The 12 inch long OEM ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX
Sizing up the difference between the 12 inch and 9.5 inch cards
AMD's flagship ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX fails to usurp the GeForce 8800 GTX's performance crown
AMD is close to unveiling its long-awaited R600-based ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. DailyTech previously posted benchmarks comparing the Radeon HD 2900 XT and GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB.
Up until March of 2007, the spearhead of the ATI Radeon HD 2900-family was the upcoming ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX. This model is the big daddy of AMD’s DirectX 10 lineup, poised to take on NVIDIA’s GeForce 8800 GTX and upcoming 8800 Ultra.
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX video cards feature 1GB of GDDR4 video memory, besting the GeForce 8800 GTX’s 768MB of GDDR3 video memory. GPU manufacturers often wait to set the exact clock frequencies of bins until just weeks before launch. Our Radeon HD 2900 XTX sample was released to board partners in the second week of April, features memory clocked at 2.02 GHz and a core clock of 750 MHz.
Physically, the Radeon HD 2900 XTX core is identical to the Radeon HD 2900 XT core. Both feature 320 stream processors, but the XTX differs by bringing GDDR4 to the package.
Despite the reference clock speed differences, DailyTech managed to push the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT up to 845 MHz core and 1.99 GHz memory.
Unlike the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT benchmarked yesterday, the HD 2900 XTX is a 12-inch card geared specifically towards OEMs and system integrators. Expect retail box ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX graphics cards to use the shorter 9.5-inch design, as with the HD 2900 XT.
The test system specifications are as follows:
- AMD ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT (745 MHz core, 800 MHz GDDR3)
- AMD ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTX (750 MHz core, 1010 MHz GDDR4)
- AMD ATI Catalyst v8.361 (drivers slated for retail)
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX (650 MHz core, 1000 MHz GDDR3)
- ASUS P5N32-E SLI (nForce 680i)
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800
- Corsair XMS2 PC2-8500 (800 MHz, 5-5-5-18, 1T)
- Acer X241W
It's important to note that the GeForce 8800 GTX is a vendor overclocked board that comes shipped with the 650 MHz core clock.
Frames per second 1280x1024
| Game
| Radeon HD
2900 XTX | Radeon HD
2900 XT
| GeForce
8800 GTX
| Company of Heroes
| 97.1
|
N/A
| 128.6
| |
F.E.A.R. | 84
| 79
| 125
| Half Life 2: Episode 1
| 117.9
| 118.9
| 157.1
|
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
| 100.3
| 101.4
| 110.5
|
Frames per second 1600x1200
| Game
| Radeon HD
2900 XTX | Radeon HD
2900 XT
| GeForce
8800 GTX
| Company of Heroes
| 73.7
|
N/A
| 94.5
| |
F.E.A.R. | 58
| 54
| 90
| Half Life 2: Episode 1
| 91.5
| 90.8
| 134.2
|
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
| 87.9
| 86.2
| 102.9
|
Frames per second 1920x1200
| Game
| Radeon HD
2900 XTX | Radeon HD
2900 XT
| GeForce
8800 GTX
| Company of Heroes
| 53.2
|
N/A
| 80
| |
F.E.A.R. | 53.7
| 52
| 81.7
| Half Life 2: Episode 1
| 68.2
| 67.8
| 100.2
|
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
| 75.1
| 73.4
| 98.4
|
The benchmarks DailyTech performed yesterday utilized release candidate drivers. Today's tests used retail drivers ATI released to its board partners.
The less than stellar performance benchmarks are no surprise to board partners and AMD insiders. Two independent ATI board builders told DailyTech that Radeon HD 2900 XTX will not be a part of their initial portfolios. Given the additional memory cost and bulky card footprint, it seems unlikely the XTX will ever see the light of day.
|