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Sapphire Radeon X800 XT Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Thursday, 07 October 2004 |
Got|Apex has published a
review on the Sapphire Radeon X800 XT. It seems odd, but it's pretty
common. Videocard companies will release products very similar to each other,
with not a lot in the way of performance separating them. But when you deal in
measurements of nanometers, you sometimes end up with a perfectly good core that
just isn't quite what you wanted.
 Sapphire Radeon X800 XT Review
The difference between an X800 Pro, X800 XT, and X800 Platinum is overall, pretty minor. The Pro has the biggest difference, being clocked the lowest and having only 12 texture pipelines. The Platinum has a full 16, and the highest clock rates. The XT then, is the odd middle child. Essentially an Platinum card with a lower clock rate, the Sapphire Radeon X800 XT is the card that could have been top dog if only it made it through the production cycle intact. Or at least, it sure seems that way. While not as buff as it's big brother, it's no slouch, and the consumer wins by having one more choice out there in the market place.
As I write this, sad and in mourning over my trusty test system, I have to set aside my pain and suffering and consider what it is I personally want in a video card, from a perspective of a new build. The fact is, even though money is tight and I'm not big on spending it to begin with, if I'm going to do something, I want to do it correctly.
Older system users holding off for an Athlon PCI-E board, or for whatever reason really, have only one reason to lay out the money for an X800 XT - it's just one part of a new, piecemeal system build. Otherwise, the Pro version is much cheaper, the Toxic version almost as buff, and the performance is almost the same. Spending the extra cash on performance you cannot use is just a waste.
But, for those that are ready to make the jump to lightspeed, or are already there and are just waiting on a good videocard, then having a videocard with only 12 texture pipes is insane. You don't buy a corvette and slap on cheap tires from Sears. About the only thing I think Sapphire should have done here is make the X800 XT card the heart of it's Toxic line, not the Pro card. It's plum between Pro and Platinum in both price and performance, and is a card that would seriously benefit from the extra cooling and beefier name. There is about a 50 dollar difference between Toxic and XT, and even a new system builder might pause at that. It's a good card, but it's not swank like the Toxic.
Still and all, if you are going to go into debt anyway, don't do it on the cheap I always say. Which perhaps explains the state of my wallet. There are cheaper cards that perform almost as well, and the possibility of SLI with a pair of 6600 cards is interesting to say the least. But for a good single card solution on the upper end of the scale, the Sapphire Radeon X800 XT is really hard to beat.
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