ATI's Refuge

As spring begins in the temperate climes, signaling a new year and a new beginning, the folks over at NVIDIA must be feeling pleased with their start to the season. The month of March has witnessed a competitive resurgence from the company, as it launched a slew of new products that has given it the edge in both the high and mid-range discrete graphics segment. While the race at the top is more or less even, depending on what applications and games you use, the lesser number of transistors (compared to ATI) used in NVIDIA's even more streamlined architecture means that it is able to undercut its rival with fast yet cheaper products; hence consumers should enjoy its attractive price performance ratios.

Meanwhile, the hard product launches from NVIDIA are a sharp contrast with ATI's answer to the newly introduced GeForce 7600 GT – the Radeon X1800 GTO. While we have all read and seen reviews of this 'reduced' X1800 XL product, they won't be in retail until the end of the month, or roughly two weeks after its introduction. Even then, its recommended price of US$249 may not withstand the cheaper allure of the US$199 GeForce 7600 GT.

NVIDIA may seem to hold the aces for now but it generally takes a while for the buying public to respond to the new NVIDIA cards; Time enough for ATI to craft its own response. Besides, the low-end is still relatively "NVIDIA-free", with only the GeForce 7300 GS the only rival from the newer generation. ATI has a whole range of Radeon X1300 cards to match the GeForce 7300 GS, though it will obviously face competition from older GeForce 6 cards also. However, we expect most new buyers to go for the latest generation, due to clever marketing if nothing else. The low-end is where the sales and revenue figures are and despite their relatively modest packaging and low profile in retail stores, they do sell. So for those who can only afford to gawk at the expensive models on display, the ASUS EAX1300PRO that we are about to feature is right up your alley. Here then is its nondescript looks and technical specifications:

ASUS is certainly consistent with its packaging; the more expensive, the larger the box. For the low-end ASUS EAX1300PRO, it is naturally a rather small package.