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Review: Complete ATI Radeon X1600 Roundup - Got £100 for a card? Read this!

by Steve Kerrison on 28 June 2006, 10:24

Tags: ATi Technologies (NYSE:AMD)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaf4v

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MSI RX1600XT-T2D256EZ

Add a 'Z' to the product on the previous page and you have the same card, with the same clocks, but a completely silent, passively cooled solution

MSI_RX1600XT-T2D256EZ Front

MSI has actually put a rocket onto their passively cooled RX1600XT. Will that make it go faster? Probably not, but the lack of a fan will certainly make it completely silent. The heatsink itself is copper. It doesn't make contact with the memory, but as we've already established, this doesn't affect operation of these cards.

MSI_RX1600XT-T2D256EZ Back

Follow the heatpipes and you're lead to a secondary heatsink, as we're accustomed to with silent cooling solutions. It covers most of the surface area of the card. Once again, good case airflow will be required for this cooler to work well.

MSI_RX1600XT-T2D256EZ Outputs

Aside from noting the dual DVI and video outputs, you'll see that the heatsink stands quite tall. We have here another card that takes up two slots in a chassis, so watch out if it's going to cover up your favourite PCI(e) slot.

MSI_RX1600XT-T2D256EZ Bundle

MSI_RX1600XT-T2D256EZ Bundle 2

The bundle is exactly the same as its non-Z brother, making the double-sided heatsink the one and only difference between the two products.