Tom's Hardware > All Reviews > Components > Graphics Cards > ATI Graphics Buyer's Guide Spring 2006, Part 1

A Detailed Look At The Candidates

9:34 AM - May 8, 2006 by Tino Kreiss

Card Manufacturer and Chip	Code Name	Memory	HDR-R	Vertex Shader / Pixel Shader	GPU Frequency	Memory Frequency
NVIDIA Graphics Cards
Gainward GS BLISS 6800 GS PCX	NV42	512 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	485 MHz	1300 MHz
eVGA GeForce 7800 GS SC AGP	G70	256 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	460 MHz	1350 MHz
ATI Graphics Cards
Gecube Radeon X1900 XTX OC	R580	512 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	690 MHz	1600 MHz
Gecube Radeon X1900 XTX	R580	512 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	648 MHz	1548 MHz
Powercolor Radeon X1900 XTX OC	R580	512 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	690 MHz	1600 MHz
Powercolor Radeon X1900 XTX	R580	512 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	648 MHz	1548 MHz
HIS Radeon X1800 XT iTurbo	R520	512 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	695 MHz	1584 MHz
HIS Radeon X1600 XT iTurbo OC	RV530	256 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	600 MHz	1404 MHz
HIS Radeon X1600 XT iTurbo	RV530	256 MB GDDR3	yes	3.0/3.0	587 MHz	1386 MHz
Sapphire Radeon X1300	R515	256 MB DDR2	yes	3.0/3.0	452 MHz	514 MHz
Sapphire Radeon X1600 Pro AGP	RV530	256 MB DDR2	yes	3.0/3.0	500 MHz	810 MHz

HDR-R: High Dynamic Range Rendering; Memory Frequency: Due to the use of DDR memory, actual frequency is only half that given here; GS: Golden Sample; SC: Superclocked; SLI: 2 NVIDIA cards running in parallel; OC: overclocked

EVGA GeForce 7800 GS AGP

eVGA's card uses a single-slot cooling solution. The cooler, which covers both the GPU and the memory modules, consists of a fan and aluminum cooling fins covered by an acrylic faceplate. The graphics chip provides support for Pixel Shader version 3.0 and HDR rendering. Our test sample was an eVGA "Superclocked Edition," meaning it runs at increased clock speeds right out of the box. Thus, the GPU is clocked at 460 MHz, while the memory frequency is 1350 MHz. Thanks to its increased clock speeds and 256 MB of video memory, the card is ideally suited for current 3D games. Its target price is about $299.