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VisionTek PCI RADEON X1300 256 MB

VisionTek’s PCI based RADEON X1300 256 MB graphics card is a unique product that fills a unique niche. Does this PCI graphics card stack up to the PCI-Express competition? What potentials does it hold beyond 3D gaming?

Introduction

Based in the USA, VisionTek has been selling video cards since 1988, most notably under the Xtasy brand name. The company itself was liquidated a few years ago and the VisionTek and Xtasy brand names live on with new owners. Early on, they were a particular favorite of large-scale OEMs such as Dell, Compaq, and Gateway. Their graphics card lineup now exclusively features ATI GPUs, but that wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, VisionTek was NVIDIA’s preferred reference board partner. They actually manufactured reference cards for NVIDIA, which shipped to other video card builders. In fact, some vendors simply relabeled and resold VisionTek video cards as their own. These days, however, they are a strictly ATI shop with products ranging in scope from the low-end Radeon 7000 series to the highest end Radeon X1950XTX.

For this evaluation, VisionTek has provided us with an opportunity to spend some time with a unique product within their lineup, the PCI based Radeon X1300 256 MB graphics card. the ATI Radeon X1300 GPU, coupled with the relatively slow PCI bus, is not going to bring about any gaming miracles, make any hitherto unreachable milestones, or set any records. It’s not going to run Oblivion with HDR enabled at high resolutions, or make brave men weep in Half-Life 2. What it will do, however, is run a Dell 3007WFP 30” LCD monitor at 2560x1600, thanks to its Dual-Link DVI-I connector and allow any person with a PCI slot to use a current generation ATI GPU based video card or perhaps add another video card for multiple-monitors. It is currently the fastest consumer PCI-based graphics card you can buy. We will discuss more of its uses in the conclusion so be sure to read it thoroughly, you don’t want to miss that discussion.

The ATI Radeon X1300 GPU is manufactured in a 90nm process and packs 105 million transistors. It provides four pixel shaders, two vertex shaders, supports up to 128 simultaneous pixel threads, and runs at 450 MHz on this video card. The VisionTek Radeon X1300 PCI sports 256 MB of DDR2 memory running at 533 MHz on a 64-bit bus, a standard 15-pin VGA connector, a Dual-Link DVI-I connector, and the standard HDTV out connector. Clearly this is the slowest version of the ATI Radeon X1300 you can get. The 64-bit memory bus and reduction in pixel shader processors and vertex processors severely cripple the performance of this GPU.

VisionTek PCI RADEON X1300 256 MB

VisionTek’s packaging for this video card is exceptionally well-labeled. On the front, back, and on one side of the box, you will find pictures of the PCI slot which this video card is intended for. The left-side of the box actually features a life-sized picture of the PCI slot, and the rear shows a PCI slot, an AGP slot, and a PCI-Express x16 slot for comparison, with the PCI slot highlighted so you know what slot this video card fits. Features, requirements, and package contents are all well-marked and should provide no problems for potential buyers.

This video card is thin and short, allowing the buyer to easily install it into small-form-factor computers. It is short enough to be low-profile, but does not come bundled with the necessary replacement I/O bracket to convert it. The heatsink and fan unit is small, and is a bit of a departure from standard Radeon X1300 cooling fare. We will see if the smaller heat-sink requires a faster (and therefore noisier) fan to keep this GPU cool. Notice that the 15-pin VGA connector uses a familiar ribbon cable to connect to the PCB. This design is not uncommon, and is similar to the design of the MSI NX7300 GS TD256E that we evaluated some time ago. Some readers may remember the RFI noise problem we encountered with that video card. We sincerely hope that the Visiontek PCI RADEON X1300 does not suffer the same problem.

On the back of the card, we can plainly see two memory chips and the PCI-express to PCI bridge chip. The Radeon X1300 GPU is a native PCI-Express GPU and therefore requires a bridge chip to make it PCI compatible. The DDR2 memory is manufactured by MIRA, but we were unable to come up with any detailed information on the modules.

The PCI-express bridge chip is the PLX Technology model (link to PDF file) PEX8111-BB66BC F single-lane PCI-express to PCI bridge. Also noticeable is the heat-sink and fan unit's retention clip, which provides the tension necessary to keep the heat sink well-secured to the GPU. The bridge chip basically takes the PCI-Express link to the GPU and converts it to PCI. This of course means a major reduction in the bandwidth available for this video card. 33MHz PCI provides 133MB/sec of bandwidth at most, and this is shared between all other PCI devices. To put this in perspective PCI-Express provides 2.5 GB/sec of bandwidth.

Then there's the bundle. Or, should we say, the lack of the bundle. With only a driver installation CD-ROM and a quick-installation pamphlet, the package feels incomplete. There is no HDTV-out dongle, no composite/S-video out adaptor, and most noticeably, there is no DVI to VGA adaptor. These adaptors are all available from VisionTek's online store, but they are conspicuously absent from the video card package.

Disproportionate Cost

VisionTek has placed an MSRP of $129.99 on their PCI Radeon X1300. No doubt about it, that is a very high price for a Radeon X1300 GPU based video card. Part of the cost is likely due to the extra silicon on-board, in the form of the PCI-express to PCI bridge chip. Does that make up for the price difference between VisionTek's PCI Radeon X1300 and other PCI-Express based Radeon X1300's? Not likely. Though per-chip pricing on the PLX chip is not available from PLX, we very strongly doubt that it can make up the approximately $70 USD (or 100%) price difference between the VisionTek PCI X1300 and other manufacturers' PCI-express X1300 based video cards.

Currently, the best deal on the VisionTek PCI X1300 can be found at Monarch Computer, where it will cost you $112.69 plus shipping. The PCI-Express version from VisionTek can be had for just $88.99. There is a price premium for running on a PCI bus, it seems.