Directory  Reviews Graphics Card Reviews |
| Sapphire X1300XT - Crossfire On The Cheap |
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Page 3 of 4 Packaging: Sapphire chose the standard packaging elements to compliment their X1300XT graphics cards. The usual 3D rendered mascot adorns the front of the cover, as well as the normal icons and symbols of the various technologies available. The side of the box has information about the methods that ATI uses: AVIVO, CrossFire, the Catalyst driver suite, Etc.. The back has a short feature highlight paragraph along with the many awards already earned. 
The standard cardboard cut-out supports the X1300XT, centered in the middle of the box. This is sufficient for most shipping damage that the box may encounter. The cardboard supports for the video card then fold back to show the included accessories. There is the standard DVI to VGA adapter to allow for backward compatibility with the older CRT's on both connections. In addition, there is a welcome inclusion of the HDTV standard RGB connector and VIVO to RCA adapter. There is also a manual and a power DVD install CD included. Nothing special beyond the necessities, but for the price, this can be expected. 
The included manual is made of quality paper and good ink. The instructions are easy to follow and there are plenty of pictures to help the process. Any novice should be able to comprehend the step-by-step instructions. Along with installation, there is a lot of information on TV setups. This is refreshing. Most people do not even know their video cards have TV capability. This should help with any confusion.       The fact that the two cards are completely devoid of any power inputs or communication bridges makes the installation seamless. Simply place the cards into the two available 16x PCI-E slots and screw them in. Clearance is definitely not an issue, which allows for more expansion room. Higher end cards usually overshadow the other smaller peripheral slots. This leaves no room for future PCI-E audio, network, storage, or physics cards. 
Following the simple physical installation of the two Sapphire x1300XTs, the only step left is to install the drivers. The newest driver available is the catalyst suite 7.9, which was released recently on the tenth of September at AMD/ATI's website. Finding the driver is simple. Installation is easy and straightforward. The average novice should have no problem getting the card to work. After the reboot, the settings and interface for the drivers are easy to figure out. Although ATI has a menu mode called advanced, it is a little disappointing. There is no temperature monitoring or crossfire feedback. This information is invaluable to the enthusiast crowd. Other than that shortfall, there are plenty of options for attaching and fine-tuning as many as four displays. However, most of the options are aimed at AVIVO and HDTV outputs. Located at the bottom of the Catalyst's many adjustable features is the CrossFire section. When selected, a simple check box is available that says, "Enable CrossFire". When checked, the two cards work together to produce an image. This is what we are the most concerned with today. Unfortunately, determining the type of cooperation between two cards is an automated process. An option to switch between scissor, AFR, super AA, and SuperTiling does not exist beyond turning anti aliasing up beyond 6x in the drivers. This still limits the user to turning on Super AA mode only. 
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