Details of the Cards

There are actually 4 products being launched today, three of which we were able to get our hands on for this article. We have actually spotted all three of these cards we tested around the internet today, so availability is immediate, and we couldn't be happier. As for pricing, ATI's MSRPs are as follows:

Radeon X1900 XTX -- $650
Radeon X1900 CrossFire Edition -- $600
Radeon X1900 XT -- $550

The CrossFire Edition version of the X1900 is clocked the same as the X1900 XT except for its I/O connectors and compositing engine. The X1900 XT weighs in with some very high clock speeds, especially for the number of pixel pipelines it supports. If you are worried about the CrossFire card bringing down the XTX, don't be. The XTX only sees about a 4% increase in core clock speed and a 7% increase in memory clock speed over the stock X1900 XT.

ATI X1000 Series Features
Radeon X1900 XT(X)
Radeon X1600
Radeon X1800 XL
Radeon X1800 XT
Vertex Pipelines
8
5
8
8
Pixel Pipelines
48
12
16
16
Core Clock
625(650)
590
500
625
Memory Size
512MB
256MB
256MB
512MB
Memory Data Rate
1.45GHz (1.55GHz)
1.38GHz
1GHz
1.5GHz
Texture Units
16
4
16
16
Render Backends
16
4
16
16
Z Compare Units
16
8
16
16
Maximum Threads
512
128
512
512


So, while the price gap between the XTX, XT, and CrossFire versions of the card would seem to indicate sizeable performance differences, we can definitively say that this is not the general case. The XTX is only marginally faster even on paper, and, as we will see, in the real world, real performance is what matters. Our advice is to save your money and go with the cheaper XT. 18% more cost for at best 7% more performance is all that the XTX gives.

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  • Josh Venning - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    :-)
  • GTMan - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    How long until we see lower end parts.

    My guesses:
    X1900XL replaces X1800XL
    X1700 replaces X1600
  • Sledgehamer70 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    Has anyone else noticed that the X1900XTX only out performs over all in the 1920 x 1440 settings? It is a 50/ 50 split for the most part in 1280 x 960 and 1600 x 1200. So once again everyone and there mom wont be seeing the same numbers as these guys! So misleading!

    Yeah I know its looking ahead to the future, but looking on themarket only 5%-2% of gamers run games at these specs... I will give ATI credit that they made a good card "Finally" but lets compare apples to apples, they should take the combined scores and average them out and see what the overall outcome is... im sure ATI will still ead but by not as much as it portray's!
  • DerekWilson - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    again, if you want a card to run at low resolutions, the 6800 GS or x800 gto are probably much better and more cost effective ways to go.

    why does everyone want to swat a fly with a baseball bat?
  • Wellsoul2 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    Hmm..1280x1024 would seem to be a useful resolution since many use
    19 in and 17 in LCD's.

    Seriously, No way can I afford this card but I would like to see it
    compared to the 1800XL card at this resolution.
    (I'm hoping the 1800XL price drops so I can pick up an ATI shader3
    card for less than $250 which is my price point)

    Yay for ATI..but ATI still has no mid priced card with shader3.0 :-(
  • beggerking - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    well, the definition of "resolution most people run" change constantly. I understand you are using 4x AA, but 8xAA is right around the corner, as well as higher resolution.

    I don't see this kind of performance advantage for x1900xtx on any other setting than the one you used for performance advantage, therefore that graphic is perhaps, a personal/biased view that will not stand against time.



  • vladik007 - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    Are they really out of their mind ? I've never bought console before but these PC components prices are gonna drive me out of the market.

    And i thought my 6800GT for $400 was absurd price to pay.... wow
  • nullpointerus - Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - link

    I have an idea. Maybe you could buy something less expensive. For example, a $200 card should be able to play modern games albeit with lower image quality than the more expensive cards. But don't tell anyone! I want to keep this a secret.
  • poohbear - Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - link

    rofl nullpointerus u crack me up. So true man, LETS keep it a secret.;)
  • poohbear - Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - link

    rofl nullpointerus u crack me up. So true man, LETS keep it a secret.;)

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