|
|
ATI Radeon X700 Pro Roundup
[Abstract]
The Midrange Sweet SpotJust recently we brought you a RADEON X800 PRO Shootout targeting upgraders on the AGP platform and continuing our Shootout plans, this article is tailored for people ass...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Conclusion
Based on all our findings, we rate the graphics cards under several subcategories to better relate how they fared in various aspects of our testing. Please note that each category carries different weightage and do not necessarily total up for the final rating of the product. Pricing information reflected in the table below may not reflect the absolute price of a product, but most are retail prices that are accurate at the point of writing.
The RADEON X700 PRO Graphics Adapter Report Card
| | ABIT | ATI | GeCube | Gigabyte | HIS | PowerColor | Sapphire | | Performance | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 3.5 | 4 | | Overclocking | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | | Features | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | | Image Quality | 3.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | | Temperature | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 5 | | Noise | 3.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | | Software Bundle | 3 | 2 | 2.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 | | Cables/Accessories | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | | US Pricing (average) | US$169 | US$199 | US$172 | US$214 | US$249 | US$195 | US$187 |
Here's a little description for some of the subcategories for better clarification:-
Features: This is rated based on the features of the graphics cards such as video capturing, hardware monitoring or other exclusive highlights. HIS scored full marks here for its IceQ cooler. Gigabyte too garnered a high rating thanks to its heat pipe cooling solution, which definitely helped the card bag a perfect rating in the Noise department as well. At the same time, unfortunately, it was marked down for its high operating temperature.
Image Quality: This was judged based on the display output on our test CRT monitor (Philips Brilliance 202P4). Attributes such as text clarity, sharpness and color vividness were some of the aspects we use to judge the output quality.
Software Bundle: Rated in accordance to our evaluation of relevance, quality, quantity, version, inclusion of games and quality/quantity of game selection. ATI had nothing bundled besides the drivers CD, hence it obtained a low score in this segment.
Our comprehensive summary on the previous page as well as the report card above should make short work for anyone selecting an ideal RADEON X700 PRO graphics card that suits their criteria. In this concluding page, we mention a few notable products that deserve an extra mention.
GeCube's RADEON X700 PRO 128MB was a well though out product by the company's engineers and marketers as it's a lower cost card with only 128MB of frame buffer, but they've clocked the memory higher to compensate for the absence of a full 256MB buffer that most RADEON X700 PRO cards have. In most of our tests, this clock speed advantage actually placed GeCube's card ahead of other cards. It did however stumble in a few tests that placed heavy toll on memory, as would any other 128MB card. Overall, a good performer with a reasonable bundle and an attractive price point, the GeCube GC-RX700PROG-C3 was conferred with our 4.5 stars award and the Most Value For Money Product award.
Of the seven cards in this shootout, only one can be bestowed as the winner and looking at the report card, HIS has seems to have gotten its concoction correct as it garnered very good scores in all of the categories. As much as we were inclined to award it our winner, its asking price is simply too high and almost edging towards another graphics card category altogether. However, we cannot deny that it is the perfect RADEON X700 PRO graphics card if you can afford two expansion slots and its price tag. For product excellence, we awarded the HIS RADEON X700Pro IceQ Turbo VIVO our rare 5 Stars award.
Finding the winner for this shootout turned it out be a little tougher than we anticipated but after carefully weighing the factors, we found one card to offer pretty good stock performance and overclocking, a decent software/accessory package, reasonable price and is the coolest operating card of the lot. This was none other than Sapphire's Hybrid RADEON X700 PRO 256MB graphics card and with all those attributes, it was hard not to bestow it the Winner Of The ATI RADEON X700 PRO Shootout.
|
|
|
ATI's Micron Chip on the Run: ATI RADEON X800 XL Review (2005-03-23)