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Date: October 12th, 2006
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Sapphire
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SAPPHIRE CORPORATE PROFILE

Pioneers in a new era of how data is displayed and games are played, Sapphire shepherds the performance oriented with ground-breaking solutions to an environment that remains in a constant state of flux and ultimate evolution. For over ten years Sapphire has held true to its unwavering commitment, the commitment to deliver the most feature rich and soundly engineered products. Because of Sapphire's firm position on achieving excellence with each product that leaves our ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified factories, you can rest assured that your customers will recognize YOUR commitment to selling only the highest of quality components.

"Sapphire is ATI's largest and best performing partner World Wide" Dave Orton, CEO ATI

Since ATI announced its manufacturing & distribution relationships with ODMs and AiBs in June of 2001, SAPPHIRE has been THE key ATI Graphics Boards Supplier worldwide and now stands poised and ready to capture the mainboard audience of those who seek a stable platform for their mission critical operations.

 

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

Is it me, or is it with every passing month it seems that Nvidia or ATI are releasing a different card model. Instead of three models to cover the three different genres (budget, mainstream and enthusiest), it seems that now you have three to four models in each category. Not only does this do nothing for relative sales, it confuses the heck out of the everyday consumer.

Take the X1600 core for instance. You now have the the X1600pro, the X1600XT along with the newly released X1650 pro being reviewed today from Sapphire. You also have the X1300XT to consider seeing it is essentially a remarked X1600pro.

For comparitive purposes, I will be comparing the X1600 pro with the X1650 pro.

The X1600 Pro VPU Chip	The X1650 Pro VPU Chip
RV530	RV535
500 MHz Core	600 MHzC Core
800 MHz Memory	800Mhz /1400 MHz Memory (This Review)
90 nm process	80 nm process
128 bit memory interface	128 bit memory interface
Up to 512 MB of DDR1/2 or GDDR-3 memory	Up to 512 MB of DDR1/2 or GDDR-3 memory
PCI Express 16x	PCI Express 16x
12 Pixel Shader Processors	12 Pixel Shader Processors
5 Vertex Shaders	5 Vertex Shaders
5 Texture Units	5 Texture Units

As you can see there is very little difference between the two. Even the core frequency differences will net little difference in relative performance and is more than likely attributed to the newer 80nm manufacturing process. The only real difference I see is the lack of a texture unit with the newer core. Let's see if these small difference in features make any difference in performance.

RADEON X1300 SERIES CHIPSET INFORMATION

Exceptional 3D graphics performance

The Radeon® X1650 series redefines the notion of a mid-range graphics card. It provides uncompromising shader performance to exploit the sophisticated graphics offered by today's best-selling games, features whisper-quiet operation, and provides support for CrossFire™-based multi-GPU environments.

 

• Make the most of sophisticated 3D games – such as Prey and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - with intense shader properties
  
  

  In tests comparing the performance of five popular games against competing same-class cards, the X1650 achieved significantly higher performance ratings thanks to increased GPU frequencies, more advanced memory technology, and outstanding shader capabilities 1 .

• Listen to your game rather than your PC's fans with the X1650's improved cool-running technology
  
  

  The Radeon X1650 delivers whisper quiet operation and cool performance while running graphically intense games and applications.

  
  

• Unite the power of two graphics cards with ATI's patented CrossFire™ multi-GPU technology
  
  

  The Radeon X1650 allows gamers to accelerate their graphics even further by adding a Crossfire Edition graphics card and a CrossFire-ready motherboard to deliver ultra fast performance that works with all games, all the time.

  
  

Choose not to compromise

The Radeon X1650 series delivers high dynamic range lighting (HDR) effects and full screen anti-aliasing (FSAA) simultaneously while displaying in excess of a billion more colors than competing graphics cards. Plus, it's a recommended graphics solution for Windows Vista™ 2 .

• Choose not to compromise between HDR effects and FSAA
  
  

  The Radeon® X1K family are the only graphics boards on the market to combine Full Screen Anti-aliasing (FSAA)—the most advanced anti-aliasing technique in the world—with high dynamic range (HDR) technology.

  
  

• Witness a billion more colors in all of your graphics applications than you would with competing graphics boards 3
  
  

  ATI's Avivo technology employs a 10-bit-per-color display engine that renders in excess of a billion more colors than the competition.

  
  

• Install Windows Vista with confidence knowing you have an ATI-recommended graphics solution 2
  
  

  ATI recommends the Radeon X1650 as an ideal graphics card for Windows Vista. It provides full support for image-intensive features such as Aeroglass, and enhances Vista's gaming, digital photo, and multimedia applications.

  
  

Watch stunning, high-definition video on your PC

Thanks to ATI's Avivo display technology, the Radeon X1650 delivers industry leading video performance, achieving more than double the score of competing cards in HQV testing4. Both standard definition and high-definition digital video will appear crystal clear and burst with true-to-life colors.

• The Radeon X1650 scores 123 out of a possible 130 points in HQV tests, the highest score of any graphics card 4
  
  

  The X1650 is the industry leader in its class in video performance according to HQV testing, the standard method of measuring the picture quality of DVD playback.

  
  

• Avivo display technology guarantees sharpness, clarity, and realistic colour reproduction
  
  

  Avivo uses proprietary video scaling technology to display crystal clear images on high resolution displays. Video images sent to your display will be hardware accelerated for superb viewing.

  
  

• High-definition video never looked so good
  
  

  The Radeon X1650 will prepare you for the burgeoning HD video revolution by turning your PC into a machine equipped to handle HD content from a variety of digital sources. 1

 

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