Some questions on the X800 XT Platinum

[James Kennedy]

Sorry if this has been asked several times, but I'm in the process of getting
this card (ATI Radeon X800 XT Platinum) and need some info on it.

(1) What is the best brand name to get, specifically for gaming? I was going to
get the original card by ATI and then get the Catalyst drivers, is this good?
Or should I go with a Sapphire or something else? What is the best brand name
and best drivers to get? Again, specifically for games.

(2) I have a P4 2.0Ghz with 1GB of DDR RAM. Can my system make the most of this
card even though it's a few years old?

Thanks so much for some info.

 

[Brian Dickens]

James Kennedy wrote:

(1) What is the best brand name to get, specifically for gaming? I

was going to get the original card by ATI and then get the Catalyst
drivers, is this good? Or should I go with a Sapphire or something
else? What is the best brand name and best drivers to get? Again,
specifically for games.

All brands are alike - almost all of them are exactly like ATi's reference
design. And as far as I know, there are no companies using sub-standard
components so it doesn't matter which brand you buy. Further more, you can
just install ATi's Catalyst-drivers. Other brands just take ATi's drivers
and stamp them with their own logo.

(2) I have a P4 2.0Ghz with 1GB of DDR RAM. Can my system make the
most of this card even though it's a few years old?

No - your CPU is underpowered for this card. For an X800 XT Platinum, you'll
really need a Pentium 4 3Ghz or an Athlon XP 3000+ or higher to get the most
out of it. For systems below 3Ghz (or Athlon XP equivalent) an X800 Pro is
more than enough.


=- Brian Dickens

 

[Dave]

Underpowered??? what the ****, my X800 XT PE gets 11,0003d marks in 3d mark
03, with my athlon 2400, so come back when you know what you are talking
about matey

 

[James Kennedy]

Thanks for the information.

I will go ahead with the X800 Pro then. Is my 2.0Ghz machine able to handle the
Pro? I noticed you said below 3Ghz however I wanted to make sure since my
system is a whole 1Ghz below 3.

 

[Brian Dickens]

Underpowered??? what the ****, my X800 XT PE gets 11,0003d marks in
3d mark 03, with my athlon 2400, so come back when you know what you
are talking about matey

The next time, read my messages more closely. I didn't say an X800 XT would
perform badly, I said the system would be underpowered. With a faster CPU,
your X800 XT would perform much better. You would have seen almost equal
performance from an X800 Pro.

=- Brian Dickens

 

[Brian Dickens]

I will go ahead with the X800 Pro then. Is my 2.0Ghz machine able to
handle the Pro? I noticed you said below 3Ghz however I wanted to
make sure since my system is a whole 1Ghz below 3.

The X800 Pro is best for sub-3ghz systems, the X800 XT is best for systems
3ghz and up. I read a test a while ago which focussed on this, the
conclusion was as I stated. I'll see if I can find the URL...

=- Brian Dickens

 

[Brian Dickens]

The next time, read my messages more closely. I didn't say an X800 XT
would perform badly, I said the system would be underpowered. With a
faster CPU, your X800 XT would perform much better. You would have
seen almost equal performance from an X800 Pro.

As stated on the test at Guru3D:

Right now I look at it this way, up-to a 3000 MHz you simply are better
suited with a Radeon x800 Pro or GeForce 6800 GT. If you have a faster than
3 GHz (3000+) system and want the best of the best, then and only then I can
recommend you the GeForce 6800 Ultra or the Radeon x800 XT. That system
would be ridiculously expensive though and you need to consider whether
that's worth all that hard earned dough.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/article/136/9/

=- Brian Dickens

 

[Brian Dickens]

The X800 Pro is best for sub-3ghz systems, the X800 XT is best for
systems 3ghz and up. I read a test a while ago which focussed on
this, the conclusion was as I stated. I'll see if I can find the
URL...

As stated on the test at Guru3D:

Right now I look at it this way, up-to a 3000 MHz you simply are better
suited with a Radeon x800 Pro or GeForce 6800 GT. If you have a faster than
3 GHz (3000+) system and want the best of the best, then and only then I can
recommend you the GeForce 6800 Ultra or the Radeon x800 XT. That system
would be ridiculously expensive though and you need to consider whether
that's worth all that hard earned dough.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/article/136/9/

=- Brian

 

[James Kennedy]

Thanks for the article Brian.

 

[James Kennedy]

I was also considering the GeForce 6800 GT however I read that some GeForce
cards require a lot of wattage. However, I only discovered that I could find
the 500+ watt necessity for the GeForce 6800 Ultra (?Extreme?). I know the
6800 GT outperformed the X800 Pro on more games, but how many watts does it
require? I couldn't find the answer anywhere. I didn't want my system to crash
or fail because of it.