Graphics Processor / Vendor:
ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
Max Resolution (external):
2560 x 1600
Video Memory Installed:
256 MB / 256 MB (max)
Compatibility:
PC
Max monitors supported:
2
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by:
Rich Brown
Edited by:
Dan Ackerman
Reviewed on 10/5/05
Release date: 11/5/05
ATI's $149 256MB Radeon X1300 Pro 3D card suffers from the same graphics performance issues as the midrange Radeon X1600 XT. Neither card can compete with similarly priced products from Nvidia. Even more so than the Radeon X1600 XT, we recommend the Radeon X1300 Pro for its video features, thanks to the Avivo technology that ATI has included in all of its new X1000-series chips. But for gaming, we generally don't recommend a low-end card, and especially not the Radeon X1300 Pro, considering how it stacks up to the competition.
The one potential saving grace is the Radeon X1300 Pro's dual-card capabilities, which are more nimble than those of the other new ATI cards. The X1300 series (except for the HyperMemory version) also has the distinction of being one of the three new cards that ATI announced today that's also available for purchase immediately, along with the Radeon X1800 XL. The other 10 cards that ATI unveiled will receive a staggered release throughout the remainder of the year.
If you're looking for a complete breakdown of 3D features, check out our review of the ATI Radeon X1800 XT. That card and all of the new cards announced by ATI today have the same 3D and video features. Here, we'll focus on how the Radeon X1300 Pro stacks up to other cards in its price class.
The 3D performance of a low-end card is never anything to get too excited about, but in this new era of dual-graphics-card capabilities, it's worth thinking about the possibilities. Unlike ATI's other CrossFire-compatible graphics cards, the Radeon X1300 Pro doesn't require a special CrossFire Edition card to link two together. Instead, all you'll need are two 16x Express slots and ATI's Y-cable, and the cards will link up. We can't test it yet because to enable CrossFire you still need the correct drivers, which haven't been released for the X1000-series cards. Still, it's interesting to speculate that for a relatively low price, you might be able purchase a Radeon X1300 Pro now, then bump its 3D graphics capabilities up to a respectable level down the road by adding a second budget card, all with minimal technical trouble.
We can't recommend the ATI Radeon X1300 Pro based on its current 3D performance. At this card's $149 price point, you'll also find Nvidia's 128MB GeForce 6600 GT, the midrange entry from Nvidia's previous generation of 3D cards. That card also supports all of the same advanced 3D features, such as Shader Model 3 and high dynamic range lighting, that the Radeon X1300 Pro does, so it's an apples-to-apples comparison as far as 3D gaming. It's worth noting that, similar to ATI's CrossFire capability, you can also pair together two GeForce 6600 GT's in Nvidia's SLI mode. But even in single-card mode, the GeForce 6600 GT trounces the Radeon X1300 Pro.
In order to achieve frame rates indicative of the way gamers at this price point might play a 3D game, our colleagues at GameSpot (who graciously provided us with test results), dialed down the detail settings to eliminate antialiasing and anisotropic filtering. Those features improve image quality greatly, but they do so at a significant loss in performance, and at the lower end of the 3D card totem pole, you'll have to make some sacrifices for a playable frame rate. The result, on every single test, the GeForce 6600 GT card outpaced the Radeon X1300 Pro. The closest the ATI card came was on FutureMark's 3DMark 2005 test, where on the 1,024x768-resolution test, the Radeon X1300 Pro was only 28 percent behind the GeForce 6600 GT. The worst, which is one of the worst defeats we've ever seen, was on the Doom 3 test, where the GeForce 6600 GT was 102 percent faster than the Radeon.
You can forget about the Radeon X1300 Pro for gaming, but if you're looking for a video playback solution for your PC, the Radeon X1300 Pro has a lot to offer. As it comes with ATI's new Avivo video technology, you get support for H.264, a forward-looking codec that will become a crucial component of video's HD future. We especially like the Radeon's video image quality capabilities, lending processing power to improving video image quality. You also get a screen in ATI's driver that lets you adjust the video settings to your preference. PC-based video still isn't great, so we appreciate any features aimed at making it better.
Half-Life 2 custom demo (in fps)(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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1,024x768, high quality, 4X antialiasing, 8X anisotropic filtering | |
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1,024x768, high quality mode | |
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800x600, high quality mode with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering | |
Doom 3 demo #3 (in fps)(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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1,024x768, high quality mode | |
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800x600, high quality mode | |
3DMark 2005 (in fps) (Longer bars indicate better performance)
Test results provided by Sarju Shah, associate editor, GameSpot.
ATI driver used: Catalyst 5.9 (WHQL), Beta X1x00 drivers (for X1000-series cards)
Nvidia driver used: ForceWare 78.01 (WHQL)
Graphics test bed: 2.4GHz Athlon 64 FX-57; (2) 512MB Corsair XMS 3200XLPRO DDR memory 1,024MB DDR SDRAM running at 400MHz; Seagate 7200.7 160GB NCQ SATA hard drive; Asus A8N SLI motherboard; Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2
