Sapphire X1950XTX 512MB Graphics Card

Introduction:

    Sapphire offers a wide variety of video cards and motherboards. Back in 2001, Sapphire made a commitment to ATI, and now is the largest supplier of ATI graphic cards. This commitment is what brings us here today... with, of course, a new graphics card. The graphics card in the crosshairs for this review is the Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950XTX. A bit of a mouthful, but it only gets better with some of the features. Like 512MB of GDDR4, HD AVIVO, Dual DVI ,VIVO, PCI Express x16 Lane 32bit Bus, ATI CrossFire Ready, and Windows Vista Ready.

    In this review, I will be going over the specifications of the graphics card, along with doing some heavy duty testing. With GDDR4 RAM modules onboard running at a cool 1Ghz, testing games on the Sapphire X1950XTX will be fun. Other cool features include a new and improved fan and all copper cooling system with a heat-pipe. All right... on to the testing to see how this graphics card can perform.

About the Company:

    Pioneers in a new era of how data is displayed and games are played, Sapphire shepherds the performance oriented with ground-breaking solutions to an environment that remains in a constant state of flux and ultimate evolution. For over ten years Sapphire has held true to its unwavering commitment, the commitment to deliver the most feature rich and soundly engineered products. Because of Sapphire's firm position on achieving excellence with each product that leaves our ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified factories, you can rest assured that your customers will recognize YOUR commitment to selling only the highest of quality components.
 
    "Sapphire is ATI's largest and best performing partner World Wide" Dave Orton, CEO ATI

    Since ATI announced its manufacturing & distribution relationships with ODMs and AiBs in June of 2001, SAPPHIRE has been THE key ATI Graphics Boards Supplier worldwide and now stands poised and ready to capture the mainboard audience of those who seek a stable platform for their mission critical operations.

Packaging:

Retail front

Retail rear

Getting closer

Nothing will stop me now!

    The all-white box has a sexy robot that graces the front and back. The front also is loaded with information about the card, while the back of the box has the specifications. With the package in hand and not even seeing the video card, I could feel that this sucker had some weight to it, and I couldn't wait to rip open the box.

First Glance:

MMMM... pretty	X1950XTX	PCI-E Power
New and improved fan	Heatsink peek	Dual DVI & VIVO

    Rip it open I did! I just had to have the Sapphire X1950XTX in my hands. This is one hefty card for sure, and at first glimpse, you will notice the red translucent air duct. Incorporated into the air duct is a new and improved fan. For you X1900 owners, you know how loud the fan is. The new fan design on the X1950XTX is supposed to be quieter. The fan is located towards the back of the card, and draws in air from the case. This air is then forced over the heatsink, and the heated air then exits out of the rear vents.

   You may want to keep in mind that this card will take up 2 expansion slots on the case and possibly cover up another. The Sapphire X1950XT has three outputs: two Dual Link DVI's and a VIVO out, which is capable of outputting a HD signal to a compatible display. The X1950XTX retains all of the features from the X1900XT, such as HDR and AA support, ATI's Avivo technology, and High Quality Anisotropic filtering, and is also HDCP ready.