Mt. Tiburon Testing Labs
Asus EAX1800XT breaks speed limits
By C. Robert Dow, JPR Analyst
If the reviews for the Asus EAX1800XT TOP are as
good as the initial reviews of the ÒKing KongÓ movie then Asus will
be getting gaming converts. Asus, is making the connection by bundling
the official game of ÒKing KongÓ with the new Asus offering.
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Figure 1. Asus EAX1800XT TOP over-clocked AIB.
(Source: Asus)
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Asus promises that the R-520 based EAX1800XT will be
the fastest AIB using the X1800XT GPU, with the core clock speed cranked
to a racy 700MHz and a memory clock of 1.6 GHz (800 MHz GDDR3). ThereÕs
512 MB of GDDR3 on board. The 700MHz core clock is 75MHz faster than
the default speed of 625MHz. This extra speed comes at the expense of
some heat but Asus tackled that problem by installing ÒArctic Cooling
technologyÓ on the AIB giving it a boxy stealthy look. The x1800 XT
features 16 pixel processors, 8 vertex processors, Shader Model 3.0,
high dynamic rendering (HDR), and support for high-resolution LCD up
to 2560 x 1600, so if you could afford one, you could run that beautiful
new Apple monitor.
In addition to the software bundle of the official
ÒKing KongÓ game the EAX1800XT TOP includes the new XitePad gamepad,
which allows console gamers like me to enjoy the PC a bit more. The
bundled package is valued at close to US$100, said the company.
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Figure 2. Asus XitePad game controller. (Source:
Asus)
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No word on how much this beauty is going to sell for
but with the 7800 GTX 512MB going for $700+ the EAX1800XT Top probably
isnÕt far behind. And like the GTX 512, this is a two-slot AIB with
liquid cooling. With the new card ATI will be in better position to
tackle NvidiaÕs 7800 GTX 512MB which has been the Enthusiast segmentÕs
top performer since its release last month.
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