Conclusion
Testing:
Intel Extreme X6800 processor
Msi P964 Neo motherboard
Corsair Dominator 8888 DDR2 Ram
MSI RX1950XT
Zalman 400W PSU
Maxtor 80GB IDE ATA133
We used the following software to test the card, 3dmark2005, 3dmark2006. We also used the following games to benchmark with, Farcry, Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2 and X3 Reunion demo. Temperatures were taken with ATI�s own videocard software while in idle mode and after running loops of 3dmark. Idle temperature during testing was 22 degrees Celsius.
X3 Reunion Demo:
We found this demo of X3 Reunion and it has an benchmark function in it so we thought this is a good time to update the testing games with something new. X3 is a demanding game and as we can see the higher resolution even pushes the MSI card a bit more, it is still able to outperform the others though.
This was our last gaming benchmark so let’s take a look on the temperatures this card produced during testing.
Card Temperatures:
As we can see these newer cards are faster but they also produce a bit more heat. This is not bad though, the casefans are able to exhaust the hot air and the cards are usually stable up to 85C or so from my experience. ATI specs probably have some more exact numbers.
Overclocking:
We used the latest version of Rivatuner to overclock the card, ATI�s own software said that the core runs at 500mhz and Rivatuner says its at 620 stock. We got the core from 620 to 800 stable and without artifacts. Memory on the other had we got from 900 to 1050 according to Rivatuner. With the ATI software we got it from 1200 (stock) to 1250 without artifacts.
Conclusion:
This card is a nice middle segment card that you can get for around 300$ USD. That is not a bad price at all if you look at the performance, the X1900XTX cost around 550$ when it was new and this card is several hundred dollars cheaper and still outperforms the XTX card without any problems. I like the bundle of accessories, you get games and several useful connectors and adapters so you can watch movies from the computer on the TV. Overall this is a great bundle and they only think I can complan about is the fan on the card, especially if you play alot and it runs alot at full load. The cardhas a temperature sensor that will raise or lower the rpm depending on the load on the card. I really do recommend this videocard though with HD features and great performance.
Pros:
+ Fast
+ Good accessories
+ Well packed
+ High quality
Cons:
- Loud fan
Recent Comments