Introduction

The mainstream video card market is actually comprised of two different levels, separated by the old price-performance matrix. Cards like the GeForce 7600 and Radeon X1650-based products represent the entry-level section, while the top-end offers video cards with greater performance and a higher price tag. NVIDIA has been a serious powerhouse at the upper range, first with the GeForce 7600 GT 256MB, and when that faded, the GeForce 7900 GS 256MB was quick to take its place. ATI has had a very tough time competing, especially as there was initially a huge gap between the Radeon X1600 XT and Radeon X1900 XT cards. This was bridged with the Radeon X1900 GT, but the subsequent Radeon X1900 Pro is the real deal, and better able to stem the NVIDIA tide.

The Radeon X1950 Pro

The Radeon X1950 Pro is built on the 80nm RV570 graphics core, and sports a similar architecture to the lower-clocked, 90nm Radeon X1900 GT. The RV570 features 12 pixel pipelines, 12 texture units, 8 vertex shaders, and 12 ROPs. This may seem low for a high-end mainstream video card, but the Radeon X1950 Pro includes 3 pixel shaders per pipeline, for a total of 36. This can yield a serious performance edge, especially in SM3.0 games. The Radeon X1950 Pro features 256MB of onboard GDDR3 memory using a 256MB link to the internal ring bus controller. This is the latest generation of 80nm ATI parts, and like the Radeon X1650 XT, the Radeon X1950 Pro supports HDCP and "native" CrossFire using internal connectors.

The base architecture may be similar, but the Radeon X1950 Pro is clocked higher than current Radeon X1900 GT boards, and the RV570 core runs at 575 MHz, while the 256MB of GDDR3 memory is set at 1.38 GHz. This provides theoretical fill rates of 6.9 GPixels/s, 6.9 GTexels/s (standard) and 20.7 GTexels/s (shaded). This last figure helps illustrate just how powerful this type of design can be, given a game or application that really stresses its pixel shading abilities. The memory bandwidth is definitely high-end, as the 1.38 GHz memory clock and its 256-bit link translate into 44.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth - about on par with a GeForce 7950 GT. The Radeon X1950 Pro also includes support for AVIVO, up to 6X AA & 16X AF modes, 3Dc+ texture compression, and native support for CrossFire multi-GPU technology.

The ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB Card

The ATI version of the Radeon X1950 Pro is a standard design without any of the enhancements offered by their 3rd-party vendors. This is both a positive and a negative, as you know the card design is fully tested, compatible and rock solid, but you forgo any higher default clock speeds or nifty cooling apparatus. The card itself is a full-length PCI Express model, with a sleek red heatsink-fan covering virtually the entire PCB. We like this format, especially compared to Radeon X1950 Pro cooling designs with a taller heatsink-fan, as the ATI card offers a seamless install for adjacent peripherals.

The ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB card is clocked at standard speeds, with its core set at 575 MHz, and the onboard memory running at 1.38 GHz. The card offers the standard connectivity options, featuring two dual-link DVI connectors and an S-Video/HDTV-out port. The DVI output offers resolutions up to 2560x1600, VGA maxes out at 2048x1536, and HDTV-out runs up to 1080i. As with all Radeon X1950 Pro cards, the ATI version also requires external power through a single PCI Express connector.

CrossFire is supported in native mode, and the ATI Radeon X1950 Pro retail box includes a CrossFire bridge interconnect for future upgrades. Also included in the bundle are a Driver CD, composite and S-video cables, HDTV-out cable, and DVI to VGA adapters. ATI also offers a 1-year limited warranty and supports operating systems from Windows XP to MCE to Vista.

To give a better idea of the architecture of the various mainstream video cards we see competing directly against the ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB, here is a small chart outlining the key architectural features of each GPU:

The next chart provides the base clock speed, bandwidth and performance specifications that go along with the above chart, and helps paint a better picture of the individual cards and their capabilities.

Of course, the best performance metric is real-world testing, and to that end, we've assembled a wide range of game benchmarks in the next section.