Legit Reviews

The ATI Radeon X800GT is based on R430 core, 8 pipes, 395Mhz core, 700MHz GDDR1/3 memory. It will be announced on 25th July and will be priced at US$149. HIS will be producing this card exclusively at the initially stage and will take their own cooling design like normal. Sapphire and PowerColor will be producing at a later stage in a couple of weeks rumors have noted.

I have to say im a little unhappy with ATI's current naming scheme.

while Nvidia has mad it reall easy to figure the differences between cards ATI seems to have created nothing but issues.

6800U = 16pix pipes
6800GT = 16 pix pipes
6800 = 12 pix pipes (i dont aggree with this naming either)

6600GT = 8 pipes
6600 = 8 pipes

6200 = 4 pipes
6200TC = 4 pipes

Now compare this to ATI

X850XT PE = 16
X850XT = 16
X850 Pro = 12 (makes no sense)

X800XT PE = 16
X800XT = 16
X800 Pro = 16
X800XL = 16
X800 = 12 (great another x800 thats not 16 pipes)
X800SE = 8 (this one is really confusing)
X800GT = 8

So you can see why im pissed with ATI, at least nvidia keeps MOST of the 6800 series in the same range while a person buying an ATI could get confused and think they are getting a 16 pipe or 12 pipe card when in fact they are buying an X800 series with only 8 pipes.

infinitevalence wrote:X800 Pro = 16

'
x800pro = 12 pipeline not 16

oops!

Any idea who will be carrying this card??

I agree that the x800 series can be eye-crossing, but this is a great release as far as I'm concerned. The x800xl is, IMO, the bang/buck card to get in the mid range arena (PS 3.0 be damned). If the R520 can topple the 7800GTX, it'll be an ATI friendly landscape:

Budget = x800GT
Mid = x800xl
High = ???

By the time it's released 6600GTs will probably under $149, so unless ATI has a trick up their sleeve, the X800GT will most likely fail.

Knight Who Says Ni! wrote:By the time it's released 6600GTs will probably under $149, so unless ATI has a trick up their sleeve, the X800GT will most likely fail.

Possibly, but for a card that's still selling anywhere from $160 to $225+, I'd be somewhat surprised. IMO, the 6600GT will need a price drop just to stay a competitive option, and they'll need it soon.

IMO the extra $10 for a 6600GT would definitely justify the performance difference though. Afterall the X800GT doesn't have anything new to offer being based on the R430.

Knight Who Says Ni! wrote:IMO the extra $10 for a 6600GT would definitely justify the performance difference though. Afterall the X800GT doesn't have anything new to offer being based on the R430.

I'll wait for the benchmarks before a final verdict, but will say I'd be really surprised if a 128bit 6600GT is going to be a better option than a 256bit x800GT, let alone worth a $10-$50+ pricing differential. Afterall, it's not about offering something new so much as it is offering a better[/] option...

Wait, it's 256Bit? I take back what I said.

Knight Who Says Ni! wrote:Wait, it's 256Bit? I take back what I said.

Inq Link

• ATI X800GT is eight pipelines card based on R430PRO chip developed on 110 nanometre marchitecture featuring 160 million transistors. It will be available as both 128MB and 256 MB card in both cases featuring 256 bit memory interface. Card will be clocked at 392 MHz core and 700 MHz memory and will come with GDDR3 or DDR1 memory. Its PCIe 16 X card but I guess ATI can make AGP version pairing this chip with its well know Rialto bridge chip.
  
  This card will look exactly like X800 standard card but except 12 pipelines, X800GT will have eight of them enabled.

Hmm, I wonder if you'll be able to unlock the four extra pipelines.

Knight Who Says Ni! wrote:Hmm, I wonder if you'll be able to unlock the four extra pipelines.

You think like the Inq! When they updated a couple of days ago, they posed the same question:

• and theoretically you might be able to enable all 12 pipeslines on such card, but I am quite sure that ATI will find a way to prevent you doing it.

If they do end up being unlockable, it'd be interesting to see how it'd compete with the 6800nu, particularly since in PCI-E variety, the 6800nu's are stuck at 12 pipes (unlike their AGP counterpart):

6800nu = 325-350MHz core, 600-700MHz mem, 256bit, 12 pipes
x800GT = 392MHz core, 700MHz mem, 256bit, 8 pipes + ??

the Inqurirer write-up posed another question for me. Why no crossfire support? They do, afterall, need a low-end card that with dual GPU support to duke it out with the 6600GT SLi.

I don't know that Crossfire support would be a make/break type of a deal in the value segment, as dual graphics cards have by and large appealed to the enthusiast as opposed to the budgeted gamer (or even the mid range gamer). It's like what we've both been recommending on MPC - skip the 2 x 6800GT/Ultra route and get a single 7800GTX. So I wouldn't agree that it's needed in order to "duke it out with the 6600GT." Those with $300 to spend would be better off with an x800xl or 6800GT IMO. Heck, even the x850xt PE has been seen for as low as $350 lately - less than the cost of most 2 x 6600GT solutions, particularly when you factor in an SLI mobo.

In any event, the Inq wrote the opposite regarding Crossfire support, so I guess it's a moot argument:

• I suggest ATI wants to put the pressure on Geforce 6600GT as X800GT will be Crossfire capable and possible priced at same range.

One4yu2c wrote:In any event, the Inq wrote the opposite regarding Crossfire support, so I guess it's a moot argument:

• I suggest ATI wants to put the pressure on Geforce 6600GT as X800GT will be Crossfire capable and possible priced at same range.

Oops, nevermind that, but I think the X800GT could be a good performer in a dual GPU format as it has 256-Bit memory(that and pipelines are usually what show the performance in a dula GPU setup). Also don't forget it wouldn't be half bad to pair with, say, an X800XL, either.