A few weeks back, I
reviewed the
ASUS EAX1650XT. Now, I have another new graphics card released from ASUS
- the
EAX1950PRO CROSSFIRE. This card has 256MB of DDR3, and
uses the new RV570 GPU. This new design from ATI is geared to the
budget/mid-level gamer, and being marketed under $200 makes the card very
affordable. What makes this card different from their non-Crossfire card?
Nothing. The CF model from
ASUS comes with two CrossFire bridges in the box. This is how
ASUS markets the cards, while other companies include only one CF bridge in each box.
The new internal CrossFire bridges eliminates the messy external dongle
system of old. Lets get on with the review and benchmarks and see how well it
compares to some other cards.
About the Company:
ASUS, a technology-oriented
company blessed with one of the world's top R&D teams, is well known for
high-quality and innovative technology. As a leading provider of 3C (computers,
communications and consumer electronics) total solutions, ASUS offers a complete
product portfolio to compete in the new millennium.
In 2005, ASUS shipped 52 million motherboards, which means one out of every
3 desktop PCs sold last year was powered by an ASUS motherboard. If we line them
up side by side, the length will be longer than the distance from New York to
San Francisco.
ASUS products' top quality stems from product development. It's like
learning Chinese Kung-Fu; one must begin with cultivating the "Chi" and inner
strength. Besides innovating cutting-edge features, ASUS engineers also pay
special attention to EMI (electromagnetic interference), thermal, acoustics and
details that usually go unnoticed to achieve complete customer satisfaction.
ASUS notebooks are the first TCO'99-certified notebooks worldwide. The
requirements for this honor include radiation emission control, energy (battery
consumption), ecology (environment friendly) and ergonomics.
To succeed in this ultra-competitive industry, great products need to be
complimented by speed-to-market, cost and service. That's why all 58,000
employees of ASUS strive for the "ASUS Way of Total Quality Management" to offer
the best quality without compromising cost and time-to-market while providing
maximum value to all customers through world-class services.
ASUS won 1706 awards in 2005 from the world's most respected IT media and
organizations. Business Week ranked ASUS amongst its "InfoTech 100" for the
eighth straight year. The readers of Tom's Hardware Guide, the world's largest
IT website, selected ASUS as the best maker of motherboards (4 consecutive
years) and graphics cards (two consecutive years). Furthermore, the company took
home the prestigious "National Award of Excellence" presented by the Ministry of
Economics Affairs and Germany's Industries Forum (iF) Gold Award for industrial
design excellence.
Specifications:
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
Adaptor/Cable bundled
DVI to VGA adapter
HDTV-out cable
Power Cable
CrossFire interconnector * 2
Software Bundled
ASUS Utilities & Driver
Note
To complete the CrossFire™platform, a
second PCI Express®Radeon®X1950 PRO graphics card, a CrossFire™Ready
motherboard and two CrossFire bridge interconnect cables are
required
Power Supply
Requirement:
1. 450-Watt power supply or greater, 30 Amps, 12 volt rail is
recommended (assumes fully loaded system)
2. For CrossFire™: 550 watt power supply or greater, 38 Amps, 12
volt rail
Packaging:
Retail Front
Open Box
Hardware
Software
ASUS graphics card boxes all
appear to be the same, with the only differences being the graphics layout on the
front. Let's open up the box and see what contents have been included with the
EAX1950PRO CROSSFIRE: