SAPPHIRE RADEON X1800 XT 512MB bundle and presentation
The box highlights the fact that the RADEON X1800 XT, right now, ships with 512MB of onboard memory. Whether that's wholly useful over and above 256MBs for today's games is a debatable point, and the upcoming benchmarks will show its relative worth. ATI's multi-GPU technology, CrossFire, is emblazoned across the central section, but, and it's a big one, getting your mitts on an X1800-series master card, needed for dual-GPU operation, is harder than you might imagine.
The bundle, rather unsurprisingly, is the same as the one provided with SAPPHIRE's RADEON X1800 XL 256MB package. The printed instruction manual is, well, rather too brief to be of much good. VIVO software is provided in the form of CyberLink's PowerDirector 3DE, as well as the company's PowerDVD 6 (2-channel version) supplied for DVD playback. The SAPPHIRE SELECT gaming bundle is an interesting concept. Four decent-ish games are supplied on a DVD. You then have the chance to trial all four games for up to an hour. Once you've decided which one is best for you, you use the access code contained on the DVD to unlock the full game through a secure on-line procedure. If more than one game takes your immediate fancy, it can be purchased at a discounted price, again through a web-based medium.
The driver CD, this time, contained a set of drivers that were newer than those supplied with the 'XL package. Indeed, trying to install the 'XL drivers on to the 'XT card met with abject failure. Here, ATI's '027813C set are bundled, an upgrade from the '027113C on the 'XT. A decent electronic manual rounds off the software side of things.
The hardware elements of the package include both RCA and S-Video cables, along with a handy splitter/extender that allows you to either output or input video through the S-Video socket. Further high-quality analogue connections are available through the S-Video-to-Component leads and SAPPHIRE includes the necessary PCIe-to-molex adapter and a couple of DVI dongles.
As bundles go for a £389 card, SAPPHIRE's has most of the bases covered. The card's 2-year warranty, matching Leadtek's, is also now becoming the standard for the industry.
