Category: Graphics Card
Manufacturer: Diamond Multimedia
Product: Viper - ATI X1950PRO 512MB PCIE
Price: $249.99

It can be a daunting challenge keeping up with today’s ever-changing graphics card market. Not only do new cards come and go like a one hit wonder rock band, but the price of staying cutting edge is never cheap. Hence the need for a mid range market for those who don't want to sacrifice much in performance, but also those who don't want to break the bank when it comes to their budget.

Enter the Diamond Viper X1950PRO. A mid range solution for the gamers out there seeking the best performance for their dollar. Diamond was one of the pioneers in the 2-D/3-D graphics market in the late 90’s-early 2000’s with their Stealth, Monster3D (the extremely popular Voodoo line), and Viper series. Problems arose after their merger with S3 and the company changed directions leaving the graphics market. A few years back the Diamond name was purchased by Best Data and now they have revived their graphics card department by producing boards for ATI.

The X1950PRO falls in line behind the X1950XTX and the X1950XT as the latest offering from ATI. The 512MB version retails around $230-250. This price puts it in the category of the 7900GT and the 7950GT from NVIDIA. So, we are going to take this card head-to-head against the 7950GT as they are both 512MB cards. Let’s see how it stacks up to a card that is priced a bit higher and get an idea on which card is the better value for your dollar.

The Packaging


Diamond's X1950PRO has a stylish package. With the classic Viper image on the cover, it gets the job done and brings back fond memories of the old Viper series. The card comes packed securely and the box is a heavy grade cardboard which is very sturdy. It is packed in the standard anti-static bag with side compartments in the box for the accessories.


Other accessories in the box include:

• The driver disk
• Manual
• HDTV Cable
• S-Video Cable
• Composite Cable
• DVI to VGA Adapter