ATI RADEON® X1950 Pro, (256 MB) PCI Express Video Card
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- Special Features: HDTV TV-out Support Crossfire Ready
- Graphic Processor: ATI RADEON X1950 PRO
- Card Interface: PCI Express
- Installed Memory / Technology: 256 MB (DDR3 SDRAM)
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Great For Running Windows Vista in a Work Environment
Pros
Runs Windows Vista Aero theme, flexible output options
Cons
Requires at least 450W power supply (common requirement in this class, but do check)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Great choice to run Windows Vista now. Will face stiff competition from nVidia 7900 once video drivers are finalized.
The Office Workstation Perspective
I was originally going to write this as a comment to the previous review. However, I realize that I'm writing from a very different perspective, so I decided to write it up as a full review instead.
I have started buying these for work as the standard video card for workstations running Windows Vista. For comparison, the closest competitor from nVidia on both the performance and price standpoint is the nVidia 7900 (for example, the EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO).
GPU core clock speed
Both the ATI and the nVidia GPUs (graphics processing unit) are clocked at close the same speed. The ATI is clocked slightly faster at 575MHz versus the vNidia at 500MHz. There is not much practical difference for workstation/desktop use, but gamers and those who like bragging rights will care about this. A lot.
Video memory
Both have 256MB of GDDR3 memory. GDDR3 (not to be confused with DDR3 system memory) is the most common type of memory currently found in high-end graphics cards. Amount of memory is important for both gaming use and for advanced graphics in the Windows Vista desktop environment. Really high-end gaming cards have 512MB or more, but 256MB will give great performance for workstation/desktop use in Windows Vista.
DirectX support
Both support DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0. Again, from a workstation/desktop standpoint, this means that you have great support for the Aero theme and the other visual effects in Windows Vista.
DirectX 10.0 Shader Model 4.0 was introduced with Windows Vista, but there are few cards currently out and it is not needed for the Aero theme.
Cross-linked (multi-card) support
Both support multiple cross-linked cards for greater graphics horsepower and a greater number of monitors (marketed as CrossFire in ATI's case, SLI in nVidia's case). Except for specialized applications needing more than 2 monitors (eg., a banking/trading workstation or a medical imaging workstation), not that important for a standardized workstation/desktop setup. Both cards allow support of two monitors (digital, analog, or mixed) from a single card.
Supported output
Both the ATI and nVidia have dual DVI outputs with adaptors for conversion to standard 15-pin DSUB analog connectors. In addition, both also support S-Video and component output for connection to televisions.
Both support a maximum resolution for a digital monitor (DVI connector) of up to 2560x1600 and for an analog monitor up to 2048x1536.
Note that you are not likely to see much difference in static visual quality between the two cards (both use 400MHz RAMDACs). You are much more likely to see a difference between different monitors.
Fan Noise and Cooling
Both cards use a "paddle wheel" type fan that draws air in from one side and forces the air laterally across the fins of a large, enclosed heat sink mounted on the component-side surface of the video card. The ATI heat sink appears substantially larger than the nVidia's, covering nearly the entire surface of the card. Heat sink efficiency is proportional to the mass and surface area, so the ATI likely has a more efficient heat sink. On the other hand, the ATI runs at a slightly higher GPU clock rate so likely needs the additional cooling.
Subjectively, I think the ATI is slightly quieter than the nVidia, but that might be sample variation or maybe a difference in noise characteristic rather than actual noise level. However, both are very quiet and below the ambient noise of the other fans in my system case as well as the ambient noise in my office environment (HVAC, etc.).
System requirements
Both are PCI-express based (PCIe x16 slot) and need to draw power from the dedicated PCI-e power connector. Power requirements are similar: both recommend a 450W power supply for single card use. For cross-linked multiple card use, nVidia and ATI recommend 500W and 550W power supplies, respectively.
What will happen if you don't have enough headroom in your power supply? That varies a bit. It might work. It might completely fail to work. Most likely, it will sometimes work but will seem flaky, leading you to believe that there is something wrong with the operating system or with the video card driver when in fact there is inadequate current going to the card. This is easily overlooked even by experienced engineers, so please check!
Driver support
Both cards currently ship with Windows XP driver in-box. These drivers will run on Windows Vista, but they will not allow you to use the Aero theme. To use the Windows Vista's Desktop Window Manager support (which is what underlies the Aero theme and the other Vista visual effects), you need to have Windows Vista-specific drivers.
ATI's Catalyst 7.3 driver is available for both 32- and 64-bit Windows Vista. The corresponding nVidia ForceWare Release 100 drivers are still in beta as of this writing. You will need to get these Windows Vista drivers from the ATI and nVidia websites, respectively.
The driver issue is the main reason that I have chosen ATI as the standard at work for now. Once nVidia's driver finalize, I will make that a standard as well and allow employees to choose their preference. In the long run, I think either card would be a fine choice with sufficient power to run future software (at least as far forward as anything in the high-tech world lasts these days…).
Update
Based on feedback, I'll clarify that I'm writing about my own experience deploying these in a software development team work environment running Windows Vista. Typical usage on my team is running Outlook, IE, and Visual Studio almost constantly with sporadic but frequent use of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. We also do some 3D graphics development in a windowed/mixed environment, but do not typically switch to a full DX exclusive mode as is typical with most games.
Some users are apparently experiencing driver issues when running DirectX games under Vista with this card. I cannot comment on that aspect. I learned long ago that if I start playing games on my work machine, I'll have a hard time stopping so I just don't do it. I'll play games at home, but at home I'm still running Windows XP SP2.
Further note that under Windows Vista you are not switching from 2D to 3D when you run a game. That was true on Windows XP and earlier, but not so if you are running a Vista driver on Vista. Under the old driver model, the desktop was using 2D functionality dating back to Windows NT 3.1 and running a game switched over to Direct3D (with the result of forcing the 2D portion of the driver to relinquish all its resources like off-screen bitmaps). With the new Vista driver model, when running the "Desktop Window Manager" and the fancy effects and Aero theme, the OS is using Direct3D (and the Shader 3.0 support) to manage the desktop displays.
I was originally going to write this as a comment to the previous review. However, I realize that I'm writing from a very different perspective, so I decided to write it up as a full review instead.
I have started buying these for work as the standard video card for workstations running Windows Vista. For comparison, the closest competitor from nVidia on both the performance and price standpoint is the nVidia 7900 (for example, the EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO).
GPU core clock speed
Both the ATI and the nVidia GPUs (graphics processing unit) are clocked at close the same speed. The ATI is clocked slightly faster at 575MHz versus the vNidia at 500MHz. There is not much practical difference for workstation/desktop use, but gamers and those who like bragging rights will care about this. A lot.
Video memory
Both have 256MB of GDDR3 memory. GDDR3 (not to be confused with DDR3 system memory) is the most common type of memory currently found in high-end graphics cards. Amount of memory is important for both gaming use and for advanced graphics in the Windows Vista desktop environment. Really high-end gaming cards have 512MB or more, but 256MB will give great performance for workstation/desktop use in Windows Vista.
DirectX support
Both support DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0. Again, from a workstation/desktop standpoint, this means that you have great support for the Aero theme and the other visual effects in Windows Vista.
DirectX 10.0 Shader Model 4.0 was introduced with Windows Vista, but there are few cards currently out and it is not needed for the Aero theme.
Cross-linked (multi-card) support
Both support multiple cross-linked cards for greater graphics horsepower and a greater number of monitors (marketed as CrossFire in ATI's case, SLI in nVidia's case). Except for specialized applications needing more than 2 monitors (eg., a banking/trading workstation or a medical imaging workstation), not that important for a standardized workstation/desktop setup. Both cards allow support of two monitors (digital, analog, or mixed) from a single card.
Supported output
Both the ATI and nVidia have dual DVI outputs with adaptors for conversion to standard 15-pin DSUB analog connectors. In addition, both also support S-Video and component output for connection to televisions.
Both support a maximum resolution for a digital monitor (DVI connector) of up to 2560x1600 and for an analog monitor up to 2048x1536.
Note that you are not likely to see much difference in static visual quality between the two cards (both use 400MHz RAMDACs). You are much more likely to see a difference between different monitors.
Fan Noise and Cooling
Both cards use a "paddle wheel" type fan that draws air in from one side and forces the air laterally across the fins of a large, enclosed heat sink mounted on the component-side surface of the video card. The ATI heat sink appears substantially larger than the nVidia's, covering nearly the entire surface of the card. Heat sink efficiency is proportional to the mass and surface area, so the ATI likely has a more efficient heat sink. On the other hand, the ATI runs at a slightly higher GPU clock rate so likely needs the additional cooling.
Subjectively, I think the ATI is slightly quieter than the nVidia, but that might be sample variation or maybe a difference in noise characteristic rather than actual noise level. However, both are very quiet and below the ambient noise of the other fans in my system case as well as the ambient noise in my office environment (HVAC, etc.).
System requirements
Both are PCI-express based (PCIe x16 slot) and need to draw power from the dedicated PCI-e power connector. Power requirements are similar: both recommend a 450W power supply for single card use. For cross-linked multiple card use, nVidia and ATI recommend 500W and 550W power supplies, respectively.
What will happen if you don't have enough headroom in your power supply? That varies a bit. It might work. It might completely fail to work. Most likely, it will sometimes work but will seem flaky, leading you to believe that there is something wrong with the operating system or with the video card driver when in fact there is inadequate current going to the card. This is easily overlooked even by experienced engineers, so please check!
Driver support
Both cards currently ship with Windows XP driver in-box. These drivers will run on Windows Vista, but they will not allow you to use the Aero theme. To use the Windows Vista's Desktop Window Manager support (which is what underlies the Aero theme and the other Vista visual effects), you need to have Windows Vista-specific drivers.
ATI's Catalyst 7.3 driver is available for both 32- and 64-bit Windows Vista. The corresponding nVidia ForceWare Release 100 drivers are still in beta as of this writing. You will need to get these Windows Vista drivers from the ATI and nVidia websites, respectively.
The driver issue is the main reason that I have chosen ATI as the standard at work for now. Once nVidia's driver finalize, I will make that a standard as well and allow employees to choose their preference. In the long run, I think either card would be a fine choice with sufficient power to run future software (at least as far forward as anything in the high-tech world lasts these days…).
Update
Based on feedback, I'll clarify that I'm writing about my own experience deploying these in a software development team work environment running Windows Vista. Typical usage on my team is running Outlook, IE, and Visual Studio almost constantly with sporadic but frequent use of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. We also do some 3D graphics development in a windowed/mixed environment, but do not typically switch to a full DX exclusive mode as is typical with most games.
Some users are apparently experiencing driver issues when running DirectX games under Vista with this card. I cannot comment on that aspect. I learned long ago that if I start playing games on my work machine, I'll have a hard time stopping so I just don't do it. I'll play games at home, but at home I'm still running Windows XP SP2.
Further note that under Windows Vista you are not switching from 2D to 3D when you run a game. That was true on Windows XP and earlier, but not so if you are running a Vista driver on Vista. Under the old driver model, the desktop was using 2D functionality dating back to Windows NT 3.1 and running a game switched over to Direct3D (with the result of forcing the 2D portion of the driver to relinquish all its resources like off-screen bitmaps). With the new Vista driver model, when running the "Desktop Window Manager" and the fancy effects and Aero theme, the OS is using Direct3D (and the Shader 3.0 support) to manage the desktop displays.
