Overall
Performance
SuperAA
Game Compatibility
Card Flexibility
Radeon™ X1900 Reviews
Radeon™ X1800 Reviews
Radeon™ X1K Reviews
CrossFire Xpress 3200 Reviews
CrossFire Xpress 3200 Awards
CrossFire Xpress 1600 Reviews

Overall

HotHardware.com
“… X1900 CrossFire was faster than a pair of 7800 GTX 512s running in SLI mode as well. Framerates were competitive when no anti-aliasing or anisotropic filtering was used but with AA and Aniso, ATI had a more pronounced advantage.”

MaximoPC, Argentina
“CrossFire results speak for themselves. This new ATI technology really promises brilliant possibilities, mainly because of the way the image is composed, eliminating the necessity of resorting to profiles for a game to work.”

“CrossFire is a recommended technology…and its performance is truly excellent, due to which it is a RECOMMENDED PRODUCT.”

“Strong Points:

• Excellent performance when CrossFire is activated.
• Possibility of mixing cards of different brands and Pipes’ number.
• Possibility of mixing cards with different operation frequency.
• Both cards work at 16x on PCIe, unlike the competition which do it at 8x.”

PC Format, UK
"“Double your 3D power with Crossfire”

“CrossFire is more than just a case of matching NV checkbox for checkbox.”

“..there are a number of areas where it seems sure to put SLI in the shade. The first is ease of use. Unlike SLI, there’s no need to reboot swap between dual and single card rendering modes. Similarly, there’s no need for the motherboard selector cards or jumpers as seen on NV’s nForce 4 for SLI. Just flick a software switch in the video driver and off you go."

Alberto Falchi – Giochi Per Il Mio Computer
"The Crossfire technology has tremendous potential… using the super tiling technology the load balancing should be very efficient and compatible with every game in the market. In addition to pure speed, the image quality should be assured thanks to super AA. If Crossfire would maintain its promises, it will be a pleasant surprise for enthusiast gamers."

Andreas Schilling, Hardwareluxx, Germany
" ...a well thought out and elegant solution..."

Nico Ernst, Golem.de Germany
" Altogether, ATIs solution looks on paper much more flexible than SLI..."

Manfred Bertuch, Heise.de, Germany
" ...promises a series of advantages compared with SLI..."

"An advantage compared with Nvidias SLI-concept…absolutely every game is compatible with CrossFire while SLI only works with around 100 games. And you do not have to work with two identical ATI graphics cards."

Dario Zini, CHIP Italy
"Compared to the competitor’s solution the CrossFire platform offers the great advantages of an almost complete compatibility with DirectX and OpenGL games and a better balance of the load on each Vpu. Not less important is the fact that the two boards don’t need to be exactly the same, as required in the SLI solution: if promises are respected, CrossFire will be, without any dubts, the most advanced consumer graphic platform ever produced. We have to see if, in the near future, the Dual Vpu solutions like CrossFire and SLI, clearly oriented to a videogame user, will be successful or will have to indirectly compete against the new generation of game consoles (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Revolution) as their technical specifications, and graphic potentials too, are really impressive."

Marton Erdös, CHIP, Hungary
"Ati CrossFire is a very good and wise way to dramatically improve your 3D performance. You can keep your older X800 or X850 card and you just need an other master card to enjoy it. Pared with a CrossFire ready motherboard it could be a very strong and fast gaming machine for a reasonable price."

Danilo Loda, PC World Italy
" Crossfire is surely the right alternative to NVIDIA SLI. The Super AA technology can truly change the game experience leading it to a new standard of gaming reality. In the end, the compatibility with all videogames can become the real ace for winning the battle of dual GPU solutions against NVIDIA."

Paolo Besser – The Game Machine (Italia)
"ATI’s response to current dual GPU technologies seems very convincing."

"Crossfire shows a certain attention towards end users who want to apply the brute force of a dual GPU rig towards image quality and lays down excellent promises for the building of powerful workstations at a low price."

Damien Triolet, Hardware.fr
"… overall, ATI’s CrossFire technology seems to us a more advanced technology than Nvidia’s SLI…CrossFire as presented by ATI should make it possible to get more from a dual GPU solution, at the very least having FSAA of very high quality…"

Michael Santorum, Meristation, Spain
" ..amazing improvements including Antialising 16x, new architecthure of sahders and three new render modes…."

"Supertiling, Scissor andAlternate Frame Rendering are the new features that will give us an incredible new platform for gamers."

"In the next days we will have a complete Crossfire article on Mersitation.com…"

Overclockers.ru
" ATI graphics boards also have a smaller load on +12V line and run cooler than the NV40/45 family"

HardOCP.com
" In my opinion, three features really make ATI’s CrossFire solution appealing versus the competition at this point. The first is the obvious non-reliance on any kind of gaming profile system…. The second advantage is the ability to pair up different brands of video cards…. The third advantage we see is the Super Anti-Aliasing feature."

AnandTech.com
" Looking at all the features, if performance ends up equal or in ATI's favor, we have to consider CrossFire the more interesting solution. The flexibility of easily using multiple displays along side multi-GPU performance combined with the option of enabling higher quality AA (including rotated grid SSAA) is impossible to ignore. Add to that the ability to upgrade existing hardware without needing an exact match and we are sold."

Will Harrris, Bit-Tech UK
"ATI, whilst later to market than its rival, appears to have put some serious thought into remedying the deficiencies within SLI."

"Undoubtedly the biggest selling point for Crossfire is the universal game support offered by super-tiling, which could prove outrageously popular with a wide range of gamers."

Anton Shilov, X-Bit Labs
"ATI CrossFire presents everything needed for a premium class graphics solution: stunning image quality, broad compatibility and high performance, three things that gamers not constrained by budgets would pay attention to. Probably, ATI’s finest 14x antialiasing, which is only available on the company’s multi-GPU solutions, is a thing that should be worth additional money spent on an extra graphics card, as blazing image quality may be even more important than extreme performance in currently available games."

Lars Weinand, Toms Hardware Guide
"ATI did…a lot of things better: A choice of card configurations, the ability to use existing X800 or X850 cards, more dual-rendering modes and Super AA to improve picture quality. Furthermore CrossFire supports all DirectX and OpenGL games."

Hielko van der Hoorn, Tweakers Netherlands
"ATI’s Crossfire technology looks promising."

"It is more flexible than nVidia's SLI, offers more features and has the potential to offer higher performance."

Dave Ross, Hexus, UK
"If they (deliver on time), then without doubt the Crossfire will be the fastest gaming platform at launch. NVIDIA have done well, really well with the deployment of 6800SLi, but what compelling message do they have if ATI's CrossFire solution is indeed 60% faster in TWIMTBP titles? We look forward to evaluating these impressive claims when we get the kit in our labs"

Allan Campbell, DriverHeaven, UK
"It's safe to say ATI have hit the nail on the head again with their dual card solution. Removing the driver application specific limitations imposed by nVidia’s SLI design and combined with the raw horsepower of the X8xx series core, Crossfire is guaranteed to be driving force behind every enthusiasts’ gaming experience."

James Morris, PC Plus UK
"CrossFire certainly looks like it could give SLI a good run for its money. The flexibility of graphics card choice could well convince those who thought SLI was too picky to try out multi-GPU. I can’t wait to give it a try!"

Fuad Abazovic, Theinquirer.net, UK
" Compared with two 6800 Ultra SLI, ATI's Crossfire should end up about 10 per cent faster in 3Dmark05 benchmark, about 30 percent in Splinter Cell C.T and more than 60 percent in Need For Speed Underground 2."

Antal Tungler, PC World, Hungary
"ATI's CrossFire system has all the specs that could get their nose in front of NVIDIA's SLI. We have seen the system only partially in action, but should it stand up to what Richard told us about it. CrossFire could well shoot itself right into first place of choices for gaming enthusiasts! - We're really eager to get one into our test lab at any rate!"

Paolo Corsini, Hardwareupgrade Italy
"ATI CrossFire when compared with NVIDIA SLI is surely more flexible thanks to a lot of performance modalities, not demanding two perfectly identical cards."

"The customer will have the opportunity to add a second graphic board in order to not only go in search of greater performances, but also in order to obtain a better image thanks to the never seen before Super AA modality."

"The choice to not to use an internal connector between the two boards, is very smart and clever and will make happy all the end users owners of a Radeon X800 and X850 PCI Express that we can actually consider as CrossFire ready end users."

Carsten Spille, Computerbase.de Germany
"CrossFire can and will be positioned as a serious competitor and even in many situations a superior solution to Nvidias SLI. Advantages are: more flexibility when choosing cards and most importantly the offered "superior-IQ" modes. Also, we need to mention the gaming compatibility. CrossFire has the advantage that under Direct3D, there is a fall back to the SuperTiling-Mode."

Oliver Haake, PC Games Hardware Germany
"ATI is fighting back."

"(CrossFire has) some very interesting ideas. There are two of the three rendering processes at least on the paper more flexible than Nvidia’s SLI. Furthermore, the picture quality is improved through Super Anti Aliasing as well as the upgrade idea which was created from necessity. If the by ATI promised availability of CrossFire cards of the current generations stays for longer, you can look into a secure future in regards to the upgrades. You can buy now one CrossFire mainboard with only one Radeon card and add in one or two years a CrossFire graphics card."

Antonino Tumeo, Nextgame Italy
"It’s clear that ATI is really serious about CrossFire: a valid, flexible, feature rich and future proof solution that on paper seems to put much pressure on NVIDIA’s latest and much emphasized dual VPU technology, the now well-known SLI."

Levent Pekcan, Darkhardware
"It is very clear that ATI's CrossFire solution is offering more flexibility and ease of use to the users and from a technical viewpoint, it is a pathway to Multi-GPU graphic cards. The ability of using CrossFire to increase the image quality is also an important aspect of this new technology."

George Dragon, GameStar Hungary
" ATI proved that it was worth the extra wait - Crossfire delivers more speed and reliability, and not only broadens, but speeds up the expectations and sets a new graphics horizon..."

Xander Hoose, PCM, Netherlands
" ...the red guys have done it again. CrossFire seems to make more sense than SLI does as it's support for games isn't limited to the driver.
The four different rendering modes allow for more flexibility and quality. If ATI manages to convince the customer of the superiority of its product than nVidia might be in for some trouble..."

Pierfrancesco Costantini, 3D Italia
"ATI Crossfire technology represents the currently best solution in the market for enthusiast gamers and protects the end user investment since it will be not necessary to change the own graphic board."

Lambros Georgogalas, PC World Greece
"if half the features of Crossfire work (and I have no reason to believe that the rest won't!) NVIDIA is in real trouble in the department of multiple VPUs!

The stability of the platform and the performance advantage is something that remains to be tested when the first samples arrive, but the flexibility seems definitely better and the overall solution more practical and appealing to the gamers. Considering the special quality enhancing mode, the ability to drive up to 5 displays and to accelerate virtually every 3D game, Crossfire can adapt to serve different needs."

Nusret Erturan, PCNET.com.tr - Turkey
"Crossfire: ATI’s courage under fire."