14 DAY TRIAL // Asus announced the launch of two new high-end graphics cards, the EAH2600PRO/HTDI/256M based on an AMD chip and the EN8600GT/HTDI/256M card that is based on an Nvidia graphics processing unit. Both of these graphics cards are featuring high quality bundled HDMI adapters that are certified by HDMI Licensing. Asus included the HDMI adapters because as the standard gains more popularity, it is "deemed as the next digital interface for the home entertainment center".
HDMI is the first and currently the only multimedia standard that offers a digital interface which combines high definition video together with multi-channel audio. To the data stream is added the command data which simplifies the installing of home based multimedia systems. The Asus graphics cards are officially certified by the HDMI Licensing company which defines and authorizes the use of the HDMI standard. The cards themselves come with an exclusive fansink design that helps dissipate heat in a more efficient manner allowing for a much cooler temperature in comparison to reference design boards while keeping noise at a minimum.
The ASUS EAH2600PRO and EN8600GT are targeted at fans of the two most important graphics manufacturers and vendors in the whole world: AMD/ ATI and Nvidia. The two cards come with the ATI Radeon HD 2600PRO and GeForce 8600GT respectively graphics engine. In order to allow for superior gaming performance, Asus integrated 256MB of DDR2 and DDR3 video memory of these cards. High speeds in the graphics core department, 600MHz and 540Mhz respectively, are backed up by the high memory speeds reaching 1GHz (500MHz effective clock frequency) and 1.4GHz (700MHz real clock for DDR3 memories).
A wide data bus, 128 bit based, between the graphics core and the memory allows for display resolutions of up to 3840x2400. Like all new graphics solutions that are aiming at high performance, the two new Asus cards are using the high speeds, high data bandwidth PCI Express X16 slot, while connectivity options are represented by VGA and HDTV outputs available through specialized cables and adapters. A number of proprietary Asus display technologies have been included, such as "Splendid Video Intelligence Technology" and the Asus GameOSD technology that allows users to enjoy "vibrant visual representations in conditions most favorable to the human eye", while overclocking the graphics processing unit in realtime and chatting with team members when playing multiplayer games over a network.
