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Introduction
The Sapphire Radeon X1950 GT is based on the ATI RV570 VPU. This is the trimmed-down version of the R580+ GPU used in the Radeon X1950 XTX. With 54 million (14%) fewer transistors than its big brother, it is a significantly smaller and cooler chip, thanks also to the smaller 80nm process used to fabricate it.
Let's take a look at how this graphics card compares against its predecessor, the X1900 GT and other ATI graphics cards.
Radeon HD 2900 XT |
Radeon X1950 XTX |
Radeon X1950 GT |
Radeon X1900 GT |
|
Architecture |
R600 |
R580+ |
RV570 |
R580 |
Manufacturing Process |
90 nm |
90 nm |
90 nm |
90 nm |
Transistor Count |
700 Million |
384 Million |
330 Million |
384 Million |
DirectX Support |
10 |
9.0c |
9.0c |
9.0c |
Interface |
PCI Express x16 |
PCI Express x16 |
PCI Express x16 |
PCI Express x16 |
Stream
Processors |
320 |
- |
- |
- |
Vertex
Shaders |
- |
8 |
8 |
8 |
Vertex
Shader Version |
4.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
Pixel
Shaders |
- |
48 |
36 |
36 |
Pixel
Shader Version |
4.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
ROPs |
16 |
16 |
12 |
12 |
Core
Speed |
742 MHz |
650 MHz |
500 MHz |
575 MHz |
Fill
Rate |
24,224 MTexels/s |
10,400 MTexels/s |
6,000 MTexels/s |
6,900 MTexels/s |
Memory
Bus Width |
512-bits |
256-bits |
256-bits |
256-bits |
Memory
Type |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
GDDR3 |
Memory
Speed |
825 MHz |
1000 MHz |
600 MHz |
600 MHz |
Memory
Bandwidth |
105.60 GB/s |
64.00 GB/s |
38.40 GB/s |
38.40 GB/s |
Oddly enough, the Radeon X1950 GT has 13% less fillrate than its predecessor, the X1900 GT. In fact, it looks like it's really nothing more than a trimmer and slower version of the X1900 GT. Everything else matches the X1900 GT. It doesn't bode well for what is a new card that was launched only weeks before ATI released the long-awaited Radeon HD 2900 XT.
The Package
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The Sapphire X1950 GT came in a white box with a clear window in the front. You can see the card through the window. We don't see the relevance of the female robot adorning the front, but I guess they have to try to appeal to the girls as well.
In any case, the key features of the card (e.g. 256MB GDDR3 memory, Dual DVI outputs, HD AVIVO support, CrossFire support, etc.) are clearly stated at the lower part of the box, including the infamous Certified for Windows Vista logo.
This particular package came directly from Taiwan, hence the Chinese characters. Don't worry. Boxes destined for Anglophone countries will have English text instead.
For more information, you can always flip over the box. You won't get a whole list of specifications, but don't worry, that's what our Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide is for. Instead, you get a brief outline on why this card is so good for you.
More importantly, IMHO, is the list of the contents in this package. Although it's certified for Windows Vista, this package at least does not come with any driver for Windows Vista. However, we are happy to report that ATI has recently released a working driver for this card.
Let's take a look inside the box.
Contents
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Inside the package, you will find the following items :
• One Sapphire X1950 GT graphics card
• One installation manual
• One card installation warning sticker
• One warranty card
• One Sapphire brochure
• One driver CD
• One video-out cable
• One DVI-to-VGA converter
• One Molex-to-6-pin Y-split cable
No games or software were bundled with this card, but that's not really unexpected. This card is clearly targeted at those who want value for money, and that means cutting down as much as possible on the cost.
