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ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB PCI-E Preview
The Cards
Before I examine the card more closely and discuss it in detail, I've got to say, this card strangely makes me think of Hermes. You know, as in Greek mythology's Hermes. Maybe I'm just sleep deprived... The first thing I'll discuss is the card's cooler. While I'm discussing it, assume it's installed on a motherboard direcly in front of you with the DVI connections facing away from you, that way we can keep our directions in synch. As expected, it utilizes a single-slot design. The fan is setup to pull air in through the left side. The air then travels through a series of fanned out copper fins extending from the base of the cooler. The plastic shroud over the cooler isn't just pretty, it helps channel the air through those fins, and it also channels that air towards the top edge of the card as it exits the fins. The practical implication here is that hot pockets of air will be less likely. In a standard case configuration, the air will enter the card from the bottom of the case and then it will be exhausted towards the left side panel, and then it should be removed from the case by the case's rear exhaust fans. It's a simple design, but it's also an intelligent one. On the front edge of the card is a 6-pin auxiliar power connector and the 3-pin fan connection. On the top edge of the card there are two connectors for the new Crossfire bridges. They're sticky. Not really. On the rear edge of the card, of course, we have the dual dual-link DVI and VIVO connections. On the backside of the card, there isn't much to look at. All you'll find is some screws and a heatsink retention clip, and of course a load of circuitry. To give you an idea of the actual size of the X1950 Pro, I installed it on a standard ATX motherboard (an ASUS A8N SLI Premium, if you care). I should mention that I installed both X1950 Pros on this motherboard in Crossfire mode just for illustration purposes. You can not run ATI cards in Crossfire on ASUS' A8N SLI Premium motherboard. On this board, and the ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe on which I actually tested them, there is plenty of room between the two cards for adequate airflow (as you would expect). For some reason the X1950 Pro is a good bit longer than the 7900 GS (roughly an inch), which could be annoying in some case configurations. You'll have to take my word for it though, I didn't get a comparison shot of the two.            
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: The Cards Page 3: Test Setup Page 4: Testing - Half-Life 2 Episode 1 Page 5: Testing - F.E.A.R. - First Encounter Assault Recon Page 6: Testing - Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher's Bay Page 7: Testing - Need for Speed: Most Wanted Page 8: Testing - X3: Reunion Demo Page 9: Testing - 3DMark '06 Page 10: Performance Summary & Closing Thoughts 
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