ATI Graphics Card Buyer's Guide 2006, Part II

Conclusions

HIS Radeon X1800 XL

It looks as though the XL chip will be replaced by the GTO version, which will in turn stick around until the last X1800s make their final exits in favor of the X1900s. This card fills the space between the Radeon X1600 XT and the X1900 XTX. It offers performance comparable to boards based on Nvidia's GeForce 6800 GS, GT or Ultra. With this card, Pixel Shader 3 effects and HDR rendering are possible with simultaneous anti-aliasing . It comes bundled with a burning application, a software DVD player, a video editing suite and all necessary cables. Overclocking the card yields a 3.5 percent performance increase.

HIS Radeon X1900 XTX

This speedy chip is the ideal choice for games like Spellforce 2, F.E.A.R. or Oblivion, which make heavy use of shader effects. HDR rendering and anti-aliasing can be enabled together. The card ships with a burning application, a software DVD player, a video editing suite and a full complement of cables. The card's overclocking potential is good, albeit a little lower than that of the Gecube or Powercolor samples (tested in part 1).

Powercolor Radeon X1600 XT

This company ships its card with a very large and attractive software bundle, and a full complement of cables. The Cyberlink Power Solution DVD contains a video editing suite, a burning module, a jukebox application, a software DVD player, and image presentation software. The card offers just enough 3D performance for the current crop of complex 3D games. Our review sample gave HIS's highly clocked iTurbo version of the card (tested in part 1) a good run for its money. The Radeon X1600 XT chip supports Pixel Shader 3 effects, as well as HDR rendering with simultaneous anti-aliasing.

Sapphire Radeon X1300 Pro

The smallest member of the Radeon X1xxx family supports Pixel Shader 3 and HDR rendering. The Pro version tested here is about 33 percent faster than the normal X1300. However, this is still not enough for current games, and the card is about 50 percent slower than the X1600 XT. This card is more suited to a DVR system or those who prefer turn-based strategy games.

Sapphire Radeon X1800 XT OC

The clock speeds of our review sample were identical to those of HIS's iTurbo version (tested in part 1). Therefore, we are appending an OC to the card's designation. Normally, both the GPU and the memory of a Radeon X1800 XT run about 100 MHz slower. In our overall performance ranking, the Radeon X1800 XT OC places right behind the speedy Radeon X1900 XTX. However, it packs less pixel shader power than its sibling. Sapphire bundles with the card a version of Power Director 3 that includes the Burn module; Power DVD and a full complement of cables round out the bundle.

Sapphire Radeon X1900 XTX

This graphics chip is the fastest unit on the market today, hands down. It is the ideal choice for games like Spellforce 2, F.E.A.R. or Oblivion that make heavy use of shader effects; HDR rendering and anti-aliasing can be enabled together. Sapphire bundles a copy of the Power Director 4 video-editing suite and an extensive set of cables with its card. The card's overclocking potential of 2 percent is good, albeit a little lower than that of the Gecube or Powercolor samples (tested in part 1).

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