New AGP Products Arrive !

[Apex]

Products like this keep the market fresh and exciting

The reviews coming in to me from across Northern Europe are pretty unanimous - so getting one of these cards is a great idea

Your main choice will be whether to go for active or passive cooling - both are possible with the new R430 architecture

When a product does this well, then that will naturally draw a reaction from others - which creates an overall 'forward push' in the market

I know that initially, it seems that the X800XL is only good for those customers interested in ATI...

...but it actually has overall benefits for everyone

Ferrari might win Formula 1 every year - but it also ensures that everyone else's cars end up going a bit faster as they rush to catch the leader

No need to try the sales pitch with me

right now that Nvidia have killed off any hopes of decent audio (Soundstorm 2) is there any chance ATI will take up where they seem to have screwed up ?

[Apex]

When will the x850xt be avail to buy in the UK (agp) - since i was planning on buying my new machine on monday and would end up getting a x800xt pe however if the x850xt is going to be around soon i might hold out for that.

I wud say by the 10th of march ?

[walibe]

Why is there such a huge difference between the RRP of the X800 XL in the U.S and its actual retail which is about $100 more? Kind of takes the pressure off of the 6800GT.

[exAndrzej]

...X850XT...

Checking now...

[exAndrzej]

...RRP of the X800 XL...

Sorry - but I only know the kind of price we are looking to pay in Northern Europe

Generally, products from every company are a lot more competitively priced in America than in countries like the UK (for example)

However, we already have a number of online stores selling X800XL for as much as $100 less than a 6800GT

Consumers these days are a smart bunch (esp those on forums like this !) and - using the 'HEXUS family effect' - will usually find the most advantageous deal with 1,000km

These comparative calculations are always variable though because of the massive effect the exchange rate can play

[8bit]

The best bang per buck to be had from any 'performance' card right now is the X800XL - by quite some distance*

Next down the list would be the 6600GT and regular X800

Obviously you were going to put an ATi GPU in first but even rating an nvidia card in the same league as that of your own company? Clearly the "MUST...HATE...NVIDIA..." neuroprogramming at your workplace hasn't quite hit all the way home yet Andrzej

I'm pleased to see ATi with something for those of us in the mid-upper mid range again. The X850XT PE seems to have the top end sewn up (at a price) but you guys must be churning out about one card per month given the "availability" of that card

The new AGP cards will serve those of us like me who recently bought an Athlon 64 s939 setup... just before "the other GPU company" and VIA released their PCI-E chipsets for AMD64. Then, when the next-next generation of cards come out and we're all looking at PCI-E setups the new ATi AGP cards can be sold on to those looking for a half decent used card to part fund the upgrade.

[exAndrzej]

...MUST...HATE...

Never !

Most stores sell a full range of products - which is the way it's meant to be (I feel a slogan coming on !)

I'd never tell a store to stock products from just one vendor

That is not how it works

You put your best products out - your competitors do the same

If your technology is better and/or your pricing is more competitive for similar performance - then you will win market share

However, the most important thing is to 'grow the market overall', because the more people there are who are interested in decent quality graphics...

...the better the world for everyone

[Dooms]

Checking now...

Any news? Looks like im buying a x800xt pe on monday (or tonight / tomorrow if my new bank card has arrived when i get home after work) unless this is soon and then ill spend out on one of these instead.

[mike_w]

What about a plain X800 (12 pipelines, right?)? Any idea if we can get an AGP version, or how much it will cost?

[Dooms]

You can get all versions of the x800 in agp format... if you ment x850 plain im not sure.

[exAndrzej]

...X850XT AGP...

Sorry about the delay - I had an answer but it seemed 'too good to be true' - so I waited until they confirmed it

You should be able to buy these cards from the top UK (r)e-tailers inside the next 2 weeks

i.e. might be worth ringing around to see at what point they will take your order and when are likely to get delivery if you place an order Monday (for example)

I'd suggest ringing so you can get the all-important feedback from the voice when you ask 'When exactly will that arrive ?'

[Randell Floyd]

Does anyone know how the 800XL might be performace wise next to a leadtek 6800?

[mike_w]

You can get all versions of the x800 in agp format... if you ment x850 plain im not sure.

In that case, could you please point out a store that has plain X800 AGPs? They could be an interesting card if the price is right

[Dooms]

ooo after searching about i stand mistaken... oops

[exAndrzej]

...800XL performance...

I did a little searching and could not find the exact comparison that you are looking for

However, if you have a look a series of reports from top sites, you will get a picture that is roughy the same as this :-

____________Doom 3___FarCry 1.3____Half Life 2____Average
6800GT_________39_________30__________66__________45
X800XL_________30_________29__________80__________46
6800 Ultra_______43_________35__________75__________51

Note: Do this all yourselves - check the data yourselves - these are the numbers I get - I will always recommend that you check yourselves !!!

You can argue about how useful the average is - but I am including it because I use it a lot for doing price-performance calculations (i.e. Bang-per-Buck)

I am not going to source these precise numbers in case I get shot by a member of the HEXUS Hierarchy for 'going outside the family'

I did check through the reults Rys & Tarinder have posted - but could not get a complete set of data for these cards at 1600x1200 with 4x/8x

If you look at the clock differences between 6800/GT/U - then you can probably take a good guess as to how far behind the X800XL it will come

Also, the HL2 score pulls the X800XL significantly ahead of the 6800GT in these numbers - which may not be altogether fair given how close they are to each other in Doom 3 and FarCry

Remember, all of these figures were taken at 1600x1200 with 4x AA and 8x AF

These figures are valid for this comparison because (if memory serves) they match the set-up recommended by nVidia as being 'the best way to test the GeForce 6 series' and I don't want to be accused of bias

The pre-tax pricing for these will vary across the globe (obviously) but you can definitely pay £185 for an X800XL (although some stores are showing them for as little as £173)...

...and the same store is showing an average price for the 6800GT at somewhere close to £230 with the 6800 Ultra possibly costing you more than £300 + vat

Working with the average FPS and a reasonable street price, we can now calculate the 'Bang-per-Buck' value for each card

You can now see that:-
- The lowest 'Bang-per-Buck' rating is for the 6800 Ultra
- The 6800GT gives you around 15% more 'Bangs-per-Buck' than the Ultra
- The X800XL comes in with around 48%more 'Bangs-per-Buck' than the 6800 Ultra

PLEASE test these things yourself to make a determination that you are happy with - I have done this as accurately as I can - but you should always get your own data

Before joining ATI, I spent years creating review winning systems for a PC manufacturer

At one stage, there was a stack of Ti200/500 cards in my advertising - that were then superceded by the Ti4200/4600 products

However, within a few months of the launch of the 9700 Pro...

..my advert was 100% ATI - based on the price/performance offered

This is exactly the kind of calculation I used to decide on which components to include - and it is a really useful tool

But...

...'Bang-per-Buck' might not be the most important thing to you

If you value 'outright performance' in Doom 3 - then the 6800 Ultra is definitely ahead of the X800XL

However, if Half Life 2 and related titles are the thing you play most, then the X800XL has better overall performance


Remember that this comparison is only done with the X800XL...

We do have faster cards

[8bit]

well you've sold me - counting the days til payday now

cheers
8bit