Radeon™ X1K Image quality

Gaming at full detail in the highest resolutions - without compromise. The new Radeon™ X1300, X1600 and X1800 series graphics cards deliver unique quality-enhancing features offered exclusively by ATI.

Antialiasing (FSAA)

The Radeon™ X1000 series possess very effective tools for eliminating unsightly jagged edges on object borders within games.

These images show a screenshot from the PC racing game F1 Challenge. On the left you see the high-grade MSAA edge smoothing of the Radeon X1300, X1600 and X1800, on the right the best MSAA smoothing offered by the closest competitor.(Images courtesy of ZDNet.de)

Using up to 6x multi-sampling anti-aliasing with integrated gamma correction, the Radeon X1000 graphics cards feature the most sophisticated anti-aliasing technique available in the market today, ensuring optimal image quality with only a minor impact on performance.

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Adaptive antialiasing

In modern games, many objects are not realized as 3D objects because this would unnecessarily increase the strain on the graphics card. An example of this is fences or leaves on trees and plants, since their complex structures would require too many polygons to depict accurately. Instead, game designers often take an alternate route and use a special texture (bitmap) to depict these complex structures. Certain areas within the textures are then declared transparent, ensuring a realistic appearance within the game.

These images show a screenshot from the game "Half-Life 2". On the left you see the results using standard FSAA methods, on the right the same scene using the new adaptive FSAA of the Radeon X1300, X1600 and X1800.

Conventional FSAA methods break down when applied to these kinds of objects, since the edges aren't actual object edges but only appear within the larger texture (bitmap). The new adaptive FSAA of the Radeon X1000 models automatically recognize this type of object, ensuring optimal anti-aliasing quality.

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HDR with FSAA

"HDR" is the widely used abbreviation for "High Dynamic Range" calculations. This technology can be found in an increasing number of modern computer games to make lighting effects with very high contrasts look as realistic as possible. The concept builds on the fact that even in environments where the human eye is partly exposed to a very bright light source that creates a glare, it can still make out less brightly lit objects in the surrounding area. In virtual 3D worlds, however, such a high dynamic range of light requires very complex calculations.

A scene from the computer game "Far Cry". The image on the left was created using conventional rendering methods. The screenshot on the right shows the same scene rendered with HDR lighting. Conventional graphics cards can not combine HDR with FSAA. The models of the Radeon X1000 series offer support for all FSAA modes even when HDR is used.

All graphics cards belonging to the new Radeon X1000 series support modern HDR calculations. While conventional graphics cards may also offer HDR support, they are unable to combine it with the benefits of FSAA.

Not so with ATI: All Radeon X1300, X1600 and X1800 models allow the use of all available FSAA modes - even in conjunction with HDR calculations. This results in an extremely realistic image quality offered only by ATI.

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Anisotropic texture filtering

Game developers usually use textures (bitmaps) to depict the surfaces of objects in computer games. These textures are then layered on top of the object, for example a walls or floors.

However, the farther away the viewer is from the texture, the fewer pixels are available to draw it. As a result, the texture becomes blurred and less detailed. Modern graphics cards use a technique called anisotropic filtering to counter this effect. With anisotropic filtering, even textures that are farther off from the viewer can be displayed crisply and correctly.

Since anisotropic filtering requires a great deal of computing power, intelligent methods are used to limit its performance impact. As a result, the filter is only fully applied to those objects and textures that are viewed at certain angles.

Not so with ATI: All Radeon X1300, X1600 and X1800 graphics cards possess a special "High Quality AF" mode that applies optimal filtering to all objects and textures regardless of viewing angle. The result: extremely realistic and highly detailed depiction of textures and objects offered only by ATI.