Introduction

ASUS’ graphics prowess

In the realm of motherboards, ASUS has established itself as the clear market leader, shipping more motherboards worldwide than any other manufacturer for a number of years. ASUS has built this base of support thanks to the unique combination of performance, features, reliability and price that their products offer. ASUS may not be the first motherboard manufacturer to implement a new feature (jumperless design for instance), but when a hot new technology comes out, they’ve always been quick to adopt it on their entire range of products.

ATI-based XT cards

The ASUS 9800 XT and 9600 XT cards

ASUS 9600 XT compared to ATI 9600 XT

ASUS’ innovation on the graphics side has been equally impressive. They were one of the first manufacturers to hop onboard NVIDIA’s RIVA 128, and were the first to offer a 64MB GeForce 256 DDR board. ASUS also rang in the second generation of AGP 8X-capable GeForce4 cards by producing the V9280S Ti 4200.

This card was essentially a GeForce 4 Ti 4200-8X that was grafted onto a GeForce4 Ti 4600 circuit board. ASUS then outfitted the board with BGA memory modules operating at 300MHz (600MHz effective), 25MHz faster than the more expensive GeForce4 Ti 4400, and clocked its NV28 graphics processor at 275MHz – the same clock speed as the GeForce4 Ti 4400! As a result of these changes, the V9280S was one of the fastest GeForce4 Ti 4200 cards on the market, including ABIT’s OTES design, plus it offered video input capability. It goes without saying that this card was an unqualified hit earning our Editor’s Choice award and one of the highest scores we’ve ever given a graphics card (second only to ATI’s ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO in fact).

ASUS 9800 XT, V9950U and V9280S cards

Mainstream shootout

A look at the boards

In more recent months, ASUS has released GeForce FX 5900 Ultra and 5950 Ultra graphics cards that only require a single slot, the V9950 Ultra and the V9980 Ultra. Both of these cards defy the assumption that graphics cards based on these GPUs require two slots.

Now ASUS is applying its engineering expertise to the ATI market. Once again, they’re looking to stir things up by designing cards that go beyond reference specifications.

Similar board designs

Note the differences between the ASUS XT cards

5700U is much larger than 9600 XT

If you’ve been shopping around for ATI-based cards lately, you probably know by now how prevalent it is among manufacturers to simply stick with ATI’s reference design. Some board manufacturers do little more than slap their sticker on the ATI reference board, box it all up, and call it a day. Even Sapphire’s ultra high-end ULTIMATE Edition board is technically nothing more than a reference design with a really exotic cooling solution on it. Tyan was the only manufacturer that was trying to go beyond the conventional, but they’ve had a hard time with their Tachyon line due to limited support from ATI, delays, limited distribution channels, and pricing.

For their ATI-based cards, ASUS is using their extensive experience and R&D prowess to take the RADEON to all new levels. Unlike ATI, they aren’t bound by OEM restrictions, so they can build boards that go beyond reference specifications, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with their RADEON 9800 XT and 9600 XT boards.