9600 XT board layout

ASUS 9600 XT/TVD

Back of the XT card

Like their RADEON 9800 XT board, the biggest addition ASUS brings to the RADEON 9600 XT platform is video input support, which is provided by the external Rage Theater chip on the underside of the card. Rage Theater is a proven chip that was only recently replaced by THEATER 200 on ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO (and newer) cards a little over a year ago.

This feature gives both ASUS cards a unique advantage that no other ATI card can match short of the more expensive ALL-IN-WONDER line. Not even ATI themselves offer video input on their RADEON line of graphics cards, so kudos to ASUS for bucking the system and offering a feature no one else has taken the effort to implement.

9600 XT/TVD back plate

Rage Theater onboard

One other unique aspect of the RADEON 9600 XT/TVD that really stands out is the heatsink. It’s a conventional aluminum heatsink, just like ATI’s RADEON 9600 XT card, but as you can see in the pictures, ASUS’ corporate logo is plainly visible, in bold text to boot. ASUS must be particularly proud of this card, it’s certainly a first.

The heatsink itself has tall, long fins and covers enough surface area to also cool the DDR memory modules on the top of the board. The fan itself isn’t as large as ATI’s, but it’s effective at keeping the graphics core cool. You should also note that both ASUS boards have their fan connectors in locations that differ slightly from ATI’s reference design as well as a third lead that’s responsible for monitoring the rotation speed of the card’s fan.

Nice touch ASUS

VIVO module, software bundle

The final area we were curious to inspect on the RADEON 9600 XT/TVD was the memory modules ASUS implemented on their board. As you probably know, a lot of enthusiasts were disappointed by ATI’s decision to stick with 600MHz DDR memory for the RADEON 9600 XT, the same clock speed they’d relied on for the RADEON 9600 PRO. This means that the faster 9600 XT graphics core is going to be starving for more memory bandwidth at higher resolutions and/or with eye candy features such as anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering turned on.

ASUS gives overclockers are reason to breathe a sigh of relief by incorporating 350MHz DDR memory modules from Samsung on their RADEON 9600 XT/TVD. This means that the memory modules on this card are good for 700MHz, 100MHz higher than default. For some of you, this feature alone could make the RADEON 9600 XT/TVD worth buying! Just like the Rage Theater chip, this is a very nice touch from ASUS.

Packaging

In addition to a voucher to receive a free copy of Half-Life 2, both ASUS cards ship with ASUS DVD XP, Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro 2.55 and Media Show SE 2.0, as well as copies of Cool 3D SE 3.0, and Photo Express SE 4.0 both from Ulead. Game titles include Gun Metal, Battle Engine Aquila, and a 6-in-1 CD of game demos (Splinter Cell, Warcraft III, Big Mutha Truckas, BREED, Colin McRae 3, TOCA Race Driver). ASUS then rounds the software packaging out with their own software, ASUS GameFace, ASUS Digital VCR II, and ASUS VideoSecurity II.