Gigabyte X1900 XTX Review

Introduction

Gigabyte seems to make just about everything you need for your PC and more, but the company is most widely known (in the U.S. at least) for its motherboards and video cards. Gigabyte is one of only a few companies that sells both ATI and NVIDIA graphics cards. Typically, the cards closely resemble reference designs and match the reference clock speeds. While some buyers seek out the factory overclocked cards, others aren't comfortable with them. Recent issues with overclocked cards has given buyers of non-overclocked cards a stronger argument, and many of Gigabyte's offerings happen to be good solutions for these gamers.

Today, it's time to look at Gigabyte's flagship ATI-based card, which happens to be the GV-RX19X512VB-RH, which is of course a Radeon X1900 XTX and the main competitor to NVIDIA's GeForce 7900 GTX. Like other X1900 XTXs, the GV-RX19X512VB-RH is a 512MB, dual-slot, VIVO-enabled powerhouse.

Let's jump in and take a quick look at the Gigabyte X1900 XTX and its performance...

Features & Specifications

Features

• Powered by ATI Radeon X1900 XTX VPU
• 48 Pixel Shaders
• 8 Vertex Shaders
• Core Clock: 650MHz
• Memory Clock: 1.55GHz (effective)
• Integrated with the industry's best 512MB GDDR3 memory and 256-bit memory interface
• Features Dual-Link DVI-I / D-sub (by adapter) / TV-OUT
• Microsoft DirectX 9.0C and OpenGL 2.0 support
• Supports HDTV function and HDTV cable enclosed
• Supports VIVO function for video editing
• Ultra-Threaded Shader Engine
• Ring Bus Memory Technology
• Catalyst™ Control Center
• Avivo™
• CrossFire™ support (must add CF Master Card)
• Widescreen resolution support

Specifications

For more general information on the Radeon X1900 series, read our preview article.