October 5 News from around the web
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:25 pm
ATI Radeon X1000 Family Video Card Preview
Well, it appears that the Radeon X1800 XL is not the GeForce 7800 GT killer everyone was hoping it would be. It seems that the cards trade blows back and forth depending on the game. In some games, the X1800 XL is faster; in other games, the GeForce 7800 GT is faster. We were hoping for a larger performance difference but we just didn't find it. The Radeon X1800 XL is a very competitive video card to the GeForce 7800 GT, but it in no way does it "blow it out of the water" in current games.
@ [H]ardOCP
Wednesday Web Reviews:
HARDWARE
ATI's Radeon X1000 series GPUs reviewed at TR
WE'VE BEEN WAITING quite a while for ATI's new generation of graphics chips. It's no secret that the R500-series chips are arriving later than expected, and fans of the company have nervously speculated about the cause of the delay. ATI chose to build its new series of graphics chips using 90nm process technology, and going with new process tech has always been risky. Some folks fretted that ATI may have run into the same sort of problems at 90nm that made Intel's Pentium 4 "Prescott" processors famously hot, power hungry, and unable to hit their projected clock speeds. In a related vein, others fussed over rumors that ATI's new high-end R520 architecture was "only" 16 pipes wide, compounding the process technology risk. If the R520 couldn't hit its clock speed targets, it could have a difficult time keeping pace with its would-be rival, NVIDIA's GeForce 7800, whose wider 24-pipe design makes it less dependent on high clock frequencies. As the weeks dragged on with no sign of ATI's new GPUs, the rumor mill began circulating these concerns ever more urgently.
Two weeks ago today, Rich Heye, VP and GM of ATI's desktop business unit, stood up in front of a room full of skeptical journalists and attempted to defuse those concerns. The problem with R520, he told us, with neither a snag caused by TSMC's 90nm process tech nor a fundamental design issue. The chip was supposed to launch in June, he said, but was slowed by a circuit design bug--a simple problem, but one that was repeated throughout the chip. Once ATI identified the problem and fixed it, the R520 gained 150MHz in clock frequency. That may not sound like much if you're thinking of CPUs, but in the world of 16-pipe-wide graphics processors, 150MHz can make the difference between competitive success and failure.
With those concerns addressed, ATI proceeded to unveil not just R520, but a whole family of Radeon graphics products ranging from roughly $79 to $549, based on three new GPUs that share a common heritage. It is one of the most sweeping product launches we've ever seen in graphics, intended to bring ATI up to feature parity with NVIDIA--and then some. Read on as we delve into the technology behind ATI's new GPU lineup and then test its performance head to head against its direct competition.
@ The Tech Report
ATI All-In-Wonder X800XL 256MB PCIE Video Card Review #607 @ 3dGameMan.com
ATI's X1000 series, an Ouija board outbreak? @ Hardware Analysis
X1000 chips from ATI @ Bjorn3D
ATI Radeon X1800 XT Preview @ HEXUS
X1800XT,X1600XL and X1600XT family Preview @ Neoseeker.com
R520: Radeon X1800 Architecture Preview @ Beyond3D
ATI Radeon X1000 Series @ Hardware Secrets
ATI Radeon X1000 Series Preview @ TheTechLounge
Cooler Master Aquagate Mini @ Hardware Secrets
Corsair Flash Media: 40X CF & 60X SD @ Overclockers Online
ThermalTake Golden Orb II @ Bytesector
ATI Radeon X800GT Head to Head – HIS vs. PowerColo @ TweakTown
SinTek 500 SLI 500W Power Supply @ Bigbruin
Casebuy EZ Power Supply Test 2 @ Pro-Clockers
Spartan Z800 Notebook Review @ TW Labs
Silverstone Nitrogon NT03 heatsink @ Pro-Clockers
Asus GeForce 6800GT 256MB PCI-E graphics card review. @ A1 Electronics.net
TVisto Multimedia HDD Enclosure Review @ I4U
ATI X1800XT (R520) @ driverheaven
Sapphire Radeon X800GTO PCI-E @ 3DAvenue.com
Gigabyte Radeon X800XL 512MB PCIe @ HardwareZoom
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 Ultra? @ NGOHQ
Joujye Super Silent 350W PSU Review @ PC Modding Malaysia
Antec Sonata 2 Case Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Accessories
BrightSide DR37-P Extreme Dynamic Range Display @ The TechZone
Editorials
CrossFire: The Biggest Vaporware of the Year? @ Hardware Secrets
CPU Overclocking Guide. @ xbitlabs
Software
Music Download Services Compared @ Designtechnica
yellowTAB ZETA OS Version 1.0 Review @ XYZ Computing
Electronics
Pentax Optio S55 digital camera @ TrustedReviews
Creative Zen Vision Portable Media Player Review Posted! @ Adrian's Rojak Pot
Games
Burnout: Revenge @ TrustedReviews
New Xbox 360 Games Revealed at X05 @ GamersHell
Well, it appears that the Radeon X1800 XL is not the GeForce 7800 GT killer everyone was hoping it would be. It seems that the cards trade blows back and forth depending on the game. In some games, the X1800 XL is faster; in other games, the GeForce 7800 GT is faster. We were hoping for a larger performance difference but we just didn't find it. The Radeon X1800 XL is a very competitive video card to the GeForce 7800 GT, but it in no way does it "blow it out of the water" in current games.
@ [H]ardOCP
Wednesday Web Reviews:
HARDWARE
ATI's Radeon X1000 series GPUs reviewed at TR
WE'VE BEEN WAITING quite a while for ATI's new generation of graphics chips. It's no secret that the R500-series chips are arriving later than expected, and fans of the company have nervously speculated about the cause of the delay. ATI chose to build its new series of graphics chips using 90nm process technology, and going with new process tech has always been risky. Some folks fretted that ATI may have run into the same sort of problems at 90nm that made Intel's Pentium 4 "Prescott" processors famously hot, power hungry, and unable to hit their projected clock speeds. In a related vein, others fussed over rumors that ATI's new high-end R520 architecture was "only" 16 pipes wide, compounding the process technology risk. If the R520 couldn't hit its clock speed targets, it could have a difficult time keeping pace with its would-be rival, NVIDIA's GeForce 7800, whose wider 24-pipe design makes it less dependent on high clock frequencies. As the weeks dragged on with no sign of ATI's new GPUs, the rumor mill began circulating these concerns ever more urgently.
Two weeks ago today, Rich Heye, VP and GM of ATI's desktop business unit, stood up in front of a room full of skeptical journalists and attempted to defuse those concerns. The problem with R520, he told us, with neither a snag caused by TSMC's 90nm process tech nor a fundamental design issue. The chip was supposed to launch in June, he said, but was slowed by a circuit design bug--a simple problem, but one that was repeated throughout the chip. Once ATI identified the problem and fixed it, the R520 gained 150MHz in clock frequency. That may not sound like much if you're thinking of CPUs, but in the world of 16-pipe-wide graphics processors, 150MHz can make the difference between competitive success and failure.
With those concerns addressed, ATI proceeded to unveil not just R520, but a whole family of Radeon graphics products ranging from roughly $79 to $549, based on three new GPUs that share a common heritage. It is one of the most sweeping product launches we've ever seen in graphics, intended to bring ATI up to feature parity with NVIDIA--and then some. Read on as we delve into the technology behind ATI's new GPU lineup and then test its performance head to head against its direct competition.
@ The Tech Report
ATI All-In-Wonder X800XL 256MB PCIE Video Card Review #607 @ 3dGameMan.com
ATI's X1000 series, an Ouija board outbreak? @ Hardware Analysis
X1000 chips from ATI @ Bjorn3D
ATI Radeon X1800 XT Preview @ HEXUS
X1800XT,X1600XL and X1600XT family Preview @ Neoseeker.com
R520: Radeon X1800 Architecture Preview @ Beyond3D
ATI Radeon X1000 Series @ Hardware Secrets
ATI Radeon X1000 Series Preview @ TheTechLounge
Cooler Master Aquagate Mini @ Hardware Secrets
Corsair Flash Media: 40X CF & 60X SD @ Overclockers Online
ThermalTake Golden Orb II @ Bytesector
ATI Radeon X800GT Head to Head – HIS vs. PowerColo @ TweakTown
SinTek 500 SLI 500W Power Supply @ Bigbruin
Casebuy EZ Power Supply Test 2 @ Pro-Clockers
Spartan Z800 Notebook Review @ TW Labs
Silverstone Nitrogon NT03 heatsink @ Pro-Clockers
Asus GeForce 6800GT 256MB PCI-E graphics card review. @ A1 Electronics.net
TVisto Multimedia HDD Enclosure Review @ I4U
ATI X1800XT (R520) @ driverheaven
Sapphire Radeon X800GTO PCI-E @ 3DAvenue.com
Gigabyte Radeon X800XL 512MB PCIe @ HardwareZoom
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 Ultra? @ NGOHQ
Joujye Super Silent 350W PSU Review @ PC Modding Malaysia
Antec Sonata 2 Case Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Accessories
BrightSide DR37-P Extreme Dynamic Range Display @ The TechZone
Editorials
CrossFire: The Biggest Vaporware of the Year? @ Hardware Secrets
CPU Overclocking Guide. @ xbitlabs
Software
Music Download Services Compared @ Designtechnica
yellowTAB ZETA OS Version 1.0 Review @ XYZ Computing
Electronics
Pentax Optio S55 digital camera @ TrustedReviews
Creative Zen Vision Portable Media Player Review Posted! @ Adrian's Rojak Pot
Games
Burnout: Revenge @ TrustedReviews
New Xbox 360 Games Revealed at X05 @ GamersHell