A Closer Look:

2400 Top

2400 Bottom

TV/VGA/DVI

    Starting off with the HD2400XT, you will notice right off the bat that it has no fan, thus being a silent option for some users. The heatsink covers just about the entire card, with only a few taller capacitors being exposed on one corner. On the back of the HD2400XT are two exposed Samsung GDDR3 RAM modules delivering an unprecedented data rate of 6.4GBps. The rest of the RAM modules are on the front side under the heatsink for a total of 256MB. On the back end of the card is a single DVI port VGA port and TV port. These ports can be used in any combination for your viewing pleasure

2600 Top

2600 Bottom

RAM under sinks

TV/Dual DVI

    Next up is the HD2600XT, which is almost twice as long as the HD2400XT and comes with a large heatsink and fan. The heatsink is covered in a red translucent duct that directs the hot air out the back of the card and out of the enclosure. While heading in this direction, on the back side are two DVI and the TV connection, which once again can be used in any combination. On the Sapphire HD2600XT is 256MB of GDDR4 RAM; this RAM runs nearly twice as fast as GDDR3 and uses lower voltage to achieve that.

Installation and Setup:

HD2400XT

HD2600XT

2600 under shot

    They are video cards. Do I really need to go over the installation procedures on them? I didn't think so. So, let's move on to the setup and, of course, we need drivers. After installing the drivers from the CD, go and find updates at the appropriate sites, reboot, and enjoy.

Benchmarks:

    Benchmarking graphics cards is such a tedious job. I have to play several high-end graphics-demanding games. I know... why me? But that is what I have to do to show the end user what they are getting :) All tests have been done in a resolution of 1280x1024, which is max for my 19" LCD monitor. Several different benchmarking programs will be used in testing the Sapphire HD2400/2600XT cards.

Results:

    GPU-Z:

HD2400XT

HD2600XT