ATI Radeon X1950 Pro: CrossFire Done Right
by Derek Wilson on October 17, 2006 6:22 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
RV570 and the Demise of the X1900 GT
The silicon used in the X1950 Pro is based on an 8-vertex 36-pixel shader configuration. While the X1900 GT has the same pipeline configuration as the X1950 Pro, the X1900 GT is based on R580 cores with disabled or non-functional pipelines. The RV570 core is built with the X1950 Pro in mind. With the introduction of the X1950 Pro, the X1900 GT will be phased out. It is unclear whether or not ATI has a use planned for R580+ GPUs that don't make the cut on the high end, but it looks like they won't just fall neatly into the X1900 GT. We would like to say that the X1950 Pro has the same core clock speed as the X1900 GT, but the issue is a little more complicated.
The X1900 GT will be going through a slight revision before its disappearance. Due to a shortage of original R580 cores that can clock to 575MHz, ATI is dropping the specs on the X1900 GT to 512MHz while attempting to make up for this by boosting memory speed to 1320MHz from 1200MHz. This is being done to keep the supply of X1900 GT parts steady until the X1950 Pro is able to take over. It is difficult to describe just how inappropriate it is to retard the specs on a long shipping product in this manner.
It is hard enough for us to sort things out when parts hit the shelves at different speeds than originally promised, but to do something like this after a part has been on the market for months is quite astounding. Be very careful when looking at buying an X1900 GT over the next couple months. The safest route is to avoid the X1900 GT altogether and simply let the X1950 Pro act as an immediate replacement for the X1900 GT. Leaving 512MHz product sitting on shelves is the best way to send the message that this type of action is not to be taken again. For our part, we have to express our extreme disappointment in ATI for taking this route. We certainly understand that it is difficult to make decisions about what to do when faced with product shortages, but we would like to strongly urge everyone in the computing industry to avoid doing anything like this to stretch the life of a product.
For now, let's get back to the X1950 Pro. Weighing in at about 330 million transistors and about 230 mm2, the RV570 is no small GPU. In addition to the features listed below, RV570 includes an integrated compositing engine for what ATI calls "native" CrossFire support which we'll explain shortly. The heatsink has a different look to match the rest of the X1950 family in a single slot solution. There are also the new CrossFire connectors in nearly the same position as the NVIDIA SLI bridge position. Here are some pictures and tables to help illustrate.
| NVIDIA Graphics Card Specifications | ||||||||
|
Vert Pipes
|
Pixel Pipes
|
Raster Pipes
|
Core Clock
|
Mem Clock
|
Mem Size (MB)
|
Mem Bus (bits)
|
Price
|
|
| GeForce 7950 GX2 |
8x2
|
24x2
|
16x2
|
500x2
|
600x2
|
512x2
|
256x2
|
$600
|
| GeForce 7900 GTX |
8
|
24
|
16
|
650
|
800
|
512
|
256
|
$450
|
| GeForce 7950 GT |
8
|
24
|
16
|
550
|
700
|
512
|
256
|
$300-$350
|
| GeForce 7900 GT |
8
|
24
|
16
|
450
|
660
|
256
|
256
|
$280
|
| GeForce 7900 GS |
7
|
20
|
16
|
450
|
660
|
256
|
256
|
$200-$250
|
| GeForce 7600 GT |
5
|
12
|
8
|
560
|
700
|
256
|
128
|
$160
|
| GeForce 7600 GS |
5
|
12
|
8
|
400
|
400
|
256
|
128
|
$120
|
| GeForce 7300 GT |
4
|
8
|
2
|
350
|
667
|
128
|
128
|
$100
|
| GeForce 7300 GS |
3
|
4
|
2
|
550
|
400
|
128
|
64
|
$65
|
| ATI Graphics Card Specifications | ||||||||
|
Vert Pipes
|
Pixel Pipes
|
Raster Pipes
|
Core Clock
|
Mem Clock
|
Mem Size (MB)
|
Mem Bus (bits)
|
Price
|
|
| Radeon X1950 XTX |
8
|
48
|
16
|
650
|
1000
|
512
|
256
|
$450
|
| Radeon X1900 XTX |
8
|
48
|
16
|
650
|
775
|
512
|
256
|
$375
|
| Radeon X1900 XT |
8
|
48
|
16
|
625
|
725
|
256/512
|
256
|
$280/$350
|
| Radeon X1950 Pro |
8 |
36 |
12 |
575 |
690 |
256 |
256 |
$200 |
| Radeon X1900 GT |
8
|
36
|
12
|
575
|
600
|
256
|
256
|
$220
|
| Radeon X1650 Pro |
5
|
12
|
4
|
600
|
700
|
256
|
128
|
$99
|
| Radeon X1600 XT |
5
|
12
|
4
|
590
|
690
|
256
|
128
|
$150
|
| Radeon X1600 Pro |
5
|
12
|
4
|
500
|
400
|
256
|
128
|
$100
|
| Radeon X1300 XT |
5
|
12
|
4
|
500
|
400
|
256
|
128
|
$89
|
| Radeon X1300 Pro |
2
|
4
|
4
|
450
|
250
|
256
|
128
|
$79
|
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Spoelie - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
It might be a good idea to use omega's drivers, they do not include catalyst control center but instead use ati tray tools OR the old control panel slightly updated. The only downside to this is that omega's are sometimes one or two releases behind the official ones.if you're not comfortable with omega's drivers (even though they're rock solid :)) you can always download just the driver from ati and install ati tray tools seperatly. it includes every option you need to change driver settings etc but is a sleek minimalist fast 1mb tool :)
JarredWalton - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
Unfortunately, CCC is required to enable CrossFire. I don't know if Omega gets around this requirement somehow, but the standard ATI control panel drivers do not have the CrossFire checkbox anywhere.Aikouka - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
The awkward drivers is actually the main reason I steer clear of ATi still. Also, I get a bit annoyed at the company as they only seem to care about their graphics sector and ignore all of their other products. My ATi TV Wonder Pro Remote Control Edition had so many problems over the years that it was barely worth owning. The Remote Control software just crashes randomly still.Although, I have yet to try the newest version of the software, because I removed the card from my system and it won't let you install the main software without it.
So... with my experience, it leaves me a bit wary.
But I do also have to admit how much I also don't like the newer nVidia control panel, but at least I can go back to the original one with one mouse click :).
DerekWilson - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
Right on.Zaitsev - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
Typo on page 2, third paragraph."It is hard enough for us to sort things out when parts hit the selves at different speeds..."
RamarC - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
suggestion: replace Q4 and B&W2 with Prey and Company of HeroesDerekWilson - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
We are planning on doing exactly that starting in early November.spe1491 - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
Possible typo?-
Basilisk - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
Further clue: try "heartily"; "hardily" means "ruggedly", etc..Spoelie - Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - link
After browsing through some other reviews, all which seem to use the Catalyst 6.9 drivers, it occured to me that they all have significantly lower performance for the ATi camp then what anandtech is reporting.Most reviews place 7900gs performance well above that of the x1950pro in quake 4. Can anyone explain to me why that is, and the supposed opengl/doom3 optimisations are only being seen by AT and not by sites such as bit-tech, hardocp, the tech report, firing squad, etc. ??