Posted: July 8th, 2001
Written by: Tuan "GTk2" Huynh

Image Quality

Here are shots of 3D Mark 2001 Game 1 Image Quality test. From left to right are the Radeon VE, All-in-Wonder Radeon, and Reference Images.

All images are fully clickable to see full scale versions.

People have been praising the Radeon DDR for its image quality -- the Radeon VE is no different. There's really no point in comparing Image Quality between these two Radeon cards as the only factor in image quality is the RAMDAC speed. And because the RAMDAC only affects the image you see on the monitor, taking a screenshot (frame buffer grab which is done before ever reaching the RAMDAC) gives you the same image. Like its bigger Radeon DDR brother, the image that the Radeon VE renders looks cleaner then the reference image taken by the GeForce MX.

SUmming Things Up

Performance:
[6.5/10]

With the crippled Radeon core, 3D performance lags way behind NVIDIA’s GeForce2 MX. Nonetheless, Hydravision and multiple displays worked very well with only a few problems in Windows 2000 which can be fixed in future driver updates.

Innovation:
[7/10]

ATI definitely gets thumbs up for integrating Appian’s Hydravision into the VE rather then taking time to develop its own. Unlike the MX, the Radeon VE can output to three simultaneous sources with the TV out cloning monitor solution. Hardware DVD is a definite thumbs up because the DVD image quality is as good if not better than using a separate MPEG2 decoder card.

Installation and Setup:
[6/10]

Physically installing was easy -- just slide it in and screw it. Setting it up in Windows 2000 for dual display proved to be a pain and took a lot of time. The manuals were not even close to being helpful, refresh rates are annoying to fix. ATI should include more specific instructions on how to enable Extended Desktop in Windows 2000.

Bundle:
[7/10]

While ATI bundles the same programs with all of its video cards, they are very useful applications. ATI’s Multimedia Center + ATI DVD provides you with a suite of programs to play virtually all Video standards ranging from AVI files to DVD Movies. However, other manufacturers bundle DVD software too and some are beginning to bundle the latest games.

Price:
[7.5/10]

The MSRP for the Radeon VE is $129 and $99 after rebate at the time of this writing. With a quick search on iBuyer you can find the Radeon VE for around $75, $36 lower then the cheapest TwinView MX and selling for around the same price as the G400.

Next Page