ASUS P4R800-V Deluxe Review - Video and Audio Quality
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Video Quality
The RADEON 9100 IGP integrates a slightly reduced RADEON 9200 graphic core clocked at 300 MHz. The 9100 IGP still includes the innovative Pixel Tapestry II, Smartshader, Smoothvision, and Video Immersion II architectures. The P4R800-V Deluxe is the first integrated solution supporting DirectX 8.1 and Pixel Shader 1.4. The 9100 IGP is missing a hardware vertex shader unit, but in its place is a software vertex shader that allows applications to still use vertex shading. The 9100 IGP also features a 400MHz RAMDAC supporting a maximum resolution of 2048x1536x32bit with an 85Hz refresh rate. At 1600x1200x32bit the 9100 IGP allows an astounding 100Hz refresh rate. The high RAMDAC allows for superb 2D image quality even when compared to add in VGA cards. The image is spectacularly bright and crisp. I actually thought the 2D image quality was significantly better than either the 9700 Pro and 9800 Pro I have in my other systems. ATi also includes support for hardware DVD decoding and features enhanced DVD playback options like hardware iDCT and motion compensation.
I was really impressed by the rich images the 9100 IGP produces. The 2D image quality is amazing, the DVD playback was as good as I've seen on a PC, and 3D games have the same features as ATi's VGA cards including 4x Anti-Aliasing and 16x Anisotropic Filtering.
Audio Performance and Quality
The audio solution on the ASUS P4R800-V is provided by SoundMAX and Analog Devices AD1888 6-channel CODEC. Unlike the older AD1885 codec, this one does not require the use of a CNR card for 4 or 6 channel output, but does need a slot bracket for the S/PDIF out interface. The AD1888 is AC'97 2.3 compatible and features EAX 1.0 and 2.0 support. The AD1888 utilizes 20-bit DACs, headphone amplifiers, and has 90dB of dynamic range.
For playing MP3s, CDs, gaming, and DVDs, the SoundMaX solution is quite decent. While it probably won't make you forget about the M-Audio Revolution or an Audigy2, it still won't make you run for your credit card to replace it immediately.
I used Novalogic's Commanche4 to estimate CPU usage for SoundMaX, below you see the average frames per second with and without audio enabled.
| P4R800V audio | 21.38 | 7.65% |
| P4R800V no-audio | 23.15 | |
| 9700 Pro Audigy2 audio | 68.11 | 2.78% |
| 9700 Pro Audigy2 no-audio | 70.06 | |
The CPU usage is a little bit above the Audigy2's, but still respectable, especially for an onboard solution.
Next: Conclusion >>
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