| Asus EAX1900 XTX 512MB Graphic Card Review at MaXit |
| Written by Maxit | ||||||
Page 1 of 3 Price: £399 inc vatSupplier: www.chillblast.com  Manufacturer: Asus Asus EAX1900 XTX 512MB Graphic Card ReviewASUS have built up a fine reputation as one of the premier suppliers of hardware components to PC enthusiasts. Their continued support for overclocking out of the box earns them respect. So too does their partnership with Asetek, makers of the awesome Vapochill. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to push the performance boundaries. And ASUS do want to be taken very seriously with the launch of their latest muscle bound graphics card. The EAX1900 XT-X sees ASUS continue their partnership with the best ATI can offer. With graphic chipsets revisions every week, it's hardwork for manufacturers to convince Joe Bloggs to part with yet more cash for a few extra frames per second in the latest 3D extravaganze. Today's megahertz monsta is yesterdays wannabie. Can ASUS tempt us with their latest creation?Asus was quick out of the traps with an X1900XT-X variant, and as usual with their video card lines, has provided one of the most professional packages around. The card comes in the now-standard monster-sized Asus box, into which they have crammed a host of goodies that you wont find from other manufacturers. If you are looking for a reference card with the minimal amount of accessories for the lowest possible price, this isnt the card for you, but if you want a hugely impressive bundle with your purchase, this is definitely worth a look. 
The card itself is fitted with the stock ATi heat sink, onto which an ATi-designed image has been stuck. Only the Asus logo above the fan points to the card's heritage. In operation, the fan is mostly very quiet. In 2D mode I struggled to hear it above other fans in the PC. Once the temperature starts to heat up, the fan spins up considerably and does get rather noisy after a while. Since most people play games with the sound on high this is less of a concern than when working in a 2D environment, but could annoy some of the more fussy users. 
The rear of the card has two dual-link DVI ports capable of running even oversized displays like the new Dell 3007 and Apple cinema displays. There is also a TV out port that provides standard S-Video and composite outs, as well as an HD-ready component leads for supported televisions. As you would expect for a card of this performance an auxiliary PCI-Express power cable is required. The bundle provided with the Asus is nothing short of exceptional, with no less than 9 disks, a leatherette wallet to hold them, a plethora of cables and adaptors and a comprehensive instruction manual. The bundled CDs comprise the driver installation CD, Power Director, Medi@ Show, a Manual CD, a full version of the game King Kong, Project Snowblind, a three game bonus CD, Mashed and Temple of Time. Whilst not all of these will be useful for every user, Asus has gone out of its way to provides something for everyone.   |
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