ATI Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB

[Brian]

ATI Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB (http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/273/ATI+Radeon+X1800+GTO+256MB/)

"For the X1800 GTO preview back on March 9, I only had time to run 4 cards through 3 games. I’ve been benchmarking around the clock until just last a couple weeks ago and now have 11 cards to compare in 8 games spanning multiple genres (9 if you count 3DMark, which I don’t…). One of the cards I’ve added for testing since the preview is the X1800 XL. As such, we can now show the difference the 4 removed pipelines actually make."

[tobba007]

Excellent review there Kurtis - I needed a comparison of these 2 cards, with an unbiased slant, and that's what I've got!

m

[Kurtis]

i recommend reading my 7600 GT review as well. i found out some interesting information about the pricing while i was writing that review. the main thing you need to see is the conclusion:



Upon looking at the benchmark results, we can see that the 7600 GT and the X1800 GTO perform very close to one another. In some of the games, one of the cards clearly wins, but for the most part the two cards are neck-and-neck. This makes my decision in recommending one or the other difficult…

One thing the X1800 GTO has going for it that the 7600 GT can’t offer is HDR+AA. My personal feeling is that ATI’s X1000 series of cards are to an extent more fully featured than NVIDIA’s 7-series as a result of the HDR+AA issue. The problem is that while HDR+AA is nice, most games don’t even support HDR, so it might be a non-issue for you altogether. Add to that the fact that these are mid-range cards, and you’re going to have a tough time running HDR in the first place except at low resolutions, and perhaps HDR+AA isn’t even relevant in this market segment. So whether or not that issue matters is up to the individual consumer – you’ll have to make that decision on your own.

When it comes to price, the 7600 GT has the advantage. Not only is XFX’s 7600 GT XXX Edition $30 cheaper than an X1800 GTO, but I just learned today that there is a $30 mail-in-rebate as well – making the 7600 GT $60 cheaper than its direct competitor. Granted, you may despise the idea of mail-in rebates, but it’s $30 nonetheless. XFX is also bundling G.R.A.W. (Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter), increasing the 7600 GT’s value. If price is more important to you than HDR+AA, the 7600 GT XXX Edition looks like a great option – it’s basically the same price as a standard 7600 GT after the rebate, so you’re really getting a XXX Edition and a $50 game for the price of a standard 7600 GT.

I'd also like to mention a pretty sweet perk that you get when you buy an XFX 6-series or 7-series video card: the XFX Double Lifetime Warranty. XFX will repair and service your 6-Series or 7-Series Graphics Card for as long as you own it. All you have to do is register the card with XFX online. And, should you sell or transfer the card, they'll honor the warranty for the card's second owner, too, as long as they register it with XFX online. You get protection AND the added value of being able to pass along a full warranty with the card should you sell or otherwise transfer it. Now that's a Double Lifetime Warranty! (Yes… yes it is. – Ed.)

In the end, if you’re looking for a new PCI-Express video card in the mid-range segment and you’ve got about $200 to spend, your main options are either an X1800 GTO or NVIDIA’s 7600 GT. These two cards perform so close to one another that I can’t give a solid recommendation for one over the other… You should rest easy knowing that either way, you’ll have bought a good video card. In the end, you’ll need to decide what is more important to you: HDR+AA (X1800 GTO) or saving roughly $110 when you account for the $60 mail-in rebate and the bundled G.R.A.W. ($50 value). In the case that you were planning on buying G.R.A.W., the decision should be obvious; get XFX’s 7600 GT XXX Edition for half the price of an X1800 GTO.

http://www.thetechlounge.com/article/276/XFX+GeForce+7600+GT+256MB+PCIE+XXX+Edition/

[mustafa]

I really wanted to know if i failed in flashing the x1800 gto to x1800 xl would it be easy to restore the default bois of the gto or it is someting out of hands?

by the way what is ur opinion in powercolor x1800 gto?

thanks

[Kurtis]

i have no idea if you'd be able to recover from a failed BIOS flash... i haven't tried it, personally.

as far as the different brands of video cards go, that's all up to you. my personal opinion is i don't care that much who's sticker is on the video card, what i car about is what the GPU is under the heatsink. the deciding factor for me would be the price, the bundle, and the warranty.

[mustafa]

well what i think about the x1800 gto GPU is that it is has superior power (321 million trasistors and 256 bit memory interface),excellent support for HDR, AA and AF but when it comes to the 7600 gt it is cheaper, hell of a fast card,
designed for specific game titles but unfortunately it only has 167 million transistors and 128 bit memory interface.

i think i would choose the x1800 gto it's eyes looking
for the future.

now for my questions part:
1-would i be able to crossfire this 1800 gto using another 1800 gto on an intel 975 chipset based m.board
2-is this crossfire dongless or not?
3-i read that ATI will have several crrossfire layouts,2 GPUs,1GPU and 1physics card is that true?