Both chips are manufactured by TSMC using the same 90-nano fabrication process, though.ĭespite sporting one third the transistors and a much smaller die area, the Radeon X1300 retains many of the features you’ll find in the high-end X1800 series, including a native PCI Express interface, full support for Shader Model 3.0, and ATI’s Avivo video suite. Thus, the RV515 is roughly 65% smaller than R520. Fewer transistors allow ATI to squeeze the Radeon X1300’s graphics chip onto a die that measures just 95 mm², according to our handy plastic ruler. The entire Radeon X1000 series shares the same basic GPU architecture, but the RV515 graphics chip in the Radeon X1300 Pro does so with just 105 million transistors-one third that of R520 GPU that powers the Radeon X1800.
S3 may not have a high-end line from which to borrow technology, but at least on paper, the Chrome S27 looks more potent than the budget offerings from ATI and NVIDIA.Ĭan S3’s Chrome S27 pull off an improbable coup and snatch the budget graphics crown, or does either the Radeon X1300 Pro or the GeForce 7300 GS prove superior? We’ve rounded up a trio of graphics cards that cost under $80 and subjected them to an array of graphics performance and video playback tests to find out.Ī testament to the shrinking generation gap between high- and low-end graphics cards, ATI’s budget Radeon X1300 Pro was announced on the same day as the company’s then-flagship Radeon X1800 series. S3 has slowly clawed its way back into the game, and the Chrome S27 is poised to take on the GeForce 7300 GS and Radeon X1300 Pro at the low end of the market. While ATI and NVIDIA have successfully massaged their Radeon X1000 and GeForce 7 architectures into more affordable flavors, they’re not the only ones duking it out in the budget space. Gone are the days when low-end parts were a generation behind their mid-range and high-end counterparts these days, budget offerings share the same basic architecture as bleeding-edge flagships and often launch on the same day. In recent years, this trickle down has happened sooner rather than later. Sure, we might not always be able to afford them (or at least justify their cost to our better halves) but sooner or later we know the technology will trickle down to lower price points.
They’re often the first to showcase new features and capabilities, and they generally represent the cutting edge of graphics technology. H IGH-END GRAPHICS CARDS tend to get a disproportionate amount of attention, and for good reason.
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