| Asus EAX1900 XTX 512MB Graphic Card Review at MaXit |
| Written by Maxit | |||||
Supplier: 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.   The TestsWe popped the ASUS 1900 in a system powered by an AMD Athlon FX60 processor with a measure of 2GB Mushkin PC4000 memory for good luck. Testing performance against the X1900XT-X we have the previous champion, the 7800GTX and the new Nvidia king, the 7900 GTX. Whilst it is true that the 7900GTX offers a sterner challenge to the X1900XTX, many 7800GTX users may be wondering what all the fuss is about. A few tests should help sort out the upgrade tremors. All tests were run with 4xFSAA and 16xAF enabled where possible.   
Very little separates the X1900XTX and the 7900GTX, suprising with such radically different architectures. The lead swaps depending on the titles being tested with no definately winner and only a few frames per second between each card. The upgrade tremor factor is high, with both cards providing as much as 40% improvement over the 7800GTX 256MB card.
The Bottom LineOverclocking the Asus X1900XT-X proved to be a rewarding experience, despite the technology being pushed quite close to the max already. We were able to extract a top speed of 720MHz from the core (Stock 650MHz) and a total increase of 105MHz on the memory (from 775 to 880). This yielded an overall improvement in performance of around 10%, proving that the X1900 architecture scales almost perfectly with clock speed.At £399 the Asus EAX1900XT-X is £25 more than some of the cheaper X1900XT-X cards available. ASUS graphic cards are a bit like those blondes with hair extensions, all year round tans and breast implants who only come out when the weather hits 30 degrees. Sure you could save yourself some money and go for the girl in baggy sweaters but you'd still be thinking about the cute blonde with all the extras. The ASUS is the blonde dilemma. You know it's gonna cost more and yet the superb bundle and overclocking potential make the £25 premium look like a small price to pay for having the best model will all the trimmings. If you couldn't give a monkeys about the contents (or blondes for that matter), graphics card performance or Asus's great build quality, go ahead and save yourself some money. If you want a great card with plenty of package, the bottom line is that you get more goodies for your money from the ASUS than any other X1900 solution on the market.
Pros - Superlative bundle of games, software and cables
- The X1900XT-X offers a great upgrade even over a 7800GTX - The cooler is very quiet at 2D speeds - Excellent warranty Cons - One of the more expensive X1900XTX on the market - The noise of the cooler at 3D speeds - It will make blondes jealous For more information on Asus products, please visit their website at www.asus.com
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