ATI Radeon X800 XL - A $299 6800GT Competitor
by Anand Lal Shimpi on December 15, 2004 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
As a side note, before we talk about the comparison at hand, at $199, the Radeon X800 does a good job of competing with NVIDIA's GeForce 6600GT. However, it lacks SLI support and isn't available today, so our mid-range recommendation is still firmly planted on the 6600GT if you're buying a card before the end of the year.Once it was launched, we knew that the X800 XL would be an interesting competitor to NVIDIA's GeForce 6800GT, and indeed it is. As we mentioned earlier in the review, ignoring Doom 3, the X800 XL is quite competitive with the 6800GT and should be $100 cheaper when it hits the streets. At a high level, the X800 XL is a more affordable alternative to the 6800GT that offers similar performance in most areas. Unfortunately for ATI, Doom 3 is a big deal and it somewhat complicates our recommendation.
If you are looking for an AGP card, your only option at this price point is really the 6800GT. There are cheaper alternatives, but not better performing AGP alternatives at $400 or less.
ATI informed us at the X850 launch that the X800 XL would be available sometime in January. If this is indeed true, then in January, we'd be foolish not to recommend the X800 XL, not because it offers a huge performance advantage over the 6800GT (which it does not), but because it holds a $100 price advantage over the 6800GT.
If ATI is able to bring out the X800 XL at its suggested street price of $299, then most users won't have a problem glancing over the lower Doom 3 performance, given that the X800 XL is quite competitive in other titles. If ATI can ensure that their only blemish is Doom 3, and should they continue to work hard to reduce that blemish through further driver optimizations, then the X800 XL won't only be the more affordable solution, but it would become the clear solution.
For now, ATI wins because of price, which is something that we're able to live with. Now, if this thing is actually available when it's suppose to be, then we'll be happy. However, if it's not, then ATI will have succeeded in delaying holiday sales of NVIDIA's GeForce 6800GT. If you are at all worried about ATI bringing out the X800 XL on time, then the 6800GT is still a good option, just a potentially more costly one. We can't predict the future, but for the sake of keeping competition cleaner, we're hoping that come January, we won't regret recommending the X800 XL today.
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DeathByDuke - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
#3 nvidias response is rumoured cancellations of NV48 and NV50(GF7?), its NV40-NV44 refresh. then again noone else has said anything about that other than The Inquirer..... *rolls eyes* nvidia has a knack for surprising though.Avalon - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
An X800 XL for $299 and an X800 for $199...once the cards actually hit the shelves, it appears that ATI will have the mid-range in their grasp. The only thing worth going up against them is gambling on a $250 softmoddable 6800NU (which I had no problem doing, and am quite happy).:P
flexy - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
finally i hear some "official" rant regarding the recent delays/misleadings/paper launches and all that. I totally agree with all you said there. This was a horrible year.But also realize that you as "famous" hardware
reviewers are probably still in the best possible situation - because (even with shortages without an end) the vendors probably beg you to send you their stuff...eg. nForce 4 boards and all the nice things.
Imagine "us", the common people...we can only dream of getting ahold of pre-releases. All "we" have is your pre/reviews because noone sends us the nice stuff to review :)
Phantronius - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
I'll stick with my eVGA 6800GT for awhile, maybe next time ATi.eRAZOR2007 - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
For gods sake stop reviewing (graphics) hardware that is not available like THG does.Houdani - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
Some minor corrections...Page 1, Table: Add the X800 XT to the list, please.
Page 1, Table: Change price of the X800 XL to $299.
Page 1, Table: Change the "memc" for the X800 to 0.700 (instead of 700).
Page 1, last paragraph: Change the "$50" to "$100" to reflect the change in price of the card.
I think all other references to price in the article are correct. I only noticed the two spots on the front page which referred to the original $349 price.
Much obliged. Thanks for the review. Good read.
LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
P.S. To #6, I agree that the 6800NU is the price point ATI is truly competeing against, and it costs less than $299 easily, so ATI should think hard on their pricing scheme. Though I've seen perhaps a 50-50 success rate on unlocking them so far, so I wouldn't tout that as a feature. Mine didn't unlock, but I'm okay with that.LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
Quote:>Despite all of the issues with availability, about >a week ago, ATI fired us off an email saying that >we should expect a Radeon X800 XL at our doorsteps.
Perhaps you should have sent a note back saying "You should expect a review right around the time this card is available to the public."
Problem with paper launches is, they still get press. Hardware sites still publish reviews of hardware not available to the public because they're afraid someone else will scoop them on it, which perpetuates more paper launches. I'd love to see an alliance of the major hardware sites on the net join together and send a note to ATI and nVidia stating that "If you cannot make a product available in reasonable quantity to consumers, we will not review it".
mongoosesRawesome - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
"If you are looking for an AGP card, your only option at this price point is really the 6800GT. There are cheaper alternatives, but not better performing AGP alternatives at $400 or less."Umm.. how about the 6800NU? I've seen some sold at 200 dollars. Throw on a arctic cooling heatsing for 25-30 bucks, unlock those pipelines - and you've got yourself a 6800GT, minus the extra memory bandwidth and 128 MB of ram. For 200 to 250 dollars less than the GT, I think that is the AGP deal here. At least until ATI comes out with an AGP version of the X800 XL.
davidos - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
Anand, thanks for the great review.... Do you have any knowledge or hints as to when the pci-e 6800gts are going to start showing up in more volume?