ATI Radeon X800 GT: A Quality Mid-range Solution
by Josh Venning on September 28, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Introduction
We can still only imagine what's going on over at ATI right now, given how far behind they are in the running for highest-performance graphics card technology. Repeated delays can seriously impact morale, but we sincerely hope (and are willing to bet) that their attitude is one of hopeful optimism. In our experience, ATI has had its share of problems with buggy drivers and frustrating interfaces, more so than NVIDIA we'd say, but they have remained competitive and have consistently provided consumers with quality parts. Periodic hiccups are expected in this industry, and what's important is that, overall, their parts get the job done in terms of providing exceptional graphics and performance for PC gamers.
We know that ATI hasn't given up yet, as there have been various small releases and updates lately. For example, the Crossfire dual card setup that we have is showing promise, as we've just given it an in-depth look. Today, we look at the latest example of their continuation to fight for market share. The fact of the matter is that the budget and mid-range cards sell in far larger quantities than the high end parts, and ATI has released several GPUs recently for this segment. ATI is trying to take care of its budget and mid-price card owners, of which we whole-heartedly approve. Their recent HyperMemory driver update targeted the budget users, and now, we have a new card called the Radeon X800 GT.
The specifications alone suggest that ATI's Radeon X800 GT will be at least a good solution for mid-range gaming performance. This new card also has some interesting architecture/design changes that we'll get to shortly, and we're determined to test it to the fullest. Not only will we be looking at how the card performs in a plethora of games, but we'll also be looking at power consumption as well. Now, we bring you the Radeon X800 GT.
We can still only imagine what's going on over at ATI right now, given how far behind they are in the running for highest-performance graphics card technology. Repeated delays can seriously impact morale, but we sincerely hope (and are willing to bet) that their attitude is one of hopeful optimism. In our experience, ATI has had its share of problems with buggy drivers and frustrating interfaces, more so than NVIDIA we'd say, but they have remained competitive and have consistently provided consumers with quality parts. Periodic hiccups are expected in this industry, and what's important is that, overall, their parts get the job done in terms of providing exceptional graphics and performance for PC gamers.
We know that ATI hasn't given up yet, as there have been various small releases and updates lately. For example, the Crossfire dual card setup that we have is showing promise, as we've just given it an in-depth look. Today, we look at the latest example of their continuation to fight for market share. The fact of the matter is that the budget and mid-range cards sell in far larger quantities than the high end parts, and ATI has released several GPUs recently for this segment. ATI is trying to take care of its budget and mid-price card owners, of which we whole-heartedly approve. Their recent HyperMemory driver update targeted the budget users, and now, we have a new card called the Radeon X800 GT.
The specifications alone suggest that ATI's Radeon X800 GT will be at least a good solution for mid-range gaming performance. This new card also has some interesting architecture/design changes that we'll get to shortly, and we're determined to test it to the fullest. Not only will we be looking at how the card performs in a plethora of games, but we'll also be looking at power consumption as well. Now, we bring you the Radeon X800 GT.
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
It's okay, Paul - we know how names with the first letter can get mixed up. ;)A few of the paragraphs are mine, but I doubt anyone would be able to pick them out. LOL. It's like "Where's Waldo": where's the paragraph written by a different editor?
ViRGE - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
It went up nearly 2 days ago then disappeared, and now it's finally back up. What happened?DerekWilson - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
Technical difficulties :-)We worked it out though
overclockingoodness - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
Whenever you see an article disappear like that, just know that they published it accidently. Although I must say, you guys have been having technical difficulties for quite a bit lately.I probably wouldn't mind if the ATI R520 article went up early due to technical difficulties. ;)
DerekWilson - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
hehe ... If we could possibly get it done early, that might be a problem :-) But we'll be working hard and late on that one.rqle - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
On the Power Consumption page, is that the WHOLE system power draw (cpu, hd, video card, ram, board) or is it just then Video card?rqle - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
nvm, didnt read it clear the first way throughnourdmrolNMT1 - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
my 9800 pro is seriously taking a beating.maybe this christmas ill get a whole new inside. since upgrading my gpu means upgrading my mobo too.
hmm
ShadowVlican - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
oh man.. these cards are supposed to cater to different price points, but now there's so many cards that it makes it even more confusing to buy... i'll stick with 6600GT because of purevideo (next pc = htpc)Jep4444 - Wednesday, September 28, 2005 - link
ATIs next generation cards are supposedly one upping nVidia with Pure Video with H.264 encoding and while your at it, you may want to look into the whole Avivo thing since it seems to be up your alley(although i guess alot of it is marketing, im just referring to the concept in general)that aside i don't know why you recomend the X800XT to those needing to play at those settings at all completely ignoring the X800XL which at times has reached price levels below $250