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 with the GeForce 7900 GT accelerator. 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. - Sharky Extreme

ATI Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB PCI Express Review

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 ROP's. 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 the popular Shader Model 3.0 games. The Radeon X1950 PRO features 256MB of onboard GDDR3 memory using a 256MB link to the internal ring bus controller, and supports native CrossFire.

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 575MHz, while the 256MB of GDDR3 memory is set at 1.38GHz. 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 heatsink covering almost the entire PCB.

The ATI Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB displayed many of the characteristics of the Radeon X1000 line of video cards. The differences in relative performance between a Radeon X1950 PRO and a GeForce 7900 GS or GT come down to the base architecture, with NVIDIA promoting a more well rounded solution compared to the forward thinking ATI design. With older games, or those that do not support Shader Model 3.0, the Radeon X1950 PRO falters a bit and is outperformed by its NVIDIA counterpart. Of course, the reverse is also true, as the Radeon X1950 PRO performs well in hardcore Shader Model 3.0 games.

The Radeon X1950 PRO is one of the best mainstream entries from ATI, and it does a great job of competing directly against the GeForce 7900 GS 256MB. In terms of game benchmarks, the ATI Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB is one mean contender, and it keeps it close with older tests, while surpassing the GeForce 7900 GS and GT cards in high-end Shader Model 3.0 games. After all, newer Shader Model 3.0 games is where you need the extra power anyway, and ATI has certainly delivered on mainstream performance with their Radeon X1950 PRO accelerator.