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Summary

This is a basic preview of this product intended for readers who just want a quick look at the new product.  If you are interested in the full review, with all the technical data and benchmarks that you are used to seeing on PC Perspective, please click on this link to get to that article.

ATI's R580 GPU architecture was probably one of the worst kept secrets in the industry in quite a long time.  Even before R520 was being finalized, rumors were abound that the R580 was where ATI was really focusing and where they felt very confident they would get the upper hand on NVIDIA's reigning G70.  Well, the R520 launch, otherwise known as the X1800, X1600 and X1300, vaulted past us less than four months ago and hot on its heels comes another ATI flagship GPU, the X1900; the one that should have been.

Let's jump right into the thick of things: what makes the new R580 architecture better than that of the R520?  It can be summed up in two phrases: lots o' pixel pipes and lots o' yeild.  Where as the R520 had problems getting up to the clock speeds ATI needed to compete, ATI is claiming to have had no problems with the R580, even with the larger and more complex architecture at the bottom of it.

Note: Much of this architecture is similar to that of the R520 (X1800) that we went into great detail on when it was released back in October.  You should probably familiarize yourself with that information to get the most understanding out of what the R580 is offering.

In a similar, but different fashion when we saw with the R520 launch, ATI is releasing an entire family of graphics cards on the market today, with availability scheduled for today as well.  These are all enthusiast-level parts, however, and you won't be seeing budget R580 parts anytime soon.

The Radeon X1900 XTX

The X1900 XTX is the new flagship part based on the R580 architecture and has the top specs to prove it.

• X1900 XTX
• 650 MHz core clock
• 1.55 GHz memory clock
• 512 MB GDDR3
• MSRP $649
• Available today (Don't kill the messenger!)

Click to Enlarge

A cheaper X1900 card will be released today as well, the ever popular XT model.

• Radeon X1900 XT
• 625 MHz core clock
• 1.45 GHz memory clock
• 512 MB GDDR3
• MSRP $549
• Available today

A welcome suprise to many of us in the business, ATI is launching the CrossFire edition of the X1900 today as well, and claims to have availability on it to boot. 

• Radeon X1900 CrossFire
• 625 MHz core clock
• 1.45 GHz memory clock
• 512 MB GDDR3
• MSRP $599
• Available today

The final card being announced today is also the most surprising.  Having just released their X1800 XL All-in-Wonder parts a couple of weeks ago, the X1900 AIW is a welcome addition to the lineup for everyone except those that bought the X1800 AIW.

• X1900 All-in-Wonder
• 500 MHz core clock
• 960 MHz memory clock
• MSRP $499
• Available today

Let's take a look at how these new cards compare in terms of performance:

Without a doubt, the Radeon X1900 XTX is the fastest graphics processor to grace the PC Perspective test bench.  While it didn't win all the tests we threw at it agains the likes of NVIDIA 7800 GTX 512, it came awfully close.  In several cases, the wins were big.  Look back at Far Cry, the Canals09 level of Half-Life 2, FEAR and Call of Duty 2; the wins there aren't the work of any driver hacks or fancy work-arounds.  The 48 pixel pipes in the X1900 architecture are hard at work in those tests and ATI's decision to beef them up in such a considerable way really is paying off.

The MSRP of the X1900 XTX is set at $649 from ATI and if the resellers with the cards in stock today keep things sane at around that price, then ATI will have a big win on their hands.  With the 7800 GTX 512s selling out across their initial inventory at more than $750 in many cases, a card that performs better and is cheaper will be a no brainer for most gamers that are already willing to spend that kind of money. 

In reality though, I think the slightly slower X1900 XT is going to be the most popular model.  AT $100 less in price, you lose out on 25 MHz of core speed and 100 MHz of memory speed, but chances are good you should be able to squeeze that out of an XT card with a little overclocking finesse.  The XT models will also probably be easier to find. 

If things stay on track for ATI, NVIDIA is going to be sitting with their hands to their heads wondering what went wrong.  After a series of strong hard product launches, the 7800 GTX 512 has been missing since only a week or so after its release last year.  NVIDIA claims to have more on the way, starting this week, but let's see if the supply channel can stay open this time.

Final Thoughts

ATI's R580 architecture was built up to be the company's saving grace, and it turns out to have been correct.  The X1900 XTX is the fastest GPU we have ever tested and is going to give NVIDIA some headaches until they can get their 90nm G70-based parts on the market with higher clocks and/or more pipes. The immediate availability of four X1900-based cards, the XTX, XT, CrossFire and All-in-Wonder, really shows that ATI has tweaked their 90nm technology and has things rolling in the right direction once again.

For more detailed information on this review of the ATI X1900 XTX and CrossFire Edition, please head on over to read our full, detailed review on the next page.

Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best prices on the ATI X1900 XTX, and anything else you may want to buy!

Click here for the Detailed Review