CONTENTS

1. Video card's features
2. Testbed configuration, test tools, 2D quality 
3. Test results: Quake3 ARENA

1. Test results: Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
2. Test results: Return to Castle Wolfenstein
3. Test results: Code Creatures DEMO
4. Test results: Unreal Tournament 2003
5. Test results: Unreal II: The Awakening
6. Conclusion

The IT experts say that the relationship between ATI and NVIDIA is getting tougher. Yet two years ago ATI Technologies had funds 3 times as small as NVIDIA's ones and buggy products but then it pulled its together. NVIDIA, on the contrary, made some serious mistakes.

As a result, both companies are going on a par today. Multiple tests prove that. Who remembers Tseng, Trident, Rendition, PowerVR, S3, 3dfx?.. We have ATI/NVIDIA as venerable manufacturers of 2D/3D accelerators, SIS trying to maintain this sector by flooding it with cheap products which are though not always successful, and Matrox who is on its way out of the 3D market (modern functions do not help slow cards to make a good showing).

Unfortunately, the chip makers are diminishing in number. The prices therefore grow up from one High-End generation to another. That's good that both companies remain equal competitors because it actually prevents the takeover.

The accelrators' race is very exhausting. ATI and NVIDIA are violently fighting though the demand is getting weaker and the market is shrinking. What's now? Monthly announcements? Who will make the cards? No one sober card maker would do it as he would lose income from the previous solutions.

No sooner had the FX 5600 reached the market than the improved NV36 appeared from round the corner. 

But it's the manufacturers' problem. Not ours.

Theoretical materials and reviews of video cards which concern functional properties of the GPU NVIDIA GeForce FX

• Analysis of the architecture of NVIDIA NV30 (GeForce FX) 
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra (NV30) - single-page review
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra (NV30) - multi-page review
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (NV31) and GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (NV34) - single-page review
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (NV31) and GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (NV34) - multi-page review
• ASUS V9900 Ultra on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra - AA and anisotropy quality
• Gainward FX Powerpack Ultra/1000 Golden Sample and Gainward FX Powerpack Pro/660 TV/DVI on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra and 5200 - scaling (performance vs. CPU clock speed) of GeForce FX 5800 Ultra, performance of GeForce FX 5200 
• Leadtek WinFast A300 Ultra MyVIVO on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra - performance of GeForce FX 5800 Ultra vs. CPU clock speed in heavy modes with AA and anisotropy enabled
• MSI FX5800 Ultra-TD8X on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra 
• Albatron, Chaintech, Gainward, InnoVision, Leadtek, Palit and Prolink video cards on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 
• ASUSTeK NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200/5600 video cards
• MSI FX5600-VTDR128 (MS-8912) card on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600
• Albatron, Leadtek and MSI video cards on the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra
• Prolink PixelView GeForce FX 5600 256MB Golden Limited on the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 
• Gainward FX PowerPack Ultra/760 XP Golden Sample on the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 (new revision)
• AOpen and Soltek cards on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 
• Leadtek WinFast A310 Ultra MyVIVO on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra (350MHz revision) 
• ATI vs NVIDIA: where are fair duels? or Dishonest Treatment of the 3DMark 
• MSI FX5900-VTD128 on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 - More on 3DMark 2003 (fruits of collaboration of NVIDIA and FutureMark after signing the peaceful agreement) 
• Gainward FX Powerpack Ultra/1200 Golden Sample on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 - performance in NEW game tests, analysis of performance of the FX 5900 without cheats
• Albatron Gigi GeForce FX 5900PV 128MB on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
• Inno3D Tornado GeForce FX5900 128MB on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900
• ASUS V9950 Ultra on NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra - extremal overclocking

NVIDIA's partners have to look for the ways of selling new cards though they may be not that popular. Fortunately for NVIDIA, ATI stumbled over the same stone when laucnhed the RADEON 9600/9600 PRO which was slower than its predecessors. They are quits now, but it makes no difference to users.

But prices keep on falling down with time, and sooner or later the 5600 will look more attractive. Plus, fast anisotropy the GF4 Ti could only dream about.

Besides, every card maker does his best to think out something original, interesting and attractive.

The today's card does have some unique technologies. It's not the first time when AOpen makes its presence felt. We do remember its OpenBIOS, interesting mainboard designing solutions etc.

So, meet the AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB card.

Card

AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB

AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB
AGP x8/x4/x2 interface, 256 MB DDR SDRAM in 8 chips on both PCB sides.  Hynix memory chips of 3.6ns access time, which corresponds to 275 (550) MHz. The memory works at 250 (500) MHz, the GPU runs at 325 MHz. 128bit memory interface.

Comparison with the reference design, front view
AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB	Reference card NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600

Comparison with the reference design, back view
AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB	Reference card NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600

The AOpen uses its own design. According to the specs, the model marked S possesses the following technologies: AGMS This is just an improved monitoring technology. It  monitors core and memory voltages, as well as conrols them. By the way, the same technology can help if the mainboard has problems with AGP power supply (for example, if the voltage is a bit lower than the default one). AOpen also offers an overclocker (the new version of the utility can define the maximum cooler's rotational speed): The voltage and fan's rotatinal speed are stored in the card's flash memory, and rebooting thus does not change them. This system controls the rotatinal speed and temperatures:   ACS You can either set the cooling fan speed yourselves or let the card control it through the ACS technology. By the way, in 2D the fan remains idle almost all the time (if a certain rotational speed is not set forcedly). But the most interesting inovation is   Dr.LED These are card's status LEDs. You can find out whether the core and memory voltages are within the limits, define the AGP mode, and card's mode (2D/3D). Also, if any parameters deviate from the default values (for example, cooler's rotational speed), the LEDs will let you know. Here is how beautful it looks: But you would hardly enjoy all those lights even in a transparent PC cases as the LEDs are attached to the card undernearth. The developers should think about moving them to the top.  Here's the cooler.       AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB This is a usual cooler but with a powerful fan able to rotate at 5000 rpm.   The card is not equipped with an external TV codec, and the TV-out is realized right in the NV31. Here is the processor: It was made on the 20th week this year (in May). The box contains the following stuff.

AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB
User manual, CD with drivers and utilities, WinDVD, TV extenders, DVI-to-d-Sub, S-Video-to-RCA adapter.

AOpen Aeolus GeForce FX 5600S 256MB
A stylish box in dark colors. The CPU clock is indicated.

Test results: performance comparison

Conventional signs: ANISO 8xP - Anisotropic 8x Performance (earlier it was called Balanced), ANISO 8xQ - Anisotropic 8x Quality, ANISO 16xQ - Anisotropic 16x Quality. 

Test applications: 

• Return to Castle Wolfenstein (MultiPlayer) (id Software/Activision) - OpenGL, multitexturing, ixbt0703-demo, test settings - maximum, S3TC OFF, the configurations can be downloaded from here
• Serious Sam: The Second Encounter v.1.05 (Croteam/GodGames) - OpenGL, multitexturing, ixbt0703 demo, test settings: quality, S3TC OFF 
• Quake3 Arena v.1.17 (id Software/Activision) - OpenGL, multitexturing, ixbt0703 demo, test settings - maximum: detailing level - High, texture detailing level - #4, S3TC OFF, smoothness of curves is much increased through variables r_subdivisions "1" and r_lodCurveError "30000" (at default r_lodCurveError is 250 !), the configurations can be downloaded from here
• Unreal Tournament 2003 v.2225 (Digital Extreme/Epic Games) - Direct3D, Vertex Shaders, Hardware T&L, Dot3, cube texturing, default quality
• Code Creatures Benchmark Pro (CodeCult) - the game that demonstrates card's operation in DirectX 8.1, Shaders, HW T&L.
• Unreal II: The Awakening (Legend Ent./Epic Games) - Direct3D, Vertex Shaders, Hardware T&L, Dot3, cube texturing, default quality

Quake3 Arena

It was expected that the card would perform such way as compared to the 128MB FX 5600 card coming with the faster memory, as well as that it would beat ATI's solutions. 

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter

Here the RADEON 9600 takes the lead, and only in 1600x1200 (when the speeds are not playable at all) the FX 5600 outsores it. 

Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Multiplayer)

Just the same. 

Code Creatures

Now the FX 5600 leads the group and only in 1600x1200 it falls behind the pack.

Unreal Tournament 2003

The picture is like in Serious Sam: TSE & RtCW. 

Unreal II: The Awakening

The FX 5600 is smashed to pieces.

Conclusion

Well, this is an average card based on the FX 5600. I already mentioned before that such cards do not need extra 128 MB at all.

But from the standpoint of a unique product, this card has some interesting features. Overclcokers would be glad to have memory with the speed reserve, changeable voltages, a utility with the temperature control and warning LEDS. 

This is a pleasant find for those who like experimenting and overclocking.

In our 3Digest you can find full comparison characteristics for video cards of this and other classes.