ATI Radeon X800 GTO Mini Roundup: Sapphire, Connect3D, and PowerColor
by Josh Venning on December 26, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Test Setup/Battlefield 2 Performance
We tested the X800 GTO alongside a variety of cards, and we used two resolutions: 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. We also tested each resolution with 4XAA and 8XAF for a total of 4 numbers per game. We would like to mention that as a general rule, a game is more or less unplayable under about 29 or 30 frames per second (depending on the game); however, each person has their limit. We've found that for fast-paced games like Battlefield 2 and Halflife 2, 35 fps and above will allow for enjoyable gameplay, while games like Splinter Cell would be just as fun at a much lower fps. This ultimately, of course, is all up to the personal preference of the player.
Here is the system that we used for testing:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 Processor
2x512MB OCZ 2-2-2-6 1T DDR400 RAM
Seagate 7200.7 120 GB Hard Drive
OCZ 600 W PowerStream Power Supply
Starting out our tests with Battlefield 2, we see that the PowerColor X800 GTO 16 scores significantly higher than the standard X800 GTO. Note that because the other three X800 GTOs are all clocked at stock speeds (400/490), they are all represented as the reference ATI Radeon X800 GTO. Keep in mind that the X800 XT is a much higher priced part, but in Bf2, the PowerColor GTO gets framerates that aren't far behind it. This is interesting when you consider that the X800 XT costs $100 to $200 more than the PowerColor X800 GTO 16 at the time of this writing.
We would see the same type of performance from the other GTOs if we were able to unlock the pixel pipelines to 16, but with PowerColor offering an unlocked part out of the box, there's no chance that you'll end up stuck with 12 pipes.
We tested the X800 GTO alongside a variety of cards, and we used two resolutions: 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. We also tested each resolution with 4XAA and 8XAF for a total of 4 numbers per game. We would like to mention that as a general rule, a game is more or less unplayable under about 29 or 30 frames per second (depending on the game); however, each person has their limit. We've found that for fast-paced games like Battlefield 2 and Halflife 2, 35 fps and above will allow for enjoyable gameplay, while games like Splinter Cell would be just as fun at a much lower fps. This ultimately, of course, is all up to the personal preference of the player.
Here is the system that we used for testing:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum/SLI motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 Processor
2x512MB OCZ 2-2-2-6 1T DDR400 RAM
Seagate 7200.7 120 GB Hard Drive
OCZ 600 W PowerStream Power Supply
Starting out our tests with Battlefield 2, we see that the PowerColor X800 GTO 16 scores significantly higher than the standard X800 GTO. Note that because the other three X800 GTOs are all clocked at stock speeds (400/490), they are all represented as the reference ATI Radeon X800 GTO. Keep in mind that the X800 XT is a much higher priced part, but in Bf2, the PowerColor GTO gets framerates that aren't far behind it. This is interesting when you consider that the X800 XT costs $100 to $200 more than the PowerColor X800 GTO 16 at the time of this writing.
We would see the same type of performance from the other GTOs if we were able to unlock the pixel pipelines to 16, but with PowerColor offering an unlocked part out of the box, there's no chance that you'll end up stuck with 12 pipes.
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Zax - Saturday, December 31, 2005 - link
I have a Fireblade edition gto..as mentioned, it TOTALLY smokes the others in overclocking!!The Fireblade edition should have been reviewed...NOT to ultimate version..
crusadersrealm - Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - link
Why bother writing a review if you aren't going to do the proper investigation. The GTO2 uses the same chip (R480) as the X850XT PE . A simple bios update enables the other 4 pipes....he calls it too risky though "technically" possibe. I guess the quality of the reviews at this site have gone to the pits.Sanctusx2 - Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - link
vertical-align:super:P
Jimmdean - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
Personally, I feel the real strength of the x800GTO is its availability in AGP form.Since I'm still using AGP, the 6800GS isn't an option.
My Sapphire X800GTO AGP is highly overclockable, and definately the best card value I've ever gotten...
Jimmdean - Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - link
Well, looks like now there is 6800GS in AGP, my bad...Avalon - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
My only problem is that they specifically mentioned unlocking in the article. It wasn't even just a single sentence afterthought, either, but it was several blurbs. Why mention it if you aren't going to try it?Did Anand mention the pencil mod for the DFI Ultra-D but not follow through? No! He pulled the HSF off the northbridge of his board and went and modded it, then reported it to us fellow users. That's the stuff I like to see.
BIOS flashing is hardly more dangerous than overclocking as to justify doing one but not the other.
Brian23 - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
I have the X800 GTO2. It's a sweet card. It unlocked just fine to 16 pipelines, and it overclocks to similar speeds as a X850 XT PE. I didn't even need to replace the stock heatsink on it.Wesleyrpg - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
Whats happened to Anandtech of late?Firstly the review is about 4 months too late! Then we get this guff about that bios modding/unlocking pipelines on your card is unsafe! Who cares! We come to this site to read about what happens when you mod and the performance increases/risks, not to read some lecture about how dangerous bios modding is!
So its safe for you guys to 'overclock' the cards, but it's not ok to mod the bios to unlock pipes? In my view, both are equally dangerous, it must of come down to sheer lazyness on your reviewers part!
C'mon guys, pull your finger out...
Beenthere - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
The review was for folks looking for mid-level graphics cards to plug and play. Sure some folks want to overclock everything, but most PC users aren't willing to risk damage to their hardware with long term overclocking. And spare me the dribble about O/C'ing being 100% safe as I've done it for years. The reality is if there were zero risk in overclocking, then all hardware would be clocked to the max.Besides the really important part of any Mobo, video card or PSU review is how cool the box is that the hardware comes in. Ya gotta give these hardware mfgs. credit, they know the hormone crazed kids will get off on the cyborg bimbos on the front of the box, the pretty colors on the box, and the all important heatsink shape and fan color. How the product actually performs ain't all that important as long as makes the hormones flow...
Ya gotta Luv it !!!
BenSkywalker - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
"The review was for folks looking for mid-level graphics cards to plug and play."6800GS out of the box, under $200 at NewEgg right now and smacks any board in this review silly. No matter how you look at it, this review was lacking giving the most credit possible to it. Flat out misleading is closer to what it appears.