Tom's ATI X800 XT review

[biglawdog1]

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040504/index.html

Not exactly a huge jump over the GEforce 6800 but nearly double the frame rates of the 9800 XT.

Honestly, I'd say the performance is roughly the same though apparently the Nvida card handles OpenGL better and the ATI card seems to have the edge in DX9 apps. The deciding factor for me, as I'm buying one of these two cards, is the size and and power drain of the GEforce 6800 vs. the X800 XT. According to Tom's, the ATI card actually runs cooler then the 9800 XT and uses far less power than the 6800U. The 6800U requires two molex connectors and is apparently a damn power hog. Not to mention, the 6800 is a beast (though admittedly, it is much cooler looking then the ATI card- the ATI card looks no different then the 9800 XT).

Other than the power difference (which I suspect is going to be a BIG factor in making a purchase for many gamers who have no desire to invest in another power supply), there seems to be little difference. The performance jump on both cards is really big (Tom's is alleging the x800XT is double the speed of the 9800 XT) so if you're in the market for a video card and don't mind dropping the cash, this is a great time to do it.

Now if only newegg would start listing the x800XT for pre-order.

[biglawdog1]

Good link to a number of reviews of the ATI card.

http://www.anandtech.com/news/shownews.html?i=22108

[Sharif]

Wonder how the X800 XT will do... that's what I'M waiting for...

[ric449]

After looking at anandtech, it looks like ATI is beating the Nvidia card in a fair amount of tests. Do you think Nvidia was just not expecting ATI to come out with this kind of card? I think Nvidia will really start to lose their market share to ATI unless they buck their ideas up.

[Sharif]

Getting mad now... I thought the X800 XT was supposed to have 512MB of ram...

[biglawdog1]

It looks like Nvidia sent the Ultra Extreme and GT Cards plus fiddled with 6800 drivers purposely to mess with the ATI launch- these two companies have a history of nastiness but I thought this was a bit ridiculous (considering ATI's silence on Nvida's launch day). I'm sure Nvidia managed to get their hands on an advanced copy, realized the difference in speed and worked on changing config to make the 6800 line comparable.

It will be difficult to determine which card is "better". I think the ATI has it on power and speed while the Nvida card may be more forward thinking technology-wise. If game developers began utilizing the 3.0 technology on the Nvidia card (which, I believe, requires directx9c to function properly), the Nvidia card may get the nod in the long run. In the short run, the x800 XT's raw power, smaller size and reduced power usage (when compared to the 6800 Ultra or even the the 9800 XT) is what clinches the choice for me.

[Jimmy White]

Originally posted by Sharif
Getting mad now... I thought the X800 XT was supposed to have 512MB of ram...

Thats the PCI express version :rolleyes:

[colecifer]

I saw on [H]ard OCP that the X800 was being released today but i see it nowhere. Anyone seen any retailers selling it?

[Sharif]

PCI-Express?? No mobo "properly" supports it as people say... just imaging how fast that PCI-Ex card will be...

[BigDog19]

who would ever need 512mb of ram on a video card? 256 is still a bit overkill.

[Alaron]

Originally posted by BigDog19
who would ever need 512mb of ram on a video card? 256 is still a bit overkill.

Bill Gates was once quoted saying "640k ought to be enough for anybody". We've come a long way with technology, and we have a long way to go. :)

[Hi Ho]

Todays games don't need 512 MB of video memory. It will be a while before they even utilize 256. 512 MB of video memory will be overkill for a while.

[Alaron]

Originally posted by Hi Ho
Todays games don't need 512 MB of video memory. It will be a while before they even utilize 256. 512 MB of video memory will be overkill for a while.

I agree. I'm just saying, never say never. The need for 512 will come. There are a few games out already that need 128. I remember when 32meg Geforce2s were top of the line. By the time PCI-X is mainstream, new games will need lots more memory. :)

[Sharif]

I hope that isn't anytime soon! As soon as the X800XT comes out, y'all will feel the presence of Black Betty, at least after New Egg decides to ship the parts and I get around to succesfully putting together my first computer :D

[wolfie]

Originally posted by colecifer
I saw on [H]ard OCP that the X800 was being released today but i see it nowhere. Anyone seen any retailers selling it?


best buy has it on pre sale now, coming out the middle of june, the 512 one will be out middle of the summer.:D

[Sharif]

512 one will be PCI-Express right?

[wolfie]

Originally posted by Sharif
512 one will be PCI-Express right?

think its going to be agp .

[shadow of chaos]

This review (and benchies ) is of the x800 not the X800 XT!!..

Wait for the XT review.

[Sharif]

Can someone confirm? 512MB one will be AGP or PCI-E?

[Sharif]

Can someone confirm? 512MB one will be AGP or PCI-E?

[Hi Ho]

I should have said this before but it looks like ATI is still the leader. When anistropic filtering and antialiasing are turned on the Nvidia cards take a sizeable performance hit. It looks like I will still be going with ATI for my next card.

[Vlad16]

I was totally amazed to see the new 800XTs perform that well. When the 6800 benchmarks came out I was thinking that there is no way ATI's launch of the R420s would come close. These launches are very significant considering the small performance bumps that have happened over the last year or so.

It would be hard to recommend a 9800XT or 5950U right now.

[Jeradln82]

Wow! ATI has outdone themselves again!

Hmm.. New Nvidia or new ATI?? Gee let me think...

ATI consumes less power, faster, and runs cooler!? I think I'll be saving up for the ATI.. lol ;)

[Sharif]

I'm saved up to the yin yang! Release it already!!!!!!

[OMG!]

If I remember properly awhile ago there was a review on tom's that stated that the 6800 doesn't actually even come close to that much power. It's just a stability issue. I'm assuming that there's lots of overclocking available on the 6800

[shadow of chaos]

man.. the x800 has only 900MHZ memory clock, i heard it was going to have a 1200mhz memory clock.. that sucks..

Oh well, maybe the X800 XT will have higher clock. this will be a major drawback if you want to buy an X800 and possibility of a mod to open up more pipelines.. hmmm me think will wait to see which card is best :D

[Tony Glass]

Doesn't look like you'll be able to mod:
from Tom's Hardware


"Unlike NVIDIA, ATi does not use a different processor for the Pro version of the cards. Instead, four of the pixel pipelines will simply be deactivated. The modder community will be disappointed to hear that these "sleeping" pipes can no longer be reactivated through software or by flashing different BIOS, as was the case with previous cards. Later, lower-cost versions with four or eight pixel pipelines are also set to follow for the mainstream segment."



rats
:rolleyes: