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PowerColor Radeon X1900 GT 256MB PCI-E Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Monday, 07 August 2006 |
Madshrimps shares with us a review on the PowerColor Radeon X1900 GT 256MB PCIe graphics card. PowerColor send in their latest addition, a mid/high-range video card based on the Radeon X1900 series from ATI. The Radeon X1900 GT has the same core as the high-end Radeon X1900 XT/XTX models but comes clocked lower and has fewer pixel shader processors. The decrease in GPU speeds allows the GT to be cooled with a single slot heatsink which covers both core and memory chips. PowerColor decided to stick with the reference design which helps keep the price down. The Radeon X1900 GT is carrying a name very similar to its main competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT.
 PowerColor Radeon X1900 GT 256MB PCI-E Review
when looking at the Radeon X1900 GT, compared to the X1900 XT it looses 50MHz on the GPU and 125MHz on the speed of the memory, but what will most impact performance is the reduction of pixel shader processors from 48 to 36 in total. The Radeon X1900 GT has 256MB onboard memory which is sufficient for everything but the highest resolutions and detail settings, in which case the GPU speed becomes the limiting factor. Specification wise the Radeon X1900 GT from PowerColor does not disappoint, it's a feature rich video card ideal for the gamer as well as the multimedia enthusiast.
The Radeon X1900 GT differs visually from the XT and XTX by having a single slot cooling instead of the dual slot behemoth on the high-end models. The PCB looks quite similar and without the heatsink installed you'd have a hard time differentiating one from the other. The heatsink is made from aluminium with a copper insert for the GPU core, it's held in place by an X-form back plate and screws through the PCB. The PowerColor Radeon X1900 GT comes clocked at 575MHz core and 1200MHz memory clock speed, just as the ATI reference design has been set.
The R580 core on the Radeon X1900 GT should scale well, but also give up quite a bit of heat once you increase clock speeds, with the single slot heatsink you'll run into a heat wall rather quickly. With the stock cooling the GT easily overclocked 634MHz on the core and an impressive 1602MHz on the memory, unfortunately the missing pixel shader processors could not be re-added, so in the end the performance is still below a Radeon X1900 XT, even when GPU and memory are running faster on the overclocked Radeon X1900 GT. Although it comes near, the extra pixel shader is really the missing factor.
With the PowerColor Radeon X1900 GT in some games the performance is on par with its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT, while in other games it fall behind a few percentage, overall new games are very playable with high detail and higher resolutions are possible with older games, this card can run them fluently. Priced at about €250-275 it's an interesting product for those looking for excellent performance in current games without the funds to get the highest video card. The single slot cooler on the PowerColor unit is sufficient to keep the GPU cool enough but it does hinder overclocking potential.
With it the GPU can reach clock speeds higher than those of the XT model and this does give the card quite a boost in games, enough to run at higher resolutions and detail. Overall the Radeon X1900 GT did not disappoint but it's hard to forget that the GeForce 7900 GT is breathing down its neck with similar specifications and wide availability. Which ever product you choose you can't make a wrong purchase as they all offer some of the best price and performance ratio currently available.
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