Choosing among HD2600XT with DDR3, DDR4, or 8600GT? Or 7900GS, X1950Pro? Tests in the No AA/AF mode
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Date: 08.08.2007 |
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MSI HD2600XT 512 Mb GDDR3 Heat Pipe Cooling
The next video card which took part in our tests, albeit based on the same RV630XT video processor, offers a number of essential differences from the previously reviewed reference video card.
Of course, the difference is not about the nice-looking package box of the MSI product. What matters more is what is shown on it. Above all, it is the capacity and type of the video memory – 512 MB GDDR3. And of course there is a passive cooling system based on heat pipes.
The reverse side of the package contains a standard description of technologies supported by the video processor and the system requirements. It says the power of the PSU should be at least 450 W which provides 30 A current over the 12V line. These requirements look somehow overstated for a middle-end video card not equipped with a connector for additional power supply (which means the power consumption does not exceed 75 W - the maximum for the PCI-Express bus). We note the presence of a DVI/HDMI adapter in the bundle to plug in high-resolution panels. The package bundle in full looks like this:
- DVI/HDMI adapter
- DVI/D-Sub adapter
- S-Video/Composite-out adapter
- HDTV-out adapter
- S-Video cable
- User's manual
- drivers CD
As you see, the HD2600XT version equipped with GDDR3 video memory is made using a shorter PCB. The central part where there is the video processor is closed with an aluminum lid, with the heat pipes running to the reverse side of the PCB where a passive cooler is located.
The front view of the PCB with the cooler removed does not change much. Under the lid, there are two more video memory chips, and that's all. There is no space for a video capture chip, but that is not a substantial shortcoming.
Much of the reverse side of the PCB is hidden under the radiator made of thin aluminum fins pierced with three heat pipes.
If we remove the cooler, we can find four more video memory chips under it. That's about all of the sightseeing.
Despite the bulk of the structure, it does not stand out with great mass. The square frame holds the heat exchanger adjoining the GPU, with a decorative lid with the company's logo imparting completeness to the video card in general. The only point which may hinder using the MSI HD2600XT Heat Pipe Cooling in your computer is the nonstandard layout of the radiator. If the PCI-Express slot to which a video card is inserted as well as the RAM slots on the motherboard are too close to one another, and you are using RAM modules with projecting radiators, the radiator of the video card may rest against them and hinder installation into the slot. To some extent that also relates to the overly "wired" radiators of the motherboard's north bridge. In fact, the "fitting" of MSI HD2600XT Heat Pipe Cooling to motherboards at our disposal today has shown that it is more likely an exception rather than a rule. The seemingly simple and unpretentious cooler stands out for its superb cooling efficiency.
 At "rest", the GPU temperature is 55°, which is even lower than in the reference AMD HD2600XT where the contribution to additional heating of the GPU is probably made by the video memory because it is in contact with the GPU radiator. In the 3D mode, the GPU temperature on MSI HD2600XT appears to be somehow higher than that on the "reference", which is natural because that is a passive cooling system. Anyway, the 5° excess can hardly be regarded as critical. That is a superb result for the passive cooling system!
There are some differences in the mutual layout of the marking labels on the GPU chip, but be assured that it is an absolutely standard RV630XT chip running at 800 MHz, as it should be.
As was stated above, MSI HD2600XT Heat Pipe Cooling is equipped with 512 MB video memory capacity. Used are eight GDDR3 chips made by Hynix of 1.4 ns access time, which is equivalent to the nominal frequency 1400 MHz DDR. This is the nominal frequency the video memory runs.
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