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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classy - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
This review is really lacking.I agree with Avalon and others, without breaking down the differences and unlocking the cards that can be unlocked the review is really lacking in info. The reviews have to to get back to what made Anandtech tops, which is uncovering the true potential of the hardware.BenSkywalker - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I would agree the review is quite lacking. In the $200 range there are two serious competitors- unlocked 16 pipe GTOs and the 6800GS neither of which were shown in this test. Why exclude the only two configurations really worth considering?Avalon - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
This review is useless without attempting to unlock the cards and identify the cores and memory used on them. Why even mention how these cards unlock if you aren't even going to do it?Spacecomber - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
It would really be helpful to lay out where these cards are situated in the ATI line-up. For alot of people, including me, its getting difficult to know the differences between all these X800 cards (X800 Pro, X800 XL, X800 GT, X800 GTO), not to mention how the X850 fits in.Probably Jarred updating his cheatsheet would be the best place for this info, but Anandtech needs a place where you can go to see which cores are being used, what the basic specifications for these cores are, and a rough estimate of the price for these different models. Doing the same for Nvidia would also be good, though they seem to have a less confusing lineup, with really only the 6800 GS to be added to the 6800 lineup.
Of course, with the GPU cheatsheet being over a year old, there's no mention of the 7800s or the 1800s, either.
Space
Spoelie - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
Never knew anandtech was so out of touch with the community, since the GTO² has been making waves in it for the past 4 months. And with that I don't mean the timing of the review, but the content of it.What you get is essentially a X850XT for a price a little higher than a standard GTO. The chip is the R480 GUARANTEED to unlock the remaining pipes (yes, that's a 100% succes rate), the cooler is the reference X850Pro cooler, the PCB is the one used for the X850 line and you get the same memory as on the XT PE, as well as the power connector necessary for all of it. I don't see much of it mentioned in the review.
Actually it's quite pointless buying it if you're not going to do any unlocking. The other GTO's can be had a bit cheaper and with quieter cooling solutions. Regardless, it's a limited edition and finding it 4 months after introduction with such a reputation will be troublesome at best. You are obliged to leave it on the shelf if you're not gonna do unlocking, as you are quite possibly taking away one of the precious remaining cards from someone who is actually wanting one, when you can get another for less money that is gonna service you just as well. Even though the 6800GS took away some of the appeal of buying a SM2.0 type card.
Cruise51 - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I'm not sure why they left out the Fireblade GTO, It overclocks FAR higher than any of the cards in the review.WhipperSnapper - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I know that the newer Connect3D x800 GTO's have been sabotaged so that they no longer unlock, but shouldn't the article have contained a mention, somewhere, about the possibility a few lucky recipients might be able to unlock them to 16 pipes in addition to their great overclocking? These cards were all the rage back in late October and early November and had an unlocking success rate of about 95% before the new batches were ruined.
skunkbuster - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
how were the new ones sabotaged? i havent read anything about thatZoomer - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
They are not sabotaged; they just use a core that isn't unlockable anymore.Unlocking is only possible if the right fuses aren't laser cut.
bamacre - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I would have liked to see the Sapphire X800 GTO Fireblade Edition reviewed and benched as well. It's louder with the huge fan, but I bet it overclocks more than the Ultimate Edition.