Ati pro radeon x1300.

Connect3D X1300 Pro GPU: RV515
Core Clock: 600 MHz
Memory Size: 256 MB DDR2 Memory Bandwidth: 128 bit (16
Gbit/s)
Memory Clock: 800 MHz
Vertex Units: 2
Pixel Pipelines: 4
API Support: DirectX 9.0c, Open GL 3.0+
Interface: PCI Express

Budget cards are hard to decide upon as they promise a lot but deliver relatively little in return. A good example of this is the GeForce FX 5200 series. The higher 5200s performed reasonably well but it was the lighter, albeit cheaper, versions that made most modern games nearly unplayable. However, NVIDIA and its roster of budget cards are not the only ones that are to be blamed. Intel and ATi have consistently shipped crippled low-end graphics cards which did not do justice to most games even at the lowest possible settings. This month, Hard Talk received Connect3D's version of the X1300 Pro and it was duly put to task in order to ensure that our precious readers receive the last word on purchasing this product.

Finally DirectX 9.Oc ATi has been using the older DirectX 9.0 core for two generations of graphics cards (the R9xxx series as well as the Xxxx Series), while NVIDIA leaped ahead in terms of specifications by fully supporting DirectX 9.0c. In fact, the reason behind NVIDIA's recent uprising could be pinned on this very advantage. ATi decided to come back full force and finally start supporting DirectX 9.0c, including full support for multi-sampling high dynamic range (HDR) rendering. In simple words, this means that HDR lighting can finally be turned on with anti-aliasing (AA) running in the background. This feature is to date missing in the NVIDIA line up. But to put it bluntly, enabling such a feature faithfully requires computing muscle that stretches beyond even
the highest-end graphics card currently present in ATi's line up.

Given the situation, it is great to have all the features under one roof, as it allows for a margin of future proofing that NVIDIA perhaps cannot offer right now. The X1300 in total has four pixel shaders and two vertex shaders on its die. It should be noted that the X1300's GPU, the RV515, is a departure from its elder sibling's core optimisations. The R520 (or the X1800) has four times more pixel and vertex shaders and hence produces a theoretical pixel throughput that is four times higher, at the same clock speed, than the RV515.

On the other hand, the RV530 (or the X1600) takes a radical twist from this simple multiplication factor and instead opts for a unified optimisation that allows it to utilise its pixel-shading units better, putting its performance closer to the X1800's, especially under stressful conditions. To put it simply, the RV515 was designed to be a slow runner from the very start, which does not bode very well for the card. The other bits of the X1300 are' standard fare for today's graphics cards. The memory on the Connect3D version has a core clock speed of 600 megahertz, while its 128-bit memory modules clock in at a double data rate (DDR) speed of 800 megahertz. This step up provides the X1300 Pro a theoretical bandwidth of 16 Gbit/s, which is sufficient for most low and mid-resolution gaming. The X1300 Pro is also Cross Fire ready, which is ATi's method of combining two graphics cards together for increasing gaming performance. Similar to NVIDIA's SU, ATi's setup promises to be less clumsy in design but could unfortunately not be tested due to time constraints.


Testing.
Using Hard Talk's standard test bed system, the Connect3D X1300 Pro was plugged in to an ASUS A8N32 SLI motherboard, alongside the 939-pin Athlon 64x2 3800+ and two gigabytes of DDR RAM. For comparison, a Leadtek GeForce 6600 GT, 6200 TC and an ATi X300 SE were also put through the same suite of tests.

The first game to be tested was the much-loved DirectX 9.0c-powered Far Cry, running at a resolution of 1024x768 with 4x AA and 8x AF. The reason behind using a lower resolution is that most budget users would probably not wish to go higher than this .standard.

The 6600 GT, priced at 8,000 rupees, was able to beat the X1300 Pro by a significantly large margin. The rest of the cards, as is quite apparent by the graph, took a beating from the
X1300 Pro. It should also be noted that the X1300 Pro proved to be at least three times faster than its predecessor the X300 SE. Moving on, the de facto Open GL benchmark, Doom 3, was used to gauge the X1300's pixel.pushing power in comparison to its competition. Again, the lower resolution of.
1024x768 was employed while keeping the in-game graphics detail level set at "High".

The 6600 GT pushed itself even more aggressively against the X1300 Pro in this test. The NVIDIA optimised game puts the ATi line up to shame. The X1300 Pro remained playable throughout the test but the 6600 GT definitely enjoyed the edge.

The final test was the synthetic 3D Mark 05 benchmark, which was used to decide the final, verdict the X1300 would receive at the end of this review. Drivers as well as software settings were kept at their default levels and 3DMark 05 was unleashed on these cards in order to fully judge the power that lies beneath these cards. ATi has always been the king of 3DMark 05 and this test was no exception. The 6600 GT just inched ahead of the X1300 Pro, while the 6200 TC and X300 SE were left trailing behind in the dust.

It is arguable exactly how representative of true gaming power this ageing benchmark is, since the previous two benchmarks showed a very strong lead for NVIDIA's prodigy.

Conclusion
The Connect3D X1300 Pro, is a good budget card, which has the capability to play most of today's games in a relatively sound manner. With its DirectX 9.0c support, the purchaser can rest assured that it will run forthcoming titles (albeit relatively slower). The 1024x768 appears to be the sweet spot resolution for the card, as higher resolutions proved to be a crippling factor for the GPu. This is partially because of the limited number of vertex and pixel shaders, but more. importantly it has to do with the limited bandwidth available to the card. The weak point for this card is its relatively high price, especially considering it is meant for the budget gamer. As a result, with a heart heavier than usual, Hard Talk recommends that the avid budget gamer either wait for the card's price to fall or put in another thousand and opt for the ageing, yet capable, NVIDIA GeForce 6.600 GT.

_{source Spider Mag.}