ASUS EAX1950CROSSFIRE/HP/512M and EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M
Introduction and Product Specifications
While NVIDIA is marching forward with its DirectX 10 capable GeForce 8800 series, ATI is still mum on their next generation graphics cards. Which is somewhat surprising, as one would think this time of year would be ideal for new product announcements.
But while Vista is due for a broad release in January '07, games that fully exploit the features of DirectX 10 won't be commonplace for quite some time. The rest of the market is still full of great material that is OpenGL or DirectX 9-based leaving the current line of ATI graphics cards as a viable options for all but the most demanding of enthusiasts.
Today, we are going to evaluate two cards from ASUS built around ATI's X1950 GPU. The first graphics card is the EAX1950CROSSFIRE/HP/512M which comes with an X1950XTX GPU and 512MB of GDDR4 memory for the best performance ATI currently has to offer. The next model is a slightly scaled down EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M which brings a more affordable mid-range solution with an X1950Pro at the core and 256MB of GDDR3 memory. In the pages ahead, we're going to assess the overall features and performance of each card and then weigh in with our opinion on Asus two latest ATI-centric creations. Aside from DirectX 10 support, these cards pack a punch in more way than one, so let's get started.
|
|
|
Model EAX1950CROSSFIRE/HP/512M Graphics Engine RADEON X1950XTX Video Memory 512MB DDR4 Engine Clock 650MHz Memory Clock 2GHz (1GHz DDR4) Memory Interface 256-bit Max Resolution 2048 X 1536 Bus Standard PCI Express X 16 HDTV Output Yes HDCP Support Yes DVI Output DVI-I Adapter/Cable Bundled CrossFire Cable DVI to VGA adapter DVI To YPrPb adapter Power Cable Software Bundled 3D Game: SNOWBLIND &GHOST RECON ASUS Utilities & Driver |
Model EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M Graphics Engine RADEON X1950PRO Video Memory 256MB DDR3 Engine Clock 581MHz Memory Clock 1.4GHz (702MHz DDR3) Memory Interface 256-bit Max Resolution 2048 X 1536 Bus Standard PCI Express X16 VGA Output YES, via DVI to VGA Adapter HDTV Output YES, S-Video to HDTV Out TV Output YES, S-Video to Composite DVI Output DVI-I Dual DVI Output YES HDCP Support YES Adapter/Cable Bundled DVI to VGA adapter Power Cable HDTV-Out Cable Software Bundled ASUS Utilities & Driver |
EAX1950CROSSFIRE/HP/512M Retail Package
;)
;)
;)
The bundle that complements the EAX1950CrossFire includes a multilingual SpeedSetUP manual for basic installation and setup of the card. The manual was a bit generic, not covering proper cable installation in CrossFire configurations, which was surprising. The package also included a six pole PCI-Express power adapter that marries up with two molex outputs from the PSU. Two disks were provided, one including drivers and other utilities, while the other included an electronic manual. Two full version games were included as well, namely Ghost Recon: Advance Warfighter and Project Snowblind. For HDTV output, a DVI to YPrPb adapter is included while a DVI to Analog adapter is offered for those without a DVI ready monitor. Last is a CD booklet to hold the included CDs with room for several more as well.
EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M Retail Package
;)
;)
;)
The bundle that accompanied the EAX1950Pro included the same SpeedSetUP manual, CD case and power cord as the X1950CrossFire. We also found a pair of CDs including drivers, utilities and an electronic manual. There was a DVI to VGA adapter and, for HDTV support, an HDTV-Out cable adapter. With this model, no retail games were included at all, which was a mild disappointment. The Utilities CDs for both cards included such proprietary titles as ASUS Splendid for enhanced video playback quality, ASUS Video Security Online for remote monitoring of your home via a webcam, ASUS Game LiveShow for streaming gameplay to share with others, ASUS Game Replay for recording and playing back gameplay, ASUS Game FaceMessenger for IMing in-game, and ASUS OnScreenDisplay for fine tuning screen options during gameplay.
