Part 3 exam sorry ptul2x...

Latest VideoCard

The X1950 main upgrade compared to the X1900 series specification wise is the increased memory bandwidth, as the memory chips are now running at 1000 Mhz (x2 DDR: 2000 Mhz - 2 Ghz). To achieve this speed ATI is using GDDR4 memory chips, these are blistering fast but don?t need extreme cooling to run at these speeds. Speaking about cooling, the new reference heatsink on this video card is quite a step up from the previous one. It?s larger, redder and looks to provide a better noise/performance ratio than any other high end ATI VGA card has had before.

ATI Radeon X1950XTX PCI-E Video Card 100-435843, 512MB GDDR4, CrossFire Ready, HDTV, Avivo, w/ Dual DVI

Imagine games with hyper realistic light blooms, lifelike skin textures, and silky smooth hair. That's what it's like on ATI's fastest and most flexible 3D graphics processor. Radeon X1950 graphics. Never comprise.

Features: State-Of-The-Art Performance: Turn your PC into a gaming powerhouse. Ignite a new gaming experience by adding an additional CrossFire graphics card and a CrossFire Ready motherboard. Enjoy broad compatibility with games, graphics cards and motherboards. All Gaming All The Time: Rip through games with 512 MB of GDDR4 memory for maximum performance. Play the latest games with fast frame rates and "no compromise" image quality. Immerse yourself in photorealistic gameplay with simultaneous HDR and adaptive anti-aliasing effects. Avivo High-End Video and Display: Rediscover your photos and video and experience over 1 billion colors1. Watch crystal clear video playback. Ready your multimedia system for HDCP2 and watch high-definition content.

Specifications: 512 MB GDDR4 memory. Shader Model 3.0. High dynamic range. CrossFire ready. 2 x Dual-link DVI outputs. HDCP support. Video-in/Video-out. Windows Vista Premium Ready3.

System Requirements: PCI Express based PC is required with one x16 lane graphics slot. available on the motherboard and one additional adjacent expansion slot. Connection to the system power supply is required: 450-Watt power supply or greater, 30 Amps on 12 volt rail recommended (assumes fully loaded system). For CrossFire: 550 watt power supply or greater, 38 Amps on 12 volt rail. 512MB of system memory. Installation software requires CD-ROM drive. DVD playback requires DVD drive and decoder software (not included).

Part 2 exam

Intel D915PBL is based on the Intel 915P Express; it will help us estimate the performance of the chipset with DDR2 SDRAM.

ABIT AG8. ABIT made its i915P-based mainboard compatible with DDR SDRAM rather than with DDR2. This mainboard will help us evaluate the performance of the Intel 915P Express chipset with dual-channel DDR400 SDRAM.

ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe. This is an i865PE-based mainboard, but it matches the performance of i875-based products due to ASUS’ exclusive HyperPath technology. Note also that this mainboard can work with DDR533 SDRAM with the processor operating at its rated frequency, which makes it a most exciting object for comparison with the i925/i915-based boards.

Part 1 exam

Intel D925XCV. This mainboard is based on the Intel 925X Express chipset. I used this mainboard to examine the performance of this chipset with dual-channel DDR2-533 and dual-channel DDR2-400 memory.

Intel D925XCV uses the south bridge ICH6R.

As a result, the board supports four SerialATA channels which allow setting up two RAID arrays of levels 0,1 or MatrixRAID.

Also, due to the ICH6R the board offers 8 USB2.0 ports. Four of these are installed on the rear panel, with 4 more connected with brackets (the board comes bundled with one bracket for two ports).

Intel D925XCV also supports IEEE1394 ("Firewire"). To that end, there is an additional Agere's FW323-06 controller onboard.

Therefore, the board offers support for up to 3 IEEE1394 ports: one mounted on the board's rear panel, with the other 2 connected through a bracket (there is a bracket that is put as a bundled item).

Intel D925XCV also offers 8-channel integrated Intel High Definition Audio, with ALC880 chip used as the codec.

A cocple of words on the overclocking: there is a high-speed Marvell Yukon 88E8050 (Gigabit Ethernet) LAN controller onboard. It is connected directly to a separate PCI Express bus, which gives a substantial increase the real data transmission rate.

Now take a look at the board's rear panel.

We have a standard set of connector: PS/2 ports for the keyboard and mouse, one parallel and one serial ports, audio outputs for the 8-channel audio, optical and coaxial SP-DIF outputs, four USB2.0 ports, one Firewire and one network port (RJ-45).

Intel D925XCV has only one jumper that is used for clearing the BIOS settings. Its operation principle is somehow different from other, similar jumpers. In the nominal position (1-2), the system starts up normally; in the (2-3) position we immediately get into the BIOS regardless of any settings (including the memory latency timings). The user can also change any passwords. But if we leave the jumper completely open, then the "BIOS recovery from diskette" function will snap on.

The board features in an additional Molex power connector installed in the bottom-left corner of the board (which means it will be missing on the microATX version).

It is possible to plug in whatever additional devices inside the housing (e.g. illumination :). It should be noted also that power application is adjustable from within the BIOS.