14 DAY TRIAL // Many people await for the arrival of ATI's R600 cards, but not many customers would be able to buy those monster cards. ATI and NVIDIA heavily rely on entry level and mainstream products, while high-end graphics cards still remain pricey and seem to be just for show off.
As always, ATI prepares entry-level and mainstream derived versions of the R600. The RV610 and RV630 chips are fabricated with the aid of 65 nanometre technology. Stay true to the established tradition, ATI's RV630 is going to be known as the Radeon X2600, coming in XT and PRO versions. Radeon X2600XT appears to be clocked at 650MHz core and integrates 256 MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 1600MHz, as well as 64 two-way Shaders. Unfortunately, the card only supports a 128-bit memory interface, but it will be priced at around $200.
The Radeon X2600PRO will be the lighter version, sporting 550MHz core clocks with 1400MHz GDDR3 memory and a 128-bit memory interface. It is said to be packing 64 Shader units, sixteen more than ATI's current R580 high-end chip. All this for just $150.
The inferior RV610 will be implemented in entry-level Radeon X2300XT, PRO and LE cards. The Radeon X2300XT is clocked at 650MHz and its integrated memory is clocked at 1400MHz. The card uses GDDR3 memory with a 128-bit memory controller, including only 32 Shader units. Price tags for this product should be reading $100 by launch time.
Radeon X2300PRO features a 500MHz core clock and 1400MHz GDDR3 memory with 128-bit memory controller. It too supports 32 Shader units, and there will be two versions: the 256MB version will sell for $80, while the 128MB one should sell for $70.
Last but not least is the Radeon X2300LE. Its 500MHz core and 800MHz memory clocks don't seem to be enough for DX10 next-gen games. It uses only 128MB of GDDR2 memory and a 128-bit controller, besides the included 32 Shader units. This will be ATI's lowest power consumer and will sell for around $60.
All of the above cards are scheduled for an early May release.