Test: MSI RX1800XL-VT2D256E

Konklusion

ATi har virkelig oppet sig med deres X1000-serie. Her får vi både SM3.0, nye spændende shader-processorer, AVIVO, og mængder af indstillinger. Teknologisk ligger kortet i toppen og kan faktisk arbejde i CrossFire og teknisk set er forskellen med X1900, X1800, X1600 og X1300 meget lille. Her er kun ydelsen forskelligt men det bedømmer vi senere. Selve chippen er der ikke meget at sætte, så her får innovation og teknologi 5

MSI sendte en rigtig spændende bundle med. Her var der et spil som flere inkl. mig selv vil kunne få rigtig meget tid til at gå med. Flere gode programmer, alle tænkelige adaptorer og stik, ja selv et klistermærke . Her kan jeg kun give 5

Design og layout har MSI valgt at bruge ATi's egen køleløsning, som jeg finder så dårlig og støjende, at jeg mener ATi har lavet en fejltagelse. Og derfor undre jeg mig også over hvorfor MSI har valgt den. De har nemlig tidligere gjort sig ret bemærkede for gode støjsvage køleløsninger. Selve printets udformining er ret stort og samme som X1800XT, men holder sig stadig indenfor hvad der er tiladeligt af sådan et kort. 2 point.



CCC-driveren er gennemført. CCC-driveren har en bred mulighed for indstillingerne, og kan tilpasses den enkelte, men det kan især gøre den lidt uoverskuelig for nybegyndere og personligt synes jeg stadigt det er tungt, og tager langt tid at starte op. Man kan dog godt bruge det gamle controlpanel, men i dag er det meget tydeligt at det er CCC-driveren ATi satser på, og derfor er det svært at finde andet. I software/bios får de 3.

Ydelsen er god uden at være imponerende. X1800XL har tidligere vist sig at være langsommere end nVidia's Geforce7800GT der samtidig med er billigere, mindre støjende. Her får kortet 2 point

Kortet er på EDBpriser prissat til 3150kr. Jeg synes det er meget dyrt for sådan en model, der pga den høje pris får konkurrenter som X1800XT og Geforce7800GTX. Selvom bundlen er meget stor og rigtig spændende kan det slet ikke retfærdiggøre en merpris fra det billigste Geforce7800GT på 1000kr og billigste X1800XL på 500kr. Her får kortet kun 1.

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Summary

ATi has really gotten their act together with their X1000 series. We get both SM3.0, new exciting shader processors, AVIVO as well as lots of settings.
Technologically the card is top notch, it can actually work in CrossFire, and the technical differences between the X1900, X1800, X1600 and the X1300 are very small. Only the performance differs, but we will look at that later. There isn't anything to complain about with the chip itself, so technology and innovation gets a 5.

MSI has included a very exciting bundle. Lots of games which many people, including myself, will be able to spend a lot of time on. Several good applications, all the adapters and connectors you can dream off, even a sticker! Here I can give nothing but a 5.

Design and layout. MSI has chosen to use ATi's own cooling solution, which is way to lousy and noisy - I think ATi has really made a mistake here.
Which is why I wonder why MSI has chosen it, as they in the past has provided some quite good and quiet cooling solutions.
The PCB is quite large, much as the X1800XT, but it does stay within what is allowed for such as card. A score of 2.


The CCC-driver is very complete. Lots of settings which can be tweaked individually, but it can be somewhat chaotic for newcomers to use, and personally I think it's quite heavy, and it takes a long time to start. You can still use the good old control panel, but it's clear that ATi is focusing on the CCC-driver, so it's hard to find anything else. Software/BIOS gets a 3.

The performance is good without being impressive. The X1800XL has in earlier tests shown that it is slower that nVidia's 7800GT, which is also cheaper and less noisy. Only a score of 2 here.

The price at the Danish online price database www.EDBpriser.dk is currently around 3150 DKK. I think it is very expensive for such a model, which in this price range competes with much faster cards such as the X1800XT and the Geforce 7800GTX. Although the bundle is very large and exciting it can in no way justify a price 1000 DKK higher thatn the cheapest 7800GTX and 500 DKK more than the cheapest X1800XL. Only a low score of 1 here.