Thoughts
For the most part, the ASUS Radeon 9600XT/TVD is just an upgraded 9600 Pro. There's little difference in base architecture, and it seems to be a case of clock speed grunt increases rather than a more elegant approach involving improving efficiency. The 9600 Pro was a solid enough card and so is the 9600XT and its retail derivatives. With particular reference to ATI's partners, a 9600XT has been a 9600XT has been a 9600XT. What that translates to is the handful of retail partners that are willing to do anything other than follow ATI's lead with respect to design. ASUS isn't a 'newbie' in graphics card design - it's been doing it for a while. We like the slightly distinctive look of the 9600XT/TVD.
ASUS tries to make its card smarter than the competitions'. SmartDoctor 2 is a thoroughly useful addition to any card. The ability to control the GPU's fan speed and monitor a number of hardware-related facets does add value to the package. The card's construction is first class too. More perceived value is created by the inclusion of the cut-down Rage Theater VIVO chip and breakout box that houses both S-Video and composite ports for stream input and output. Given the limited cost of implementing it and ASUS' huge buying power, it's a sensible addition. We had no problems in using it on a basic level with the supplied PowerDirector software package.
That leads me nicely on to the bundle. ASUS does an MSI, which is include more utility CDs than I've installed Windows XP in the last week. It's not just for fattening up the bundle. Each CD contains genuinely useful programs that complement the card in one way or another. ASUS cannot control how the underlying GPU performs in relation to its competition, but it can decide to make the fullest use of the technology provided by ATI's finest minds.
Thankfully for ASUS, the RV360 is a solid, DX9 midrange offering from ATI. It's based on sound thinking and performs well in the face of NVIDIA's newer iteration of graphical processors. ASUS does well by including 2.8ns RAM modules, the same ones found on the Crucial 9800 Pro, incidentally. That's how and perhaps why it managed to reach a stable overclocked frequency of 576MHz GPU and 729MHz memory. Overclocked number were suitably impressive.
When evaluating a product for a final rating, we look at a number of factors. Firstly, how much has the manufacturer done to appease a wide spectrum of users ?. How good is its implementation on the whole ?. What kind of value-adding features does it use that go beyond most others' ?. Is the technology that it is based on sound ?. We feel that ASUS has done as much as anyone in relation to the RV360. Almost every facet is covered with thought and attention. Priced at around £145, it also represents good midrange value. Highly recommended.
