FEAR is 
Sierra's latest first person shooter which relies heavily on DirectX 9 features. 
With its "Soft Shadows" feature enabled, even the fastest videocards run at a 
crawl, FEAR is definitely the new benchmark for future FPS games to 
follow.
FEAR is probably the most demanding game on 
the market today, and the Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A videocard can only get by 
with light AA/AF settings. 
  
  
    |  | experts tip: videocard drivers and 
      microsoft .net | 
  
    | whether you resisted microsoft's push to use .NET 
      web services or just reinstalled the OS on your computer, ATi's Catalyst 
      Control Panel will not work properly if that optional package has not been 
      installed. The easiest way for users to get .NET Framework installed onto 
      their computer is via Windows Update. If that doesn't 
      work for you, users can always download the full developer version of Microsoft .NET 
      Framework and install that. | 
  
    | Comments and Feedback? Suggest a 
      Tweak. | 
Final Word - is the Asus EAX1900XTX a Good 
Buy?

The new Asus EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M/A videocard is a 
prime example of what an ATi Radeon X1900 XTX can do. For the record, this ASUS 
videocard is darn fast!
Our advice to anyone seeking out an ATi Radeon X1900 XTX 
based videocard is to take a good long look at what ASUS have put together with 
the EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A model. This company knows how to piece together a 
solid package.
Bundled in are couple full version programs like 
PowerDirector, AsusDVD and the game King Kong. The Asus videocard also supports 
a whole array of TV output options from the conventional S-Video/Composite to 
Component output for high definition televisions. Users who want to do video 
editing on their computer can thanks to the ATi Rage Theatre chip hidden under 
the fan which gives the Asus videocard its VIVO capabilities.
The Asus EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M/A is a very quick videocard 
and squeaks by the GeForce 7800GTX 512MB in overall performance. There are a few 
titles which still prefer nVIDIA cores (namely Doom 3) but as indicated earlier, 
the Radeon X1900 XTX is still in its infancy. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and 
FEAR framerates from the Asus EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M/A were particularly 
impressive.
The Asus EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M/A was an okay 
overclocker, it achieved 682 MHz core and 1.6 GHz memory in our tests from a 
starting point of 650 MHz core / 1.5 GHz memory. Overclockers who want to really 
push Radeon X1900 XTX videocards to its limits would be well advised to employ 
more advanced 3rd party aftermarket VGA cooling systems. The ATI 'R580' core 
runs hot.
With a retail price in the neighborhood of $715 CDN ($630 USD / £360 GBP), the Asus 
EAX1900XTX/2DHTV/512M/A is expensive as components go, but quite well priced 
within its class. A GeForce 7800GTX 512MB based videocard will set you back 
about $800 CDN, and the Asus EAX1900XTX is a bit quicker overall. In any case, 
serious gamers evaluating a Radeon X1900 XTX based videocard for their own 
killer gaming rig will find the Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A videocard one of 
the best PCI Express x16 videocards on the market today to choose from. If you 
have the dough, you won't be disappointed!

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