X1800 launches, but availability is lacking - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 5th Oct 2005, 20:45

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/10/05/x1800_launch/

Da Dego · 5th Oct 2005, 20:55

lacking? got a better word...nonexistent.

For a minute, I actually though you had found some. Yaaaaay vaporware!

Cheap Mod Wannabe · 5th Oct 2005, 21:04

I was looking at the card and I though about showing this card to someone in 1995. Oh my just imagine what we will see after 5 years.

But Ati did their homework well. A+ ... oh wait 10pts off for each late month =)
I am very glad though that Ati scored high with this card and the price is really nice. However I think nvidia already has something up it's sleeve to go back at Ati. They had some time to prepare too.

Since hardware reached this much, where amazing resolutions can be used with games and shaders and AA AF and so on at acceptable framerates, I think that now we will see an advance in software/drivers and introduction of new features to gaming. But not for long, I predict that after the launch of all the upcoming consoles (late spring, summer of 2006) the hardware will jump again to the new hights.

P.S. When compared to nVidia's 7800 launch you could think that nvidia is premature-ejaculator.

Highland3r · 5th Oct 2005, 22:00

Shame ATI couldnt get the cards out en mass as Nvidia managed... Then again they couldnt hold on for much longer without releasing something. Had they popped out the XL only performance wouldnt have been able to match nvidia at all, and the XL specs would have been easliy worked out...
Its a farse the way its been done though.

Fair play to ati, the new cards aint half bad, if a little late. Its got some nifty features, especially liking the memory setup, looks very versitile, and may pay dividends in the future.

On another note, the memory speeds this card is capable off are insane, after 1 days worth of benching, 900mhz has been achieved... Could this be the first time we see 1000/1000 on a card.....?!

Kipman725 · 5th Oct 2005, 22:17

waits for s3 to get there act together... dust rolls on by...

Da Dego · 6th Oct 2005, 00:25

outside of my recent ati-bashing spree, I must say I'm pretty impressed with the lineup..once the price comes down, that is. It's a shame to see how much the x1600 languishes behind in almost all games, even below the 6800...they stuck their necks out, but I wonder how long it will take before games become SO shader-heavy that the 1600 starts being worth its price.

On the other hand, I must say that the 7800GT still looks like the best bang for its buck. Frankly, if I'm going to spend on the 7800gtx, I'd seriously give the 1800XT a look despite the price increase (though that would require it to be, well, available).

I'm looking forward to Tim's reviews on these cards as they become available, but it looks like they might have won in the heavyweight division only to lose in the midweight (which is where the most people spend the most money).

yodasarmpit · 6th Oct 2005, 00:39

This is looking like one hell of a range.
ATi appear to have had no choice in the early release to generate interest after nvidia's success with the 7800, they obviously didn't want to fall behind and have people choose the nvidia over ATi, they must have felt that without a hint of the card being released people would plump for the 7800 but now with the card out in limited numbers people may just hold off long enough to buy one.

Quote:

but it looks like they might have won in the heavyweight division only to lose in the midweight (which is where the most people spend the most money).
__________________

very true, but coming in tops in the heavyweight catagory is great marketing as well.
What tends to happen is people will associate ATi with being the maker of the best card in the market and buy an ATi branded card.
Often as long as your top of the range product is best, that image is carried over to the remainder of the range, whether it be true or not.
Only those who dare to read subjuctive reviews will learn otherwise.

FIBRE+ · 6th Oct 2005, 01:03

ATI have been to slow on this one, there card seems to work out faster but the gap between the manurfacturers releases if big enough to expect that, and by the time there out Nvidia will just wack a chunk out of the prices. A budget brand 7800 GTX goes for £300 now, Nvidia can probably afford to take a few quid of that just to make things interesting for ATI... Thats if they dont have another card hidden away for Christmass

BTW I aint no fanboy, almost all my previous cards have been ATI

Firehed · 6th Oct 2005, 05:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheap Mod Wannabe

I was looking at the card and I though about showing this card to someone in 1995. Oh my just imagine what we will see after 5 years.

But Ati did their homework well. A+ ... oh wait 10pts off for each late month =)
I am very glad though that Ati scored high with this card and the price is really nice. However I think nvidia already has something up it's sleeve to go back at Ati. They had some time to prepare too.

Since hardware reached this much, where amazing resolutions can be used with games and shaders and AA AF and so on at acceptable framerates, I think that now we will see an advance in software/drivers and introduction of new features to gaming. But not for long, I predict that after the launch of all the upcoming consoles (late spring, summer of 2006) the hardware will jump again to the new hights.

P.S. When compared to nVidia's 7800 launch you could think that nvidia is premature-ejaculator.

However, in this situation, that's a good thing.

Considering the performance is about the same plus or minus a bit on either side (with the exception of the 512mb card pulling ahead a decent amount with high eye candy, which is to be expected), the lack of existance and the massive it's-now-available price gouging you tend to get (once it actually is, this is quite the hard-launch...), I'm far from impressed. It would be one thing if it beat the pants off the 7-series - assuming, of course, that graphics cards wearing pants was more than a badly-used metaphor - OR was available, but neither seems to hold true.

I think I'll keep saving for a while... first for a nice mega-huge-omg-tastic flat panel, then whatever's at the $300-350 price range at that point. And at the rate we're going, that could easily be 8-series, or nabbing a 7800gt for about $250.

XUntitled · 6th Oct 2005, 05:34

Is it just me or does the anandtech link go to extremetech.com? Isn't the anandtech located here ?

OT: I think the cards arn't bad, and that ATI could have really gave nvidia a run for its money. But the simple fact is people arn't able to buy these cards right now, let alone a full crossfire solution... which is just the same really as not having a product at all. And when they do hit shelves in quantity, will the performance justify the price? And maybe if the cards are good enough Nvidia will start to rethink the whole throwing out of the G70 Ultra (i'm sure it will at least push the price down 7800 GTX's)

WilHarris · 6th Oct 2005, 08:28

fixd

RotoSequence · 6th Oct 2005, 22:06

I have done the impossible and found an e-tailer selling the X1800 XL-though availability is limited, and they have a picture of the wrong product

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...&AFFIL=pg&NR=1

If youre so inclined

XUntitled · 7th Oct 2005, 05:24

From Monarch:

"THIS PRODUCT IS COMING SOON!
PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE FOR
AVAILABLITY AND PRICING!
OEM VERSION AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
NOW IN MONARCH SYSTEMS!"

Theres also no price.

Harrison · 8th Oct 2005, 05:06

Newegg now has the x1800 xl!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102610

Firehed · 8th Oct 2005, 06:29

Hmm... $479 for the x1800XL or $350 (+/-) for a 7800GT. Let's think hard about this one for a minute.

And is just me or does the odd row of unused solder points at the top-left seem like it could end up becoming an internal crossfire thing at some point, much like the original SLI (and the new one, but not as neat and pretty-looking)?

Speaking of which, anyone else notice that the 7-series cards (at least what I'm fairly confident is the reference-designed 7800GT) have four solder points that look as though they could go to a normal molex right by the PCIE plug? Which would indicate a potential future AGP version (boo!) I'd think.

Tim S · 8th Oct 2005, 07:29

They're still *not* available in the UK, so they're not widely available yet.

Harrison · 8th Oct 2005, 15:22

It seems that Newegg is charging more then Ati suggested it should. Here is an article explaining why Newegg feels like it should. I just hope most places do not do this.

http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/10/07/ati_etail/

5th Oct 2005, 20:45	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	X1800 launches, but availability is lacking http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/10/05/x1800_launch/ __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

5th Oct 2005, 20:55	#2
Da Dego Brett Thomas Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH USA Posts: 3,906	lacking? got a better word...nonexistent. For a minute, I actually though you had found some. Yaaaaay vaporware! __________________ "Frankly that seems overkill. iluvtrees2 arguing with spec is the intellectual equivalent of a bunny rabbit taking on a pissed-off lion." - Nexxo

5th Oct 2005, 22:00	#4
Highland3r I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Leeds UK Posts: 7,157	Shame ATI couldnt get the cards out en mass as Nvidia managed... Then again they couldnt hold on for much longer without releasing something. Had they popped out the XL only performance wouldnt have been able to match nvidia at all, and the XL specs would have been easliy worked out... Its a farse the way its been done though. Fair play to ati, the new cards aint half bad, if a little late. Its got some nifty features, especially liking the memory setup, looks very versitile, and may pay dividends in the future. On another note, the memory speeds this card is capable off are insane, after 1 days worth of benching, 900mhz has been achieved... Could this be the first time we see 1000/1000 on a card.....?! __________________ Prawn or not...?

5th Oct 2005, 22:17	#5
Kipman725 When did I get a custom title!?! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,753	waits for s3 to get there act together... dust rolls on by... __________________ Sn45g game server mod My Electronics Site Hardware: 3400+ Sempr0n, 1GB RAM, 1.28TB local storage, x1950pro,Razer Viper,M$ comfort curve 2000,L70S + 17", Fujitsu 17" CRT Audio: HD-650's, PE congress amp, Sound Blaster AWE64, Soundblaster 24bit

6th Oct 2005, 00:25	#6
Da Dego Brett Thomas Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH USA Posts: 3,906	outside of my recent ati-bashing spree, I must say I'm pretty impressed with the lineup..once the price comes down, that is. It's a shame to see how much the x1600 languishes behind in almost all games, even below the 6800...they stuck their necks out, but I wonder how long it will take before games become SO shader-heavy that the 1600 starts being worth its price. On the other hand, I must say that the 7800GT still looks like the best bang for its buck. Frankly, if I'm going to spend on the 7800gtx, I'd seriously give the 1800XT a look despite the price increase (though that would require it to be, well, available). I'm looking forward to Tim's reviews on these cards as they become available, but it looks like they might have won in the heavyweight division only to lose in the midweight (which is where the most people spend the most money). __________________ "Frankly that seems overkill. iluvtrees2 arguing with spec is the intellectual equivalent of a bunny rabbit taking on a pissed-off lion." - Nexxo

5th Oct 2005, 21:04	#3
Cheap Mod Wannabe Ultramodder Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Glen Cove, NY Posts: 1,215	I was looking at the card and I though about showing this card to someone in 1995. Oh my just imagine what we will see after 5 years. But Ati did their homework well. A+ ... oh wait 10pts off for each late month =) I am very glad though that Ati scored high with this card and the price is really nice. However I think nvidia already has something up it's sleeve to go back at Ati. They had some time to prepare too. Since hardware reached this much, where amazing resolutions can be used with games and shaders and AA AF and so on at acceptable framerates, I think that now we will see an advance in software/drivers and introduction of new features to gaming. But not for long, I predict that after the launch of all the upcoming consoles (late spring, summer of 2006) the hardware will jump again to the new hights. P.S. When compared to nVidia's 7800 launch you could think that nvidia is premature-ejaculator.

6th Oct 2005, 01:03	#8
FIBRE+ Ultramodder Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Oxford Posts: 1,306	ATI have been to slow on this one, there card seems to work out faster but the gap between the manurfacturers releases if big enough to expect that, and by the time there out Nvidia will just wack a chunk out of the prices. A budget brand 7800 GTX goes for £300 now, Nvidia can probably afford to take a few quid of that just to make things interesting for ATI... Thats if they dont have another card hidden away for Christmass BTW I aint no fanboy, almost all my previous cards have been ATI __________________ ++ASUS SLI Premium \| X2 3800 @ 2.6ghz \| XP-120 \| 2GB Mushkin \| 8800 GT \| XFI Music \| Seagate 320GB \ Samsung F1 1TB \| 520W Corsair HX \| 23" Dell S2309W ++ ++Zotac 9300 Mini ITX \| Intel E5200 \| Scythe Shuriken \| 2GB Corsair \| 8600 GTS (Passive) \| WD Black 2.5" 320GB \ Samsung F2 Eco 1TB \| Corsair VX 450W \| 42" Panasonic Viera++ ++Canon 400D \| Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 \| Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 \| Sandisk Extreme III 4GB++My Ebay++

6th Oct 2005, 05:34	#10
XUntitled Supermodder Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: PA Posts: 454	Is it just me or does the anandtech link go to extremetech.com? Isn't the anandtech located here ? OT: I think the cards arn't bad, and that ATI could have really gave nvidia a run for its money. But the simple fact is people arn't able to buy these cards right now, let alone a full crossfire solution... which is just the same really as not having a product at all. And when they do hit shelves in quantity, will the performance justify the price? And maybe if the cards are good enough Nvidia will start to rethink the whole throwing out of the G70 Ultra (i'm sure it will at least push the price down 7800 GTX's)

6th Oct 2005, 08:28	#11
WilHarris Just another nobody Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Oxford Posts: 2,671	fixd

6th Oct 2005, 22:06	#12
RotoSequence Lazy Lurker Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 'States Posts: 4,527	I have done the impossible and found an e-tailer selling the X1800 XL-though availability is limited, and they have a picture of the wrong product http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merch...&AFFIL=pg&NR=1 If youre so inclined __________________ Technology Schmecnology

7th Oct 2005, 05:24	#13
XUntitled Supermodder Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: PA Posts: 454	From Monarch: "THIS PRODUCT IS COMING SOON! PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE FOR AVAILABLITY AND PRICING! OEM VERSION AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE NOW IN MONARCH SYSTEMS!" Theres also no price.

8th Oct 2005, 05:06	#14
Harrison Minimodder Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Kentucky, USA Posts: 25	Newegg now has the x1800 xl! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102610

8th Oct 2005, 06:29	#15
Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An hour north of Boston Posts: 12,576	Hmm... $479 for the x1800XL or $350 (+/-) for a 7800GT. Let's think hard about this one for a minute. And is just me or does the odd row of unused solder points at the top-left seem like it could end up becoming an internal crossfire thing at some point, much like the original SLI (and the new one, but not as neat and pretty-looking)? Speaking of which, anyone else notice that the 7-series cards (at least what I'm fairly confident is the reference-designed 7800GT) have four solder points that look as though they could go to a normal molex right by the PCIE plug? Which would indicate a potential future AGP version (boo!) I'd think. __________________ hire me @ eric-stern.com - web developer and php ninja pics @ my smugmug :: Twitter @firehed :: blog @ firehed.net 40D\|580EXII\|285HV\|AB800\|70-200f/4LIS\|17-50f/2.8\|150f/2.8Macro\|50f/1.8 MacPro @ 8x2.8GHz, 10GB FBDDR2, 3TB HD :: MBP @ 2x2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HD

8th Oct 2005, 07:29	#16
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	They're still not available in the UK, so they're not widely available yet. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

8th Oct 2005, 15:22	#17
Harrison Minimodder Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Kentucky, USA Posts: 25	It seems that Newegg is charging more then Ati suggested it should. Here is an article explaining why Newegg feels like it should. I just hope most places do not do this. http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/10/07/ati_etail/