X-bit labs

S3 Chrome S27 Graphics Processor Review: Worthy Performance for Its Class?

[ 12/29/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

S3 Graphics again attempts to re-enter the market of graphics cards once again with a new chip that boasts new levels of performance and efficiency. S3 has come a lone way and improved loads of problems with stability, reliability, driver support and compatibility. But has it done enough to create a product that would be loved by consumers? Read our review to find out!

Driven by the New Catalyst: Sapphire RADEON X1800 XL Review

[ 12/15/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

RADEON X1000 series graphics cards, announced back in early October, have started to emerge in shops. Today we will be reviewing the RADEON X1800 XL as it comes from Sapphire Technologies and will be comparing its performance on the new Catalyst driver to that of NVIDIA’s GeForce 7800 GT and GTX.

Modern Games and Modern GPUs: The Grand Clash

[ 12/08/05 | by Anton Shilov]

The Holiday season is approaching and a lot of people will be playing the latest games during their spare time. X-bit labs has decided to help you choosing a graphics card in the range from below $99 and up to $649 for the latest and most demanding games that are available today.

Speed a Little, Gain a Lot: ATI Mobility RADEON X1600 Preview

[ 12/06/05 | by Anton Shilov]

ATI has been commanding the market of discrete mobile graphics processors with more than 70% market share for more than ten consecutive quarters now. Yesterday the company unveiled yet another mobile offering designed to solidify its market positions. But is it truly capable of that? Check out our preview for details!

GeForce 6800 Meets New Contender: PowerColor X800 GTO VIVO Graphics Card Review

[ 11/27/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

While the ATI RADEON X1600 series is finding its way to shop shelves, ATI Technologies also introduces new graphics cards based on the well-known RADEON X800 GPUs. Combining an advanced micro-architecture with a low price, the new products have a good chance to be successful among the users.

ATI All-In-Wonder X1800 XL: All I Want?

[ 11/21/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

Universal multimedia combos make up an independent category of graphics cards that fall under so many different and often contradicting requirements that designing such a device is a daunting task even for an enormously experienced company ATI Technologies is. We are going to check out ATI’s new attempt to create a graphic card that would make an engine and wheels of a home multimedia center. It is All-In-Wonder X1800 XL!

XFX GeForce 6600 GDDR2: GeForce 6600 Rejuvenated

[ 11/18/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

Along with EVGA and BFG Technologies, XFX is among NVIDIA’s most loyal partners and its graphics cards come only with GeForce series GPUs on board. We haven’t had a chance to test an XFX device in our labs, but now we want to fill in this gap with a review of the XFX GeForce 6600 GDDR2 graphics card.

NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512: Faster, Higher, Stronger!

[ 11/15/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

At the beginning of October, ATI and NVIDIA grappled in a new round of fighting as the new-generation RADEON X1800 XT 512MB from the “red” team challenged the GeForce 7800 GTX which had been unrivalled for over three months. ATI won that round and regained the champion’s belt, but for how long? Today we are going to tell you if the newly released GeForce 7800 GTX 512 brings any changes into the rankings in the top-end 3D graphics sector.

NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS – The Best of the Holiday Season 2005?

[ 11/08/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

NVIDIA has released high-performance high-margin GeForce 7800 GT and GTX graphics processors which offer advanced functionality and performance sufficient for majority of games. But there are people who would not like to pay $449 or $599 per graphics card and there is Holiday season coming, when all the users go on and spend their money. NVIDIA introduced its GeForce 6800 GS product which costs $249 and frequently manages to leave behind the GeForce 6800 GT in order to offer probably the best “bang for the buck” in 2005.

ASUS Extreme N7800GT/2DHTV in SLI: Two Is Better Than One

[ 11/04/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

The GeForce 7800 GT graphics card NVIDIA announced on August 11, 2005, proved to be a very appealing and unique product with performance just a little lower than that of the senior GeForce 7800 GTX model, with support of Shader Model 3.0 and HDR, and with an MSRP of $449. But it has recently got a dangerous opponent, ATI RADEON X1800 XL, which appears to be a better product, at least in some aspects. In this review the Extreme N7800GT/2DHTV graphics card, an ASUS version of the GeForce 7800 GT, is going to prove its worth against the ATI challenger.

Contemporary Graphics Card Naming Guide

[ 10/25/05 | by Igor Kozachenko]

It is so easy to get confused with the names of all those numerous graphics cards the hardware vendors have introduced. This is when we decided to offer you some help. Our information guide will give you very clear idea of the major technical differences between the cards and will lead you through all the tricky names and markings that are currently circulating in the market.

ASUS Extreme N7800 GTX TOP: RADEON X1800 XT Gets an Extreme Rival

[ 10/24/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

The RADEON X1800 XT 512MB has been considered as the world’s top-performing graphics card to date after the launch. But what about the GeForce 7800 GTX with boosted clock-speeds? Witness, how the GeForce 7800 GTX with 486MHz engine speed and 1.35GHz memory manages to leave behind the RADEON X1800 XT in loads of benchmarks as we share our experience about ASUS Extreme N7800 GTX TOP graphics card.

ASUS Extreme N6600GT Silencer: Extremely Silent, Extremely Hot

[ 10/19/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

NVIDIA’s GeForce 6600 GT is renowned for exceptional performance at affordable price-points. While this chip is one year old and seems like it is time for it to leave, the market is still looking forward the GeForce 6600 GT and considers it to be the best performance-mainstream solution. This is a reason why ASUS decided to introduce its new passive SilentCool cooler along with its GeForce 6600 GT-based graphics card, which is, by the way, one of a few GeForce 6600 GT products with 256MB of memory.

ATI RADEON X1300 PRO: Entry-Level Gets a Decent Performer?

[ 10/13/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

ATI Technologies’ RADEON X1300-series products are here to replace the company’s RADEON X300 product family and add some performance and features for users who buy really affordable standalone graphics cards. ATI’s new RADEON X1300 PRO 256MB can definitely offer relatively good speed in games, but does it really offer nice price performance ratio and is it good for serious gaming? We try to find it out!

ATI RADEON X1600 XT: Mainstream Performance Redefined Once Again?

[ 10/07/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

Besides releasing the high-end RADEON X1800-series, ATI Technologies unveiled its RADEON X1600 family of products, which are aimed at the mainstream market. The company says it has redefined the market of the most widely deployed graphics cards by offering a new level of performance and expanding the list of capabilities. But is it a correct statement? We attempt to find out with the help of over 20 benchmarks!

ATI RADEON X1800 XT and XL Performance: Crushing NVIDIA's 7800?

[ 10/06/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

Earlier this year NVIDIA Corp. managed to take the market of high-end graphics cards by storm with its GeForce 7800 GTX and GT products. This moment, ATI Technologies attempts to fight back the lost positions with its RADEON X1800 XT and XL models that also feature impressive horsepower. Can ATI take revenge now? We will find out as we take a look at performance in more than 20 benchmarks that represent variety of game types.

ATI RADEON X1000: Brand-New Graphics Architecture from ATI Explored

[ 10/05/05 | by Alexey Stepin]

ATI's new family of graphics processors is finally born. It took the company a couple of years to develop Shader Model 3.0 graphics architecture and several month of re-spinning the chips to deliver products that run at nearly extreme clock-speeds. Let's find, what the RADEON X1800 XT, 1800 XL, 1600 XT and 1300 PRO are capable of!