ATI Radeon Xpress 200: Performance, PCI Express & DX9 for Athlon 64
by Wesley Fink on November 8, 2004 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Final Words
Round 3 has been the most interesting round of the Athlon 64 chipset wars. VIA was first to demonstrate their PCI Express chipset, but it now appears they may be the last with retail product to the market. nVidia showed their nForce 4 PCIe Reference board just a few weeks ago and we are already expecting production samples from Tier 1 motherboard makers in the next week. ATI was last to announce a PCI Express chipset for Athlon 64, but OEM boards are already starting to ship from makers like MSI. That is not to say that Enthusiast boards based on the RX480 and high-end designs with the RS480 are shipping, as it will still be several weeks until these boards make their way to market.For their first effort at an AMD Athlon 64 chipset, we can only say we are beyond impressed with the ATI RX480/RS480 chipset. No matter how we compare the performance the ATI RX480 is competitive or a bit faster than the best Socket 939 boards we have tested at AnandTech. That in itself would be reason enough to suggest a long, hard look at the ATI RX480 chipset, but there's more. ATI also did their homework in this go round; delivering a board that will excite any enthusiast who gives it a whirl. nVidia got to their position of prominence in the AMD world with solid boards that catered to Enthusiasts. ATI appears to finally understand that pleasing the OEM market is not the same as exciting Enthusiasts. The ATI Bullhead is a monster overclocker with amazing performance, and ATI deserves huge praise for their efforts and their results with their first AMD chipset.
To competitive Athlon 64 performance and demonstrated overclocking abilities, we then add ATI's first DirectX 9 graphics. While the performance of the integrated graphics core can't even beat a X300 SE, ATI does stand alone in offering DX9 graphics compatibility on an integrated Athlon 64 platform. Compared to Intel's GMA 900, ATI's integrated graphics is a step (or two) ahead; add to that the exciting potential of Surround View with 3 or 4 monitors and the ATI RS480 chipset certainly looks like a worthwhile choice.
If we were to compare the very capable Athlon 64 solutions, our choice right now would be the new ATI RX480/RX480, but nVidia threw a significant wrench into the A64 with their simultaneous launch of SLI with nForce 4. Our previews have demonstrated that SLI is a significant boost for graphics performance. Combining two video cards is a solution that will definitely appeal to those aiming for top performance at one end of the spectrum and those seeking graphics upgradeability at the other end. For the rest of the market the ATI Radeon Express 200P and 200 will be a great choice. It is also worth noting that ATI specified that the x16 PCIe graphics slot can be programmed "to drive two devices". ATI shared plans to market their own SLI solution that they expect to launch in early 2005, so SLI will also likely be a choice with ATI in the near future.
We have no hesitation in recommending ATI Radeon Express as either a discrete or integrated solution for a top-line Athlon 64 system. The ATI will not disappoint in either stock performance, features, or overclocking capabilities that top the Athlon 64 pack. Our only concern at this point is that motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan are not accustomed to thinking of ATI for AMD chipsets. This means they may not even consider how really good ATI RX480/RS480 actually are. To them we say please take a closer look. The ATI RX480/RS480 are outstanding performers that definitely deserve a place on some top Enthusiast Athlon 64 motherboards.
Congratulations, ATI, you managed to pull it off! The last announcement of Round 3 of the Athlon 64 chipset wars may turn out to be the most significant introduction of all.
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ImJacksAmygdala - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
Good job Wesley and Anandtech staff, very nice article! Thanks for answering all the questions Wesley...Things are really heating up for AMD64 chipsets... I might just have to wait for Q1 2005, but then dual core CPUs will be the rage of rumor and HL2 is right around the corner ARGH!!!!!!
I might just bite the bullet and pull the trigger on an AMD64 3500+ with a Nforce4 or ATI chipset this holiday season because I really can't run HL2.... I cannot continue to wait for the next best thing. I have been waiting to upgrade since dual DDR was just a rumor... LOL!
xsilver - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
Are these going to be shipping mainly for s754 or s939? I think determining factor will be price, cheaper than nforce 4 ultra? isnt that going to be $150+? I think they need to get closer to $100 for any serious challenges..Penty - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
I don't know, I still want Tyan's new dual Opteron with dual SLI board.http://my.so-net.net.tw/brandon640410/NF41/004.JPG
Zebo - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
Nice article. But I'm afraid, like the out-standing SiS ref board, these may never see light of day but in budget off brand products like ECS, FOXCONN, MATSONIC etc nVidia just seems to dominate the enthusiast sector.:(Wesley Fink - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
#29 - A new Sounthbridge, called SB450, is due to debut the first of the year. It will feature High-Definition audio and other updates.RAID - Here is the reply from ATI regarding RAID on the Rx480/SB400:
"Your Raid answers are as follows:
Our Raid implementation will support up to 8 SATA devices. This is limited by ODM implementing appropriate amount of SATA channels on pcb.
1) Currently SB400 supports RAID on SATA, not on IDE (PATA).
2) IDE cannot be combined with SATA in RAID. Limited to SATA only.
3) We only support RAID 0 and RAID 1.
4) We do support hot swap for RAID 1. We can replace the failed hard disk and rebuild a new driver in RAID 1"
The review will be updated.
keitaro - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
Here's a hardware question for you folks. Given that SLI is becoming more and more of an option, I'd like to know if the scenerio I thought up can be possible. Also, a general question is "What can a HyperTransport link be used? Is it specifically a link from CPU to north/south-bridge or is it a general link for general access?"The above question will basically determine if the scenerio I thought of is possible. Basically have a HT link big enough for an additional chip where it supports additional PCI Express lanes for 1x, 2x, or 4x slots. I see current chipsets designed with 20 lanes, or in ATi's case 22 lanes, and it got me to wondering if such a scenerio is truly possible that a full dual 16x instead of dual 8x can be a reality. If you can explain or answer this, that'll be great.
mctmcpoop - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
The main problem of the ATI chipset will be the compatibility of south bridge ... Their south bridge sucks and that's why some of the RS350 motherboard use ULI south bridge instead of their solution ...http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/radeon-xpress...
You can check with the USB performance ... That can be called the most worst that I have ever seen ... And we still do not know if there is any compatibility issue of the USB interface unless there is a lot of ATI chipset based retail board hit the market …
And a preview board of chipset vendor is nothing important ... Where is the highly phrased SiS 755/755FX chipset based and good quality motherboard we can buy ? Sometimes there is something inside the chipset that we can reveal from the demo board if all the motherboard maker does not have the solution …
Anyway , time will tell …
FinalFantasy - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
#27 I doubt ATI is doing that. If the mobo's that ship are noticealbe different (performance wise) from the one's ATI are sending out for review, I know that there will be a huge backlash from the hobbyist community and ATI knows this.blckgrffn - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
Is no one else suspicious that ATI shipped out hand picked, thouroughly tested MOBO's that may not be representative of shipping boards? I will wait until I see a review of boards using this chipset in the future before I make up my mind.FinalFantasy - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link
Wow...ATI really stepped it up with their new chipset and integrated graphics solutions. This chipset should really give nVidia's NF4 a run for it's money. Also I agree w/#22...let's see some HDD performance benchies and what about an integrated software firewall or on-board RAID controller (article says similar to NF4's "Any-Drive")...how do these components compare to NF4's or does ATi's chipset even have them.I know I was skeptical about ATI coming out with an A64 chipset, but they've really gone above and beyond what I've expected with their "first" board. I am VERY impressed with their OC'ing performance.
I don't want to say that this new chipset is the best thing since sliced bread (I'm sure nVidia has a response to ATI's chipset in the works), but when it comes time to buy my 90nm A64 rev E0, ATI looks like they might have my business/money/whatever the hell you want to call it ;D.