Wednesday, September 7th 2005
R520 spy pics
HKEPC has the R520 core picture (here), we have the full PCB.
The card you are seeing is the R520 XT. It is a dual slot solution and uses a cooler similar to the X850. ATI will also offer one-slot versions which will have less performance.
The will only be PCI-Express boards. AGP versions are definitely not planned.
Internally the chip will use 512-bit memory transfers. However, the external memory interface will still be 256-bit - expect some nice marketing from ATI regarding that "feature".
Right now the product lineup is:
R520 XT
In the thread at HKEPC linked above (translated) "it is likely that the ATI R520 will change its name to ATI Radeon X1800 series, the estimated release date for the ATI X900 series is early October".
One of these two names is correct my source says, he didn't want to reveal which one though. The October release date is correct.
The will only be PCI-Express boards. AGP versions are definitely not planned.
Internally the chip will use 512-bit memory transfers. However, the external memory interface will still be 256-bit - expect some nice marketing from ATI regarding that "feature".
Right now the product lineup is:
R520 XT
- 512MB RAM
- ~600 MHz core
- ~650-700 MHz memory
- Dual slot cooling
- Dual DVI
- 256MB RAM
- ~500 MHz core
- ~500 MHz memory
- Single slot cooling
- VGA + DVI
- 256MB RAM
- ~450 MHz core
- ~450 MHz memory
- Single slot cooling
- VGA + DVI
- 256MB RAM
- ~600 MHz core
- ~650-700 MHz memory
- Dual slot cooling
- VGA + DVI
In the thread at HKEPC linked above (translated) "it is likely that the ATI R520 will change its name to ATI Radeon X1800 series, the estimated release date for the ATI X900 series is early October".
One of these two names is correct my source says, he didn't want to reveal which one though. The October release date is correct.
150 Comments on R520 spy pics
I know the 6600GT probably owns the upper midrange crown as it clobbers the X700Pro, so when is the 7600GT gonna be released? And what's the whole deal about Shader Model 3 support?
Always buy a PSU from a Tier 1 manufacturer such as Antec, Acbel or Enermax. Since you're gonna get a 7800GTX, and you may be going SLI in the future, you're need a minimum of 500W. That said, I would recommend Antec Truepower II 550W or Acbel I-Power 500W or 550W. The Acbel has TRIPLE 12V rails for more stable power to your CPU, GC and MB, perfect for power hungry cards or SLI setups. As for Enermax, I don't have any recommendations. You can ask Bonami as he owns a Enermax PSU. Don't know if this is true, but I read somewhere that a 7800GTX SLI requires a minimum 22A on the 12V rail.
Although they cost more than other brands, please bear in mind that a good PSU will provide you with years of stable power to your expensive components, and will last you at least a few upgrades. I can't stress this enough. Those generic PSUs that come bundled with cheap casings are crap really, as they cannot supply the exact wattage specified. Using a lousy PSU may fry your system or result in system instability or crashes. As a general guide, you can judge the quality of the PSU by its weight. The heavier the PSU, the better it is.
THat shows the Minimum System Requirements.
NVIDIA SLI configurations, a minimum 500W system power supply (with 12V rating of 34A)
-Dan
Those X1800's better score that good, if they want to beat Nvidia. The prices they are asking aren't very good compaired to Nvidia at the moment.
-Dan
ATI got a bit big headed....
i mean if 1 x850 is better than 1 6800u, i would imagine that crossfire x850 is better than 6800u sli?
correct me if im wrong
-Dan
:p
-Dan
from what ive read so far it would appear that my theory is correct, it makes me wonder how people complain about crossfire not being able to keep up with 7800 sli, theyre 2 DIFFERENT generation cards, but when compared to 6800 sli.............pwn3d
just wait for x1800 crossfire ;)
all i can say is that this week is going to be very interesting and im looking forward to every minute of it :D
Here is a review I found showing that both SLI 6800 Ultra and Crossfire x850 XT are pretty evenly matched so far. And I think that the new x1800 series should close the gap on nVidia and possibly take it the dual card throne away(but we are not certain yet).
So as usual it depends on the games you play most and what you are doin with the dual Video cards.
sorry for going off topic :o
The P/S I bought was the Enermax 535 PCI-E -SLI Ready!! Exellent P/S and Nvidia Approved!! I just Sold my 3500+ and bought my 3700+ with that San-Diego Core,And I Love it!! Later Guys!!
-Dan