 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Sapphire Hybrid RADEON X700 PRO Review October 20, 2004 |
|
 |
|
| |
Summary: Ever since the RADEON X700 series was announced, we've been eager to see how the less expensive offerings perform. Fortunately, they're incredible performers as well, delivering performance that rivals ATI's RADEON 9800 XT in many cases. Today we're taking a look at the first X700 PRO card to arrive, Sapphire's Hybrid RADEON X700 PRO 256MB. This card will likely be a popular X700 PRO solution due to its solid feature set, attractive price, and good software bundle. See how this card compares to the RADEON 9800 PRO/XT, RADEON X600/700 XT, and GeForce 6600 GT inside!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 23 ) |
With the arrival of Fall, you’d probably expect things to cool down a bit, but actually the opposite has happened as both ATI and NVIDIA have introduced new mainstream graphics cards: from ATI comes the RADEON X700 family, while NVIDIA counters with their GeForce 6600 series. Both of these cards incorporate technology from their flagship $500 graphics cards, only they cost significantly less, about $200 in the case of the mainstream cards we’ve looked at so far.
[image]
| <% print_image("01"); %> | <% print_image("02"); %> |
However, what’s really drawn gamers’ interest to these cards to date (besides their low price tag) is their groundbreaking performance. In our tests, we’ve found that in many cases, both the RADEON X700 and GeForce 6600 deliver performance that’s equal to, if not better, than last year’s top-of-the-line $500 graphics cards.
[image]
| <% print_image("03"); %> | <% print_image("04"); %> |
This is pretty important, as last year’s fall refresh cards for the mainstream segment were pretty underwhelming. ATI’s RADEON 9600 XT was nothing more than a faster RADEON 9600 PRO, while the GeForce FX 5700 Ultra was an improvement over the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra, but as time has shown, the GeForce FX architecture delivers anemic DX9 performance. These cards are essentially little more than enhanced DirectX 8 graphics cards. With cutting edge games such as DOOM 3 and Half-Life 2 becoming more prevalent, millions of gamers with GeForce 4 Ti/MX cards as well as RADEON 7500/8500 users have been looking for a compelling card to upgrade to that won’t break the bank. RADEON X700 and GeForce 6600 are prime upgrade candidates for these consumers. In fact, we haven’t been this excited about the mainstream graphics card segment since GeForce4 Ti 4200; and we all know how well that card did in terms of sales and how quickly it was adopted among enthusiasts.
With current mainstream offerings delivering so much performance, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on a retail sample. Sapphire was first to deliver a shipping card to our hands in the form of their Hybrid RADEON X700 PRO 256MB. Let’s see what this card is made of!
| X700 architecture | Page:: ( 2 / 23 ) |
[image]
| <% print_image("05"); %> | <% print_image("06"); %> |
In case you aren’t up to date with the core architecture of ATI’s RADEON X700 chip, we’ll provide a quick refresher of the VPU and the underlying cards that are based on it.
Like GeForce 6600, the RADEON X700 is based on a 0.11-micron manufacturing process manufactured by TSMC. This is important, as the smaller 0.11 micron process allows ATI to cram 40% more transistors per unit area than the previous process, 0.13-micron, freeing ATI to add more features into the graphics core without having to resort to a larger, more expensive to produce chip.
ATI uses this to integrate more pipelines into X700 – eight pixel pipelines with one texture unit per pixel pipeline. This is the same pipeline configuration ATI used on their high-end RADEON 9700 and RADEON 9800 last year, so ATI is essentially moving this technology down to the mainstream segment. X700 goes one step further than RADEON 9700/9800 by integrating six vertex units, two more than the four vertex units that were used on 9700/9800. X700 also supports the more robust 2.0b pixel shader specification, which adds support for longer pixel shader programs, and more instructions (1,536 versus 160 previously), and finally, X700 also features support for ATI’s 3Dc normal map compression.
In order to keep costs down, one high-end feature that’s typically found on high-end cards, a 256-bit memory interface, was axed from X700. Instead, the X700 relies on a more conventional 128-bit memory interface, featuring dual 64-bit memory controllers.
The cards
ATI offers three different cards that are based on X700 technology, all share the same basic feature set, with the only differences being performance and price. At the top of the X700 lineup is the X700 XT. The X700 XT features a 475MHz graphics core while the memory operates at 525MHz. This provides a texel fill rate of 3.8Gigatexels/second, a figure which is better than the RADEON 9800 XT by 14%. Memory bandwidth peaks at 16 Gigabytes/second.
Two different X700 XT SKUs are offered: a 128MB card, and a 256MB variant. The 128MB X700 XT retails for $199, while the 256MB card goes for $249. In our past testing, we’ve found that newer titles such as Far Cry and Half-Life 2 both benefit from the extra memory, so if you can spare the extra $50, it may not be a bad idea to opt for the 256MB card.
[image]
| <% print_image("07"); %> | <% print_image("08"); %> | <% print_image("09"); %> |
If you’re in the market for a less expensive 256MB card, the midrange X700 offering is the X700 PRO. The X700 PRO features a slower 420MHz core clock frequency, while its memory operates at 432MHz. It retails for $199.
At the bottom of the X700 lineup is the RADEON X700. X700 ships with the same core features as the other cards, including the 8 pixel pipes and 128-bit memory interface, only with slower clocks. ATI has committed to 400MHz on the graphics core and 300MHz DDR1 memory (600MHz effective). These are the same clocks as RADEON 9600 PRO/X600, but thanks to the boards 8 pipeline configuration, the X700 should offer dramatically more performance when it ships and will be priced at an MSRP of $149.
All X700 cards will initially support PCI Express, just like the GeForce 6600. To serve the existing AGP add-in card market, ATI also plans to ship AGP-based X700 cards, but these cards won’t hit retail until later this year. Since the X700 supports PCI Express natively, ATI will have to integrate a bridge chip on their AGP X700s.
| Board design | Page:: ( 3 / 23 ) |
[image]
| <% print_image("10"); %> | <% print_image("11"); %> |
For keeping the graphics core cool, Sapphire relies on a traditional aluminum heatsink configuration: the ducted copper cooler design used on the reference RADEON X700 XT is gone. While this setup may not look as exotic as the X700 XT’s cooler, we found it to be quite effective, even when overclocking under DOOM 3 board temperature was lower than X700 XT. Keep in mind that DOOM 3 is known for pushing graphics cards not only from a pixel perspective, but also thermally, so this is quite an accomplishment.
[image]
| <% print_image("12"); %> | <% print_image("13"); %> |
Like the X700 XT, the Hybrid X700 PRO is equipped with a variable speed fan that dynamically adjusts its RPMs based on core temperature. If the graphics core is running cool, the fan spins in the intermediate mode, if the temps crank up, so does the fan. In operation, the fan runs quietly (quieter than X700 XT), even when running in its highest mode, which we did experience from time to time during overclocking. For added protection of the card’s fan, Sapphire adds a plastic sheath over the fan’s power cord. This is a very nice touch that we’ve never seen before (including on high-end CPU coolers), but hope to continue to see in the future.
To help keep the board’s memory cool, Sapphire adds heatsinks on each of the board’s memory modules. This isn’t a cosmetic application either – we’ve seen many cards with these RAMsinks in place where only the modules on the top of the board are cooled – a quick glance of the underside of the Hybrid X700 PRO reveals heatsinks located there too.
While our board was equipped with 256MB of GDDR3 memory, Sapphire’s website also lists a 128MB variant as well. With the 256MB X700 Hybrid PRO going for an MSRP of $200 and the vanilla X700 retailing for $149, we expect this 128MB Hybrid X700 PRO to retail for somewhere between $150-$200, although exact pricing data hasn’t been announced nor has the card hit the streets. Considering you’ll likely only be paying $20 or $30 more, most gamers would probably be better served by going with the 256MB card Hyrbid X700 PRO card.
[image]
| <% print_image("14"); %> | <% print_image("15"); %> | <% print_image("16"); %> |
Software and accessories
Even though Sapphire’s Hybrid X700 PRO is targeted for the mainstream segment, Sapphire includes the same software bundle found in their high-end X800 cards. Included in the box is the DVD-ROM version of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow while Price of Persia: The Sands of Time ships on two CDs. Also included is a copy of PowerDVD 5 and Sapphire’s Redline utility for overclocking your graphics card, which is based on Rage3D Tweak. Hardware accessories include a DVI adapter, Sapphire case badge, S-Video cable, and a composite cable.
| Test systems | Page:: ( 4 / 23 ) |
System Setup
Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz Prescott
ABIT IC7-G Max II Advance
ASUS P5AD2 Premium
1GB OCZ EL DDR400 Platinum Edition Rev 2
1GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB
ATI RADEON 9800 XT
ATI RADEON X700 XT 128MB
Sapphire RADEON X700 PRO 256MB
ATI RADEON X600 XT 128MB
Driver version 8.07 beta CATALYST hotfix driver
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB reference card
Driver version 65.76
250GB Maxtor Hard Drive Maxline III SATA Hard Drive w/16MB Cache
Windows XP Professional SP1
DirectX 9.0c
Benchmarks
Lock On: Modern Air Combat (Mig-29 custom demo)
Unreal Tournament 2004 (T3 custom demo)
IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles (The Black Death track)
Splinter Cell (FS custom demo)
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (Beyond3D custom demo)
Halo: Combat Evolved (stock benchmark)
Far Cry 1.2 (custom demo for mp_jungle, SM2.0b and SM3.0 paths used)
DOOM 3 (gameplay custom demo)
| IL-2 | Page:: ( 5 / 23 ) |
IL-2 Sturmovik: FB - OpenGL
| IL-2 4xAA/8xAF | Page:: ( 6 / 23 ) |
IL-2 Sturmovik: FB - OpenGL
| LOMAC | Page:: ( 7 / 23 ) |
Lock On: Modern Air Combat – Direct3D
| LOMAC 2xAA/4xAF | Page:: ( 8 / 23 ) |
Lock On: Modern Air Combat – Direct3D
| UT 2004 4xAA | Page:: ( 9 / 23 ) |
Unreal Tournament 2004
| UT 2004 4xAA/8xAF | Page:: ( 10 / 23 ) |
Unreal Tournament 2004
| Splinter Cell | Page:: ( 11 / 23 ) |
Splinter Cell – Direct3D
| Tomb Raider | Page:: ( 12 / 23 ) |
Tomb Raider – Direct3D
| TR 4xAA | Page:: ( 13 / 23 ) |
Tomb Raider – Direct3D
| Halo | Page:: ( 14 / 23 ) |
Halo – Direct3D
| Far Cry mp_jungle | Page:: ( 15 / 23 ) |
Far Cry – Direct3D
| Far Cry 2xAA | Page:: ( 16 / 23 ) |
Far Cry – Direct3D
| FC 2xAA/16xAF | Page:: ( 17 / 23 ) |
Far Cry – Direct3D
| FC 4xAA | Page:: ( 18 / 23 ) |
Far Cry – Direct3D
| DOOM 3 High Quality 8xAF | Page:: ( 19 / 23 ) |
DOOM 3 – OpenGL
| DOOM 3 High Quality 4xAA/8xAF | Page:: ( 20 / 23 ) |
DOOM 3 – OpenGL
| Overclocking | Page:: ( 21 / 23 ) |
DOOM 3 – OpenGL
| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 22 / 23 ) |
Pros
Performance: Thanks to its 8-pixel pipeline architecture running at 420MHz and high-speed memory, the Hybrid X700 PRO was able to usually outpace ATI’s previous high-end darling, the RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB, which currently retails for about $200 thanks to ATI price reductions. The X700 PRO was also able to give RADEON 9800 XT quite a run for its money as well, check out the DOOM 3 scores.
Cooling: While Sapphire’s aluminum heatsink/fan unit looks understated, especially in comparison to the reference X700 XT’s exotic copper cooling, it’s quite effective at keeping the X700 PRO graphics core and its GDDR3 memory cool. Even when overclocked after running extended DOOM 3 sessions the board was barely warm to the touch. The fan itself is able to pull all this off without generating an excessive amount of noise. Job well done Sapphire!
Game bundle: Included in the Hybrid X700 PRO 256MB’s packaging are copies of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Price of Persia: The Sands of Time, two games that were released in the past twelve months that were critically acclaimed by the mainstream press and end user’s alike. Do keep in mind that Sapphire ships the Hybrid X700 PRO in both full retail and lite retail versions. The full retail version comes in a larger, glossy box with the full software bundle, while the lite retail comes in a plain white box without the games and is intended for the OEM market. Fortunately most of the Sapphire cards we’ve seen online are the full retail versions.
Price: With an MSRP of $200, Sapphire’s Hybrid X700 PRO 256MB is priced competitively with other mainstream card offerings on the market, and shouldn’t knock too much of a dent in your wallet. When you factor in the other positives we’ve mentioned, including the fact that the card ships with a game bundle currently valued at $50 alone, the Sapphire Hybrid X700 PRO becomes even more attractive.
Cons
AGP: While this isn’t the fault of Sapphire, we’re extremely disappointed by the current lack of mainstream graphics card offerings for AGP users. The AGP interface has a huge installed base that greatly outnumbers PCI Express, making a card like Sapphire’s Hybrid RADEON X700 PRO a compelling upgrade option for millions of consumers, but since ATI has chosen to allocate all initial X700 samples for PCI Express only, these users will have to wait perhaps another month or more before they can upgrade.
As a result, ATI has essentially passed over the add-in retail card market in favor of serving system builders and OEMs like Dell instead. It almost feels as if the gamers who will truly take advantage of the hardware are being passed over in favor of the Average Joe, who at best, will boot up a copy of The Sims 2 on his X700-based PC.
| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 23 / 23 ) |