Product Listing

ASUS EAX1950PRO (Radeon X1950 PRO 256MB)

By Vincent Chang - 20 Oct 2006

The ASUS EAX1950PRO 256MB

The ASUS EAX1950PRO 256MB

Like we said, we aren't too sure why large two-slot coolers seem popular for the Radeon X1950 PRO despite the introduction of ATI's own single slot reference solution. The mystery persist more so because this SKU uses a new 80nm die that should be less demanding than the castrated R580 chips used on the older Radeon X1900 GT cards. Naturally, a single slot cooler has its advantages, provided that performance is not compromised. For the ASUS EAX1950PRO, it was quiet and frankly, we couldn't really distinguish between that and the one we found on the PowerColor Radeon X1950 PRO. As long as we don't notice the cooler in action, it's a good sign that the 'thermal buster' is doing a good job (granted that the temperatures recorded are in the low region).

The ASUS has a custom cooler that ends up taking slightly more than an expansion slot.

The large heat pipe based cooler takes up an extra expansion slot

According to ATI, the specifications for the Radeon X1950 PRO are 575MHz for the core and 1380MHz for the memory. ASUS has tweaked the clocks slightly, giving us a core running at 580MHz while the memory was also boosted to 1400MHz. The impact on the benchmarks is likely to be limited but yes, technically, one could say that the ASUS is overclocked.

The ASUS EAX1950PRO comes with dual-link DVI and HDCP support, features that have become the new standard nowadays, especially for high-end graphics. Whether they are useful at the moment will depend on your usage but we have no complaints about graphics chipmakers taking the lead to extend the lifespan and usefulness of their products.

There was some contact between the transistors and the cooler through a thin strip of thermal pad. It probably helps a bit to cool these components.

To our dismay, the ASUS EAX1950PRO does not come with the CrossFire bridge, which is supposed to ship with every Radeon X1950 PRO. The idea was when you acquire a pair, you would get the two bridges as well (one from each card) and you could have the internal CrossFire solution up and running. According to ASUS, the reason is that the company is offering a 'CrossFire Edition' package that will immediately provide two of the bridges, along with an enhanced bundle and feature set. This idea works to ASUS' advantage since they can ship a leaner package with the standard cards (which we'll get to that later) and pass the savings on to users. However, this also creates a dependency to be anchored to ASUS for your second graphics card if you decide CrossFire them. We suppose consumers could go out and purchase the connector themselves if they want to mix and match cards, but it does seem like a disservice to the consumer. ASUS may change this policy to have just one standard SKU, but there's no word about that at the time of publishing.

Here's the empty space where the Rage Theater ASIC is usually located.

The presence of a 'premium' Radeon X1950 PRO edition from ASUS was also probably why unlike the PowerColor Radeon X1950 PRO, this card did not come with a Rage Theater ASIC that would have given it VIVO functionality. As VIVO is not a standard feature in the Radeon X1950 PRO, vendors can choose to exclude it at their own discretion and we believe that ASUS must be holding it back for the presumably more expensive 'CrossFire edition'.

Expect no less than HDCP support from a Radeon X1950 PRO, as mandated by ATI.

The sparse bundle included with the ASUS EAX1950PRO further confirms that this is a 'budget' version targeted at those who prefer a lean package without the unnecessary items. This means that there are no games or applications in the package. There is the all-important driver CD, along with a few cables and accessories. Since ASUS seems intent on removing the bloat, we couldn't figure what the leather CD wallet is doing in the bundle:-

  • 1 x DVI-to-VGA adaptor
  • 6-pin Molex power connector
  • 9-pin mini-DIN to Component dongle
  • Quick Installation Guide
  • Driver CD
  • Leather CD wallet
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