It is unfortunate that the X1800 series of cards will be more remembered for their delays than their performance, but that may very well be its legacy. ATI actually taped out the initial R520 silicon in late 2004, but consumers did not actually get to see the chip until late November of 2005. A whole year between initial tapeout and first delivery is pretty much unheard of, but through a series of issues that were not necessarily ATI’s fault the R520 was just not ready to come to market. In the middle of last summer ATI finally found the issue that was holding this silicon back and went full speed with production. Again misfortune plagued ATI with this part as it took a full three months to fabricate the chip and package it..



Link: Penstar Systems