"X1600PRO, X800GT/GTO/GTO2 versus GeForce 6600GT" confrontation
Emergence of video cards built on X1600PRO and X1600XT in the mid-end pricing range has somehow puzzled the buyers. On the one hand, prices for video cards based on GeForce 6600GT (a major competitor) have started going down, whereas 256 MB memory versions are increasingly filling the market. On the other hand, unsold X800 have been turned to X800GT/GTO/GTO2 after a series of tricks with the pipelines, so have become more affordable. Well, what to choose? We are going to help you answer this question.
GPU specifications and recommended frequencies:
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X1600PRO
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X800GT
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X800GTO
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X800GTO2
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X800XL
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GF6600GT
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Chip
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RV530
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R423/ R480
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R423/ R430/ R480
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R430/ R480
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R430
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NV43 GT
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Q-ty of transistors
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157 mln
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160 mln
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160 mln
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160 mln
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160 mln
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143 mln
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Process technology
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90 nm
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130/110 nm
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130/110 nm
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110 nm
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110 nm
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110 nm
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Pixel pipelines
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12
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8
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12
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12 (16)
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16
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8
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TMU
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4
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8
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12
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12 (16)
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16
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8
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Vertex processors
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5
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6
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6
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6
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6
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3
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Hardware support for DirectX
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9.0c
(PS 3.0, HDR )
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9.0c
(PS 2.0b)
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9.0c
(PS 2.0b)
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9.0c
(PS 2.0b)
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9.0c
(PS 2.0b)
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9.0c
(PS 3.0, HDR )
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Memory type
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DDR 1/2/3 PC3200
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DDR 1/2/3 PC3200
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DDR 1/2/3 PC3200
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DDR 1/2/3 PC3200
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DDR 1/2/3 PC3200
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DDR 1/2/3 PC3200
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Memory bus
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128 bit
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256 bit
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256 bit
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256 bit
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256 bit
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128 bit
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Clock speed of the chip
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500 MHz;
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475 MHz;
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400 MHz;
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400 MHz;
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400 MHz;
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500 MHz;
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Memory clock speeds
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780 MHz, DDR2
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700/980 MHz, DDR/DDR3
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700/980 MHz, DDR/DDR3
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980 MHz, DDR3
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980 MHz, DDR3
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1000 MHz, DDR3
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As a reference, i.e. a card which imparts sufficient performance limits, we chose ASUS EAX800XL. Since this card was once privileged to be at our test lab right after the announcement, let's briefly recall its major features to find out if something has been changed since then.
ASUS EAX800XL 256 MB
The video card is shipped in the same huge box with a handle to facilitate carrying the abundant package bundle around.
The video card comes bundled with two 15-pin D-Sub/DVI adapters, a VIVO (9-pin S-Video/HDTV(color difference)/Composite) cable, a user's manual, a CD-box with drivers, utilities, and the game Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising;
The video card is made on a red-orange board, traditional for ASUS cards built on ATI chips. The front side containing the graphic chip and half the memory chips is fully covered by the cooling system, with no cooling components provided on the reverse side. The card does not require additional power supply, although there is a pad for its soldering. Monitors are plugged in via two DVI connectors (directly or via adapters), with a TV-out/video-in connector in between.
The cooling system made up of a turbine with a heat-pipe copper radiator held by three screws and a bracket is easy to remove with a screwdriver. Its contact with the VPU is established with the "silver" layer as before. To spread heat, the memory chips on the front side are also equipped with a contact to the cooling system through heat-conductive washers. By the way, the cooling system runs quietly enough.
The R430 processor the video card is built on was manufactured quite long ago - on the 3rd week of year 2005. The chip comprises 16 pixel pipelines with a texture unit on each, as well as offers six vertex processors able executing version 2.0b pixel shaders. Therefore, it is compatible to merely DirectX 9.0b. The operating clock speed is 400 MHz. The operating clock speed is 400 MHz. The 256 MB video memory running at 980 MHz is linked to the GPU via a 256-bit bus.
The card uses eight GDDR3 memory chips made in the BGA package by Samsung and offers 2 ns access time (which is equivalent to 1000 MHz).
The VIVO features are implemented with a ATI Rage Theater chip.
Therefore, we can state that the package, the bundle and the video card itself haven't undergone any changes. Since we chose that video card as a reference, we didn't try overclocking it, but believe the past result - 440/1060 MHz - could be easily reproduced. Now move on to introducing the contenders…
Sapphire X800GTO2 256 MB
This video card is shipped in a small-size box of proprietary design, although it is available in the OEM package as well. Besides the image of a charming lady extraterrestrial, the buyer is welcomed by the inscription "Sapphire GTO2 Limited Edition". I reckon something very special is awaiting us inside.. Opening it…
Despite the small size of the box, the bundle is very rich. Besides the video card itself, the package bundle includes: two CDs with drivers and trial versions of games, a 15-pin D-Sub/DVI adapter, S-Video and Composite cables, S-Video/Composite and S-Video/HDTV adapters, an additional power adapter.
This video card is made on a red board and is almost covered with a one-tier cooling system, with the GPU and half the memory chips hidden beneath. In the upper right-hand corner, there is a connector for additional power supply.
On the reverse side, there is the other half of video memory which is cooled by an aluminum plate. The VIVO chip is also here. The video card has two DVI-outputs and a combined TV-in/out connector.
The cooling system made up of a fan and a composite radiator is fastened with five screws, two of which press the spring-loaded bracket. Heat is removed off the GPU with a copper plate, but the remaining part is cooled by an aluminum alloy plate. As the thermal interface, a "silver" paint is used for the GPU and white thermal paste - for memory chips. It is not quite clear why varied heat-conductive alloys are used for various components.
As can be seen, the paste is not applied uniformly enough over the memory, whereas there is too much of it over the processor. The "silver" paint is always hard to rub, but sometimes it is nice to see something beneath.
And here is the reward for struggle against the thermal paste. This board uses the R480 chip which was quite recently used to assemble the most powerful video cards. The major positive thing about R480 is the higher overclocking capability versus R430, which could have also been found over here. The GPU runs at 400 MHz.
It proved quite difficult to get down to the marking either. The thing is that a small quantity of thermal paste applied is rubbed with the marking, too. The video card is equipped with 256 MB of video memory as eight chips (four on the front side and four on the reverse side of the board) made in the BGA package by Samsung. The memory bus is 256-bit wide. The access time is 1.6 ns, although the memory runs at merely 980 MHz.
The ATI Rage Theater chip is in charge of video input/output features.
The overclocking capability has proved rather high for the GPU, which was predictable - as many as 560 MHz, and unexpectedly low for the video memory - merely 1120 MHz, which is much less than the 1250 MHz which we hoped for (the memory frequency for the 1.6 ns access time).
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