Asus EAX1950XTX

Review Pages

1. Introduction
2. Radeon X1950 GPU Specifications
3. Asus EAX1950XTX
4. Tests and setup
5. 3D Mark 05 v1.2.0
6. F.E.A.R.
7. Prey
8. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
9. Half Life 2 Episode 1
10. Company Of Heroes
11. BattleField 2142
12. NFS Carbon
13. NeverWinter Nights 2
14. Overclocking
15. Conclusion

Asus has a winner in the EAX1950XTX series. From our tests, the card outperformed most Nvidia based cards, in single card mode. Even the latest 7950GT series seemed flat compared with the EAX1950XTX. In a few tests, the EAX1950XTX even outperformed the 7900GT SLI and reached very close to the 7950GT SLI. These were specific cases however, and in general, SLI setups proved to be faster than single cards.

The EAX1950XTX has all the features and advantages of ATI's 1950 series. The core runs at 650MHz and the memory at 1000MHz. Overclocking potential does exist but is limited. You will also need to go through many attempts before getting a stable system, and in my personal opinion, it's not worth it. We have seen other reviews with extreme cooling (nitro liquid) reaching remarkable figures, but that can make your card into a frisby cake afterwards. You don't want to spend €480 for a frisby cake, do you?

The two DVI-D ports come with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), meaning you can playback your High Definition content without any worries. Moreover, the card is rated as "Windows Vista ready". The retail package can be characterized as complete, all cables are included as well as two retail games. The active cooling system works well and in 2D operations runs quiet, but with 3D applications produces noise and the card becomes very hot. Keep that in mind, if you have a small case or are already experiencing air flow problems.

Concluding our review, we were happy to see that the Asus EAX1950XTX performed according to its specs and according to ASUS' reputation. The biggest contender for this card comes in the name of "Nvidia 8800". The Asus EAX1950XTX doesn't support Dirext10 natively, and futureproof buyers may be tempted to look towards the latest Nvidia 8800 series. On the other hand, gamers who want absolute performance now, should pair two 1950XTX cards and see incredible performance. Too bad we didn't have a second EAX1950XTX Crossfire Edition for a quick test drive :-)