ATI Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition
ATI Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition Layout
Specifications:
| ATI Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition |
| Chip code name |
R480 |
| Process technology |
0.13 micron (low-k) |
| Memory bus |
256-bit (GDDR3) |
| Interface |
PCI-Express x16 |
| Memory |
256Mb |
| Chip clock speed |
540MHz |
| Memory speed |
1180MHz DDR |
| Peak memory bandwidth |
37.8 GB/s |
| Q-ty of Vertex Pipelines |
6
600 mln polygon transformations per second
5.7 bln vertex shaders per second processed |
| Q-ty of pixel pipelines |
16 |
| Vertex shader version |
2.0 |
| Pixel shader version |
2.0b/w 3Dc |
| Generation |
DirectX 9.0+ |
| Q-ty of monitor outputs |
2 |
Due to the modern scalable architecture of graphic chips, it is possible to create any multiple configurations of pixel pipelines quantities on the chip, including 8- and 4-pipelined configurations. There aren't any other obstacles except the economic inexpediency.
The diversity of pipeline numbers, memory/core frequencies for cards released in 2004 can be represented in the following table:
| Video card |
Core |
Pixel Pipes |
Pixel/Texel
Fillrate |
Bit rate
of memory |
Frequency
of memory |
Bandwidth
(Gb/sec) |
| ATI |
| Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition |
540Mhz |
16 |
8.64Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1.18GHz |
37,8 |
| Radeon X850 XT |
520Mhz |
16 |
8.32Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1.08GHz |
34,6 |
| Radeon X850 Pro |
520Mhz |
12 |
6.24Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1.08GHz |
34,6 |
| Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition |
520MHz |
16 |
8.32Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1.12GHz |
35,8 |
| Radeon X800 XT |
500MHz |
16 |
8Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1GHz |
32 |
| Radeon X800 XL |
400MHz |
16 |
6.4Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1GHz |
32 |
| Radeon X800 Pro |
475MHz |
12 |
5.7Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
900MHz |
28,8 |
| Radeon X800 |
400MHz |
16 |
4.8Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
700MHz |
22,4 |
| NVIDIA |
| GeForce 6800 Ultra |
400MHz |
16 |
6.4Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1.1GHz |
35,2 |
| GeForce 6800 GT |
350MHz |
16 |
5.9Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
1.0GHz |
32 |
| GeForce 6800 |
325MHz |
12 |
3.9Gpixels/Sec |
256 bits |
700MHz |
22,4 |
We can say that ATI is more confident a player in the top-end sector of video cards in its desire to fill the sector uniformly. But NVIDIA's job at that is being done by the partners, so there are much more than three - just mention ASUS V9999 Gamer Edition which is an interim solution between GeForce 6800 and GeForce 6800 GT.
Here is the reference ATI Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition and ATI Radeon X800XT.
 ATI Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition and ATI Radeon X800XTThe first what catches the eye is the dual-tiered design of the cooling. Manufacturers of ATI produce used high-performance massive coolers by Arctic Cooler, but in the reference make it is the first dual-slot card from ATI. NVIDIA worshippers can of course smile, and ATI fans object, which ATI did precisely two years later (the first two-storeyed NVIDIA card is NV30, announced still late in 2002). Both prove right.
Remember the three differences of X850 from X800:
- Chip optimization;
- Now power management features;
- More efficient heat-sink system.
The last item is just a new cooler on the card. The first item can't be verified - let's trust to engineers at ATI, they had as much as 8 months for improving the chip. and "new core power management features" are about disabling the unused chip blocks.
Not all is that sad. The driver our X850XT Platinum Edition was equipped with has integrated overclocking tools. Formerly, only some brave partners of ATI and Alex Unwinder dared, but the company itself vowed it did't know that word at all. Overclocking was possible for the X850 series only.
The attempt to use a new driver on X800 failed.
With the new driver, they succeeded to attain the following maximum values of core and memory with full stability preserved:
| Video card |
Overclocking |
Default |
| ATI Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition |
582/1.20 |
540/1,18 |
As we see, the core frequency was overclocked by 10%, whereas that for the memory almost stayed intact. This is understandable, because the same memory as on ATI Radeon X800XT PE - 1.6 ns GDDR3 of maximum frequency 600 MHz (which gives resultant 1.2 GHz) was used. That is, the memory runs at its technological limit, and use of 1.4 ns (maximum frequency 700 MHz) makes little sense in terms of economy - it is in shortage even for the defense industry, industrial instrumentation and medicine where price is of the lowest priority.
Remember that unlike the previous X800 series, the X800XT PE and X800XT could be told apart only by the visual sign - in the former case, 1.6 ns memory with the cooling bar on the reverse side was used, whereas in X800XT there is 2.0 ns memory without any cooling of memory on the reverse side:
 ASUS X800XT and ATI X800XT refThat's right - today's Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition also has a metal bar for cooling:
The chip differs from the previous X800XT in only the increased operating frequency - 540 MHz. It was manufactured at the TSMC factory following the 0.13 mk process technology with copper connections and low-k dielectric like in R420/R423 (AGP and PCI-E versions of X800). For the chip, ATI implemented the power-saving feature intended for mobile solutions where unused blocks are fully disabled in the 2D mode.
Additional power - already familiar 6-pin connector. All the video cards of the PCI-E format which require extra power supply are equipped with a connector just like that. The video card will be invariably equipped with an adapter which will not be needed by owners of new-generation power-supply unit.
The inputs/outputs are not traditional - two digital, and a TV-OUT, no analogous, so the user will have to use an adapter. Support for VIVO - ATI Rage Theater.
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