Introduction

PowerColor, Unleash the gaming power. Somehow I figure that most of you know PowerColor already, which means an introduction might not be needed. But just in case for those who don't know PowerColor yet, we will share it with you. PowerColor, established by TuL Corporation in 1997, is a graphics industry leading brand name and well known for its outstanding performance and innovative technology. As a leading provider of graphics cards, PowerColor offers powerful, reliable and cost effective solutions to customers worldwide. To succeed in this ultra competitive industry, great products need to be complimented by speed-to-market, cost and service. PowerColor strives to the very best, both to their customers and to society, thereby making a brighter future for tomorrow.

It has actually taken a bit of time but in the end also ATI decided to support the AGP platform a little longer by introducing the AGP version of the Radeon X1600 PRO. This could be seen a reaction on the GeForce 7800 GS AGP that was introduced by NVIDIA early this year. The AGP version of the Radeon X1600 PRO also means that ATI finally has a Shader Model 3.0 compatible video card for the AGP users which is really where ATI was behind on his main competitor NVIDIA. Based upon all this PowerColor has come up with an even more advanced version that features 512MB memory.

PowerColor Radeon X1600 PRO 512MB AGP

PowerColor has released two versions of the Radeon X1600 PRO AGP card that differ not that much from each other, with the design being almost identical. Both versions come with the core and memory speeds which are set at 500MHz core and 800MHz memory clock speed. So what is than the difference? Well the reference design from ATI only features 256MB of memory, although is capable of addressing up to 512MB. So, PowerColor had opted to build two versions, one following the reference design with 256MB and another with 512MB memory.

Thanks to PowerColor we gotten the 512MB version in our hands and we will be taking a closer look at the card itself and the performance it delivers. The PowerColor Radeon X1600 PRO 512MB AGP is the fastest card released based upon the RV530 core, bridged to the AGP interface. By doing so ATI has provided all potential buyers a choice next to the GeForce 7800 GS AGP graphics card that supports all features of the current games, but a bit cheaper.

Features

• Radeon X1600 PRO (500MHz)
• 512MB 128-bit DDR2 Memory (800MHz)
• Internal 256-bit Memory Ring Bus
• Memory Bandwidth of 12.8GB/s
• AGP 4x/8x Compatibility
• PC99 DB-15 Analog Connector
• DVI-I Connector for Analog/Digital Display
• HDTV Support/S-Video Output
• Windows Vista Ready

Surprisingly we received quite a small box from PowerColor detailing the Radeon X1600 PRO 512MB AGP video card. It ships in a very nice paperboard box that is on the design in line with all the products released by PowerColor. It is a grey box, featuring an eye catching futuristic image which will certainly attract anyone looking for a new graphics card. The blue colored image gives it a bit extra, and lights up the design as a whole. The main features are also listed on the front to make sure you know what you are buying.

The PowerColor box comes sealed with two round stickers on each side of the box. Of course if these are broken upon purchasing the PowerColor graphics card this would mean that the package has already been opened by someone. So that is something to check before you buy. The box itself details very clearly the product that you are buying as well as the main features, that it is an AGP card with 512MB DDR2 memory and Windows Vista ready.

Looking at the backside of the box we find a bit more details on the product enclosed and this is different languages. The back of the paperboard package lists all the features of the Radeon X1600 PRO and what is included in the package. Further checking the box reveals also some more information on the sides that might come in handy upon purchase of the Radeon X1600 PRO. All these add up in the first impression of the PowerColor package, a detailed and professional box.