Gigabyte Radeon X1800 XL Video Card Review

"Features of the new GIGABYTE's GV-RX18L256V-B benefited from 90nm process includes an ultra-threaded 3D core architecture and full support for Microsoft^® Direct^®X 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 for unprecedented graphics rendering performance and blazingly fast graphics processing speeds. The flag-ship GV-RX18L256V-B features a 512-bit ring-bus memory controller with the fastest available rendering engine, a new cache design and improved Hyper Z™ technology to ensure outstanding data flow." - Gigabyte

To summarize the new features:

Supports PCI Express and 16 pipelines

Microsoft DirectX 9.0C and OpenGL 2.0 support

Integrated with the industry's best 256MB GDDR3 memory and 256-bit memory interface

Features dual DVI-I / D-sub (by adapter) / TV-OUT

Supports HDTV function and HDTV cable enclosed

Supports VIVO function for video editing

The install:

I installed the Gigabyte X1800 XL onto my Gigabyte GA-8ANXP-D motherboard. The Board is running a P4 3.0 processor cooled by a Cooler Master Vortex TX cooler and a Cooler Master Blue Ice Chipset Cooler. For RAM , I am using 2 x 512 Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2. The Super Flower SF-201T case contains two Western Digital Raptor 74 Gig drives in a raid 0 array and a Lite-on DVD burner. Cooling duties are shared by a Thermotake Hardcano 13 and a Vantec Nexus controller.

On my ASUS board the card is just long enough to sit over the IDE connectors forming a sort of wall between the primary and secondary controllers. Every thing fits but the length may effect some installs. Don't forget the power must be connected to the card!

The Software:

Standard Interface

Advanced Interface

The Catalyst Control center provided with the X1800 XL provides access to a comprehensive set of tools for tweaking your Radeon in just about everyway possible. The initial screen includes several keys across the top to aid in setting your X1800 XL up for the optimal user experience.

They are:

View - which allows you to switch to an advanced view or the standard view shown above. You can even set a custom view.
HotKeys - to allow for user created hotkey setup.
Profiles - where Catalyst settings can be stored for different applications or users.
Preferences - Allows you to define the behavior of the Control Center software and restore defaults.
Help - Help is included and also available through ATI online.


Click to Enlarge

The four tabs under graphic settings are pretty self explanatory. The pictures of the 3D preview and the Video preview feature animated graphics to aid in tuning settings from within the Control Center.

The included Counter-Strike Condition Zero is an update of the classic Counter-Strike 1.6. If you are a fan of the original this is a nice opportunity to try the lesser known single player version. The 18 included maps offer up some old favorites and some new twists as well.

Xpand Rally (XR) is a rally game from Techland. I must admit I have only a passing interest in rally racing but Xpand Rally sure looks great. Basically an arcade racer at heart, XR allows some tweaking of your car and a lot of different cars to choose from. The cars are all generic look-alikes that you will easily be able to identify on your own.

The Multimedia software includes Power DVD 6.0 and Power Director 3. POWER DVD is a full featured DVD playback suite. Power Director is a nice little video editing suite with video capture and some fun effects built in. I am not much of a video editor but the Power DVD is nice and easy to use. The version included is an OEM two channel version. I recommend upgrading to get the most out of the software.