anyway. There are worse coolers, but there are better too. For example i very much prefer simple heatsink on palit 7600GT i ended up using instead of this card:

It remains cooler, much quieter under load and temperatures are way lower. Though it is double slot and with no girl pictures 😀

Overall i'd say it is great that it worked out for you, but anyone considering this card should still be careful as it does not always go this well.

Archer57 wrote on 2025-07-18, 00:03:

Well, you've won the lottery twice - got DDR3 and it ended up working fine with your motherboard. If it also works well for the […]
Show full quote

andre_6 wrote on 2025-07-17, 17:09:

Well, like I've replied on Studiostriver's thread for his HD 2600 I have a Sapphire 2600XT AGP DDR3 AGP version (with the pictur […]
Show full quote

Well, like I've replied on Studiostriver's thread for his HD 2600 I have a Sapphire 2600XT AGP DDR3 AGP version (with the picture of a girl with goggles), and it really pairs up well with the AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.2Ghz socket 754 XP build that I have. Sure the drivers were a pain for a day or two and there definitely were some non-identified incompatibilities but once I found the tutorial it worked well, just had to start over from scratch. Reading this thread made me realize I unknowingly stumbled upon the DDR3 version, I wasn't even aware that there were other possibilities. As for his HD 2600 sure they're different cards but it should be blazing fast and snappy for what he's trying to use it for.

I've never seen the DDR2 variant in action but the DDR3 version is worth it for someone who's looking for a mix of period correctness within the XP era and some extra power for the time. I have a Win7 build anyway so that mix was more than welcome to complement the XP build. No idea about pricing nowadays, I was recommended this card here on Vogons only a few years ago and I was happy for the advice as even at the time I was having trouble finding an affordable Nvidia card.

Around 2005 I had a Nvidia 6600GT or something of the sorts on the same build (that had a Sempron originally) and performance aside, paired with the original AMD cooler, it was the loudest PC I've ever had. I'm sure today most of us almost can't believe how we put up with that at the time but I guess we just did and didn't even think about it. When I got the HD 2600XT I've cleaned it, repasted it and lubed the fan as you do, and decided to finally retire the AMD cooler for good, installing an OCZ Gladiator cooler and a Gelid fan controller. It's not silent, but it's quite close, and I would have been marveled with it at the time. Plus the HD 2600 XT is very compact and thin compared to the Nvidia's which helped a lot with cooling the case as the OCZ Gladiator is BIG.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles and I'm not emotionally invested at all into any of this, it's just my experience. My socket 754 build was always solid as a rock stable and maybe that foundation helped getting over the humps at the beginning. I've since changed around some other components and it's been all smooth sailing. I probably wouldn't think of the card as a default option to go by, but as a worthy option it in the right circumstances (XP era period correctness).

Well, you've won the lottery twice - got DDR3 and it ended up working fine with your motherboard. If it also works well for the games you want to run that's a match made in haven.

But yeah, DDR2 versions are annoying when trying to shop for this card. Some people simply do not know, some do it on purpose and there are a bunch of offers with DDR2 version for the price of DDR3. And it is not necessarily easy to tell one from another...

Overall they are still pretty common, at least where i live, which probably has something to do with hardware compatibility and cards being resold over and over instead of getting stuck in someone's system.

I guess it is also all a matter of comparison, especially coolers/noise. Here is my card:

The attachment 20250612_190751_cut.jpg is no longer available

The cooler is indeed relatively quiet at idle when the fan is in ok shape and heatsink is clean, but that does not last and it gets hot/noisy under load anyway. There are worse coolers, but there are better too. For example i very much prefer simple heatsink on palit 7600GT i ended up using instead of this card:

The attachment PC_internal_cutDs2.jpg is no longer available

It remains cooler, much quieter under load and temperatures are way lower. Though it is double slot and with no girl pictures 😀

Overall i'd say it is great that it worked out for you, but anyone considering this card should still be careful as it does not always go this well.

Interesting, so how can you visually tell the difference between DDR2 or DDR3? Is there even a way?

andre_6 wrote on 2025-07-20, 11:59:

Interesting, so how can you visually tell the difference between DDR2 or DDR3? Is there even a way?

Well, you look for stickers, model numbers of some sort, may be markings on memory chips, google stuff and hope you can figure it out.

More often than not there are stickers on the back of the card which clearly state type of RAM, so as long as you are not assuming malicious intent by the seller those are pretty easy.

Sometimes DDR2/DDR3 versions may have different board layout too, so just googling photos and comparing may be helpful.

Or you could just ask for GPU-Z screenshot again, assuming no intent to scam...

Archer57 wrote on 2025-07-20, 12:20:

Or you could just ask for GPU-Z screenshot again, assuming no intent to scam...

Just be a bit cautious with GPU-Z. It does not always report correct on old cards.
It says my Radeon 9600Pro with DDR2 has DDR memory, which it in fact does not. It uses DDR2.

So pictures of the card + memory IC part numbers are your safest bet!

tehsiggi wrote on Yesterday, 08:29:

Just be a bit cautious with GPU-Z. It does not always report correct on old cards.
It says my Radeon 9600Pro with DDR2 has DDR memory, which it in fact does not. It uses DDR2.

So pictures of the card + memory IC part numbers are your safest bet!

Yep, that is a possibility.

Thing is - there are no guaranteed ways. Memory ICs can be covered by heatsinks, like in case of HD2600XT i got - on one side with stock cooler, on another side with small glued ones someone attached.

Stickers on the back of the card may be removed or even swapped, even before the seller got the card. I've seen cards correctly sold as DDR2 with sticker claiming it is DDR3 (someone got scammed?).

Ultimately it is all about price. Dealing with sketchy listings which give no info on RAM and no way to know what it is with 100% probability (good photo of memory IC) is only worth it if the price is low enough. If it is not i would expect all the info right away, so that later i can get a refund if it turns out to be a lie. When it is cheap enough it may be worth taking a risk and trusting a sticker or GPU-Z. After all DDR2 cards are functional too - sure, they are a lot worse, but if cheap enough... AGP cards are scarce enough at this point that even those have a value.

Honestly with current prices i personally resorted to buying "untested" or "broken" stuff as long as i see no obvious evidence it is a repair shop selling hopeless cards...