PowerColor X800GT

It is not a secret to anyone that since the last year's announcement of GeForce 6600GT NVIDIA has won almost undisputable leadership in the mainstream sector of PCI-E and - a bit later - AGP 8õ solutions. ATI's attempts to change the situation somehow can't be called successful - the originally abortive RX700XT solution did not appear in the retail in the end. The yield rate of chips suitable for running at the declared frequency was too small, and in the end the whole strike in defending the "near $200" sector was taken by X700 PRO video cards. However, these measures proved insufficient to leave GeForce 6600GT behind. Along with the higher performance, the Californian competitor offered more advantageous price rather than the 256 MB modification of RX700 PRO.

As regards the 128Mb version (produced under the codename RX700 (LE)), the gap has proved even more essential, but it positioned lower especially these days when manufacturers have started producing RX700 (LE) boards equipped with TSOP memory, which resulted in the reduction of the nominal frequency to 500MHz DDR.

Certain hopes were built on the release of RX800, whose MSRP was originally $199, however reality showed that the recommended price is somehow different from the real, and GeForce 6600GT have also turned cheaper - at the announcement the recommended price for these cards amounted to the same $199. In particular, today even the 128Mb version of RX800 surpasses GeForce 6600GT by about $50. Therefore, there was needed a competitive product which at a similar or close price would be able providing weighty performance advantages. In the end, a way out was found.

By the end of the last year, ATI made a qualitative renewal to the product line of PCI-E high-end solutions. In particular, as a replacement to boards on the base of R423 (RX800XT (PE)) there became solutions based on the R480 chip which differed from the predecessor in only a few optimizations (in particular, by higher yield for chips that ran securely at the declared frequency) and in some overstatement of the clock speed. Nevertheless, video cards on its base acquired the new commercial codename RX850XT (PE). But stocks of R423 chips haven't gone anywhere, and the company found an excellent use for them.

On 9 August, ATI presented a new solution for the mainstream sector of PCI-E video cards - the RX800GT.

Despite the original rumors saying that the cards would be based on the R430 chip (0.11 mk process technology), in the end just stocks of R423 and R480 went into these board. On the eve of announcement of ATI's new-generation chip - R520 - and its lower-end modifications, such a move looks logical enough.

At the same time, the originally suggested clock speeds of the graphic processor was increased to 475MHz, which would have been an insurmountable threshold for the 0.11 mk chip without using the low-k - the R430. But for the R423/R480, such frequency is just OK, even with some margin, because boards built on RX8x0 XT (let alone ÐÅ) were running originally at a much higher frequency.

Therefore, the chip potentially offers 16(!) pixel pipelines. Only 8 of them are activated, and that does not rule out their unlocking (or at least part of them). In what follows, we'll verify these assumptions in practice.

The possibility of partial unlocking of pipelines is seen from the fact that according to some proven sources part of the manufacturers already intend to present X800GT video cards with as many as 12 pixel pipelines already unlocked. Clearly, it is the overclocker's dream that all the 16 pipelines be activated (on the mainstream card, such a turn would have been simply fantastic).

Another weighty advantage of X800GT - the exchange bus of 256-Bit memory. Since GeForce 6600GT offers merely a 128-Bit bus, potentially it is a big advantage which should reveal itself at high resolutions. As regards the video memory capacity, there will be both 256 Mb and 128 Mb versions. At the same time, boards will be equipped with both GDDR3 (mostly, 256 MB modifications) and DDR1 (cheaper models).

As to the manufacturers, ATI's website mentions four of them which were given an official say-so to release their own X800GT video cards. Among them are Sapphire, TUL (PowerColor), HIS, and GeCube. Today, we are reviewing one of the most powerful versions of X800GT - one equipped with 256Mb GDDR3 video memory, made by PowerColor.

PowerColor X800GT

Package bundle:

• PowerColor X800GT video card;
• Two DVI/D-Sub 15-pin adapters and a S-Video/RCA adapter;
• RCA, S-Video, HDTV cables;
• User's manual;
• CD with drivers and utilities;
• CD with software for DVD;
• Game - Hitman: Contracts on 2 CDs.

To all appearances, this board is of ATI's reference design. Note that not all boards by the company's partners offer similar design. In particular, HIS placed all the memory chips on the front side of the board, and on some cards there are contact pads for "additional" video memory chips, which implies possible emergence of 512Mb modifications. Certainly, this prospect has disputable use considering the price positioning of the card, but nevertheless.. With Rage Theater, all is neither straightforward - on PowerColor X800GT, there is soldered pad for it, however the chip itself is not installed. Judging by other photos of X800GT cards, some solutions will be equipped with a Rage Theater chip which will provide support for VIVO features.

As the cooling system, PowerColor uses an aluminum radiator with a fan covering the GPU. The cooler does not cool the memory chips on the front side because there is no contact between them. To provide more reliable fastening of the cooling system, on the reverse side of the board there is plate to which the radiator is attached with two spring-loaded screws. To prevent the board from damages upon contact with the radiator, protective washers are fitted on its foot.

The cooling system is not making immense noise, and if necessary you can adjust the fan's rotational speed (e.g. with Riva Tuner).

The GPU of R480 offers eight activated pixel pipelines and six vertex units. The GPU operating frequency is 475MHz.

By the way, the utilities which we normally use in tests detected the chip as R423.

The board is equipped with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory, a 256-bit data transmission bus, in the form of eight Samsung memory circuits made in the BGA form factor, of 2 ns access time. This is equivalent to 500 MHz (1000 MHz DDR) of operating frequency. The nominal operating frequency of the video memory is 980 MHz DDR. The memory chips are positioned in four along each side of the PCB. Also, note that some partners are probably using much faster memory of 1.6 ns access time. That is most possible in the so-called "overclockers' versions" which will be more than enough considering the specifics and positioning of the product.

Unlike RX800XT, the RX800GT is not equipped with a connector for additional power supply - therefore, the power consumption level is not high and does not exceed 75W which the card gets through the PCI-Express x16 slot.

PowerColor X800GT is equipped with two digital outputs (there are two DVI/D-Sub 15-pin adapters in the package bundle). The presence of two digital outputs is not standard. Many manufacturers have equipped their X800GT boards with an analogous output as well.

Test configuration

To test the ATI video cards, we used the latest Catalyst 5.7 WHQL-drivers, and ForceWare 77.77 beta drivers - for NVIDIA cards.

Overclocking

Since the board is based on the R480 chip, we expected a good enough overclocking for the chip. That has been verified through practical experiments - we were able to overclock the GPU from the standard 475 MHz to 560 MHz.

As regards the video memory, at that we were in for a very pleasant surprise - we were able to attain the 1120MHz DDR bar. For the memory of 2 ns access time (nominal - 1000 MHz DDR), such overclocking is successful enough.

The overclocking was done under standard overclocking without using additional blowing on an open test-bed The ambient temperature in the premises proved 25 C.

Note that not only our experiments verified the good overclocking capability of RX800GT. Experiments on overclocking carried out by some of our colleagues showed similar overclocking, for both the GPU and the video memory. Therefore, we can assert that many RX800GT boards on the base of R480 will overclock well, which is nice, especially in view of the failure to unlock the pixel pipelines.

Performance analysis and conclusions

At last, after a long period saddened by events not very successful for the Canadian company, there has happened what will turn the worshippers of ATI into delight because they have been looking forward to seeing successful solutions from their favorite company, which especially applies to CrossFire Edition video cards and the repeatedly delayed announcement of R520. Indeed, they have every reason to be pleased - the novelty fully justifies its purpose because at many tests X800GT 256Mb proves faster that GeForce 6600GT and even GeForce 6800LE which currently costs much higher. However, the advantage is not so great to talk about the total leadership in this sector. X800GT can be called a very successful competitive solution was is able to shatter the difficult to reach positions of GeForce 6600GT in this sector.

We could have safely ascertained an absolute leadership but only if we were able to unlock the pixel pipelines. Perhaps there will be found a way to do that, but for now we'll be heading for the current state of affairs.

If we distract from the worshippers and their joy and think soberly - the result was expectable enough already after the announcement of the official specifications.

It was clear that the 256-bit bus will let X800GT advantage in high resolutions and with the AA enabled, which is a traditional bottleneck in GeForce 6600GT.

From that viewpoint, it would be interesting to test the 128 Mb modification of X800GT as well in order to keep track of the effect of memory capacity on the final result and count the efficiency from buying this or that modification of the card as compared to GeForce 6800GT and 6800LE. Besides, do not forget that NVIDIA responded to the release of RX800GT with an official announcement of price reduction for GeForce 6800 - to $199. Proceeding from this fact, we can forecast further march of events. It is quite probable that the price for GeForce 6600GT will go down a bit further in view of the event.

MSRP for the 128Mb version is $139, therefore it will cost even cheaper than GeForce 6600GT whose current price is $150 onwards.

As regards the technological and functional traits, the plus of GeForce 6600GT is support for SM 3.0, HDR, and of course the NVIDIA SLI. As regards the projected support for ATI by X800GT, nothing is still certain.

Now we move on to the issue that is of concern to most users who have read this material. We are talking about the probability of releasing the AGP versions of X800GT. Presumably, such products will anyway appear, because it would be strange to ignore the so popular sector and give it in to the power of GeForce 6600GT AGP equipped with the HSI bridge. By the way, it is not mandatory at all that AGP cards will support AGP with the RIALTO bridge. According to some evidence, a release of cards on the base of chips offering native support for AGP is highly probable. Most likely, R481 chips will go into that, with half the pixel pipelines disabled. But for now, we can't assert this fact for sure.

As regards the PowerColor's batch-produced card reviewed today, the solution left only positive impressions. The cooling system stands out with a low enough noise level, and the package bundle for this mainstream card is worthy enough. The overclocking capability is worth of a special mention - we were able to overclock it from the standard 475/980MHz to 560/1120MHz!

The only thing which may sadden the idyll is the price. If it doesn't exceed the recommended, the solution is definitely in for success. If it is higher than $159 (and thus higher than GeForce 6600GT), the choice in such situation will be less evident. Of course, for the first time after announcement we can't do anything about the extra charge like about the release of more powerful (and expensive) modifications to the board, but the sooner the market gets saturate, the earlier the prices go down, which is to the better only.

As regards the comparison of X800GT and RX700 PRO (whose current price is "$150 onwards"), all is absolutely evident in here. The latter has only one option - to reduce the price and thus move to the cheaper sector. Otherwise, its purchase will not make any sense.

Summary

PowerColor X800GT is a very successful product that is on par with GeForce 6600GT and showed good overclocking capability. Unfortunately, we were unable to activate the pixel pipelines through the BIOS update, but id the price is not much higher than the recommended $160, then even without that the card will be a success in its sector. Therefore, we can recommend X800GT 256Mb, namely the PowerColor's board tested by us in this material, for purchase.