ATI Radeon X1800XT 512MB Review

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...t_512mb/1.html

[BioSniper]

Not sure how you struggled with FPS on AOE3, I run max with 4x AA on at 1280x1024 on an x800 Pro and it seems just fine here.

Guess I have to check the actual FPS at some point mind you.

[Highland3r]

Have you had a chance to see how much headroom there are in the card clocks at all tim?

<edit> Can you try this and let us know if it improves things tim? </edit>

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by BioSniper

Not sure how you struggled with FPS on AOE3, I run max with 4x AA on at 1280x1024 on an x800 Pro and it seems just fine here.

Guess I have to check the actual FPS at some point mind you.

You're using an older shader path for a start - all three of these video cards are using Shader Model 3.0. It might be another similar bug to what I was experiencing in F.E.A.R. - I don't have the card anymore, so I won't be able to check Catalyst AI on vs Catalyst AI off. I was tearing hair out for several hours and got no closer to solving the AOE3 performance woes - I can't remember what time it was when I went to bed on Wednesday night after spending more than 4-5 hours trying to work out what was costing performance in AOE3.

Highland3r - I'm awaiting retail products before I overclock.

[Highland3r]

Originally Posted by bigz

Highland3r - I'm awaiting retail products before I overclock.

See comment in previous post too

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by Highland3r

See comment in previous post too

I did, check the FEAR page. I spoke with Terry Makedon and it's a Catalyst AI bug - hence the Catalyst AI on vs off comments under the table.

There are some quick graphs here:



CatAI on
min: 13
avg: 42.233
max: 171



CatAI off
min: 13
avg: 46.327
max: 166

Notes:

SloMo is used twice in the first firefight (the low points between the 49-57 and 65-73 markers) and then once in the second firefight (the low point between 129-137). The rest is run at full speed. I'm playing the game, so the shape is not going to be exactly the same, but the time taken to get through the level was exactly the same to the nearest second.

The second firefight is noticeably better with CatAI off, but I'd take CatAI on for the first (and heavier) firefight.

[hitman012]

I was expecting more from ATI, really

The performance difference seems to be quite small and definitely doesn't justify the premium - not to mention that the stock cooler on the card isn't as quiet as the 7800 (important for noise freaks like myself). ATI aren't being all that competitive at the moment if you consider that the newer 7-series is coming soon.

Good review

[Tim S]

I don't know, I get the impression that the drivers that we've got now are only a taste of what is to come. I hope they fix City of Villains, and I hope that they can get AOE3 working at much higher frame rates. It could be that the demo is just coded differently to the final retail version.

I haven't done comparisons between the demo and the final game.

[atanum141]

are you still running it or have you given it back biggles??

[Tim S]

It's gone back atanum - went back yesterday. I hope to have it again for further testing in a few weeks.

[silent_project]

I hate to say it but i am beginning to become a serious nvidia fan...its a cool card to be sure but i am just...unimpressed.

[perplekks45]

It's not what many ATI fans hoped for. It didn't actually blow nVidia totally away.
It's a more than good card with more than un-optimised drivers imo, so let's wait what we'll see in the next weeks. It's quite a bit faster than a standard 7800 GTX @ stock right now... I mean what will it be when optimised and oc'ed?
Biggest problems about it imo is price and availability.
Even though I have always been and will be for the next future a nVidia fan (proud owner of a Gainward 6600 GT GS GLH @ 540/1150 @ 38-46°C core) this card would have been worth a thought if I had the money and if it had been released together with the 7800 or even before.

[Tim S]

Yeah, I think R520 is great, just price and availability suck right now. Hopefully they'll come down and slot the X1800XT 512MB in at £360 - then it'd be a good price IMHO. The memory doesn't make a fat lot of difference in most games - Quake 4 at Ultra Quality struggled, F.E.A.R. has more performance to come, and I imagine the likes of AOE3, CoD2 and other games like that will continue to keep these cards locked neck and neck.

[perplekks45]

Maybe ATI's got a slight advantage because of their architecture but that will show in the future...

[tank_rider]

Was the wait worth it? Well its a slightly better performing card than the stock 7800gtx, and as has happened with the 7800gtx the board partners will offer overclocked version which should push the performance level beyond that of the current breed of nvidia cards, but not by much. It's going to be interesting to see how much extra performance can be gleened from subsequent driver releases. Also how the 256Mb version stacks up against the nvidia.

I used to be a bit of an ATI fanboy, but my current 6800LE has really won me over to nvidia, as has the fact that they can actually manage to hard launch products (i guess the knowledge that the ATI card was a fair way behind them gave them a bit of a hand there).

Meh, it's going to be a year before i can afford to build a decent gaming rig, and everything will no doubt have been turned on it's head several times before then.

[Tim S]

Maybe we'll see the 256MB X1800XT being a better competitor to the GeForce 7800 GTX at reference clocks on price? Nobody has had the chance to test those cards yet, but I get the impression that the frame buffer won't make much difference in a lot of games at the moment.

You could see something around the same price as the standard GeForce 7800 GTX's, performing almost identically to the 512MB version - which would you take in that situation? I guess it will all depend on how readily available the part is, and how much it costs in comparison to what else is on offer.

[Pookeyhead]

Similar performance to the lightly OCed 7800s.. £50 more... and it's a big brute!!! Oh.. crossfire sucks as well.... and it will be noisier too.

I'll be sticking with nVidia me thinks.
.. Oh... and you still can't actually buy the damned thing.

I made the right choice.

[Tim S]

I don't think there's a wrong choice at the moment - whichever high-end video card you buy, you're getting a kickass product IMHO.

It's great to be a consumer at the moment.

if money is no object...

[Pookeyhead]

Originally Posted by bigz

I don't think there's a wrong choice at the moment - whichever high-end video card you buy, you're getting a kickass product IMHO.

It's great to be a consumer at the moment.

if money is no object...

True... Just glad it doesn't kick the NV78s ass like some ATi fanboys predicted. Couple that with lower price, better multi-GPU solution, quietr cooling, smaller, and better availability.. seems better ATM.

Better drivers... price drop, and availability, and they'll be pretty even stevens I would think.

Will be interesting to see how it clocks.

[Tim S]

It clocks pretty well, but I don't think that reference cards should be overclocked - we should have a retail card soon, I guess.