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Sapphire Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB PCI-E Review |
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Written by Mavke
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Tuesday, 25 April 2006 |
Showing at Hexus is a review on the Sapphire Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB PCIe graphics card. The G73 is
a big deal for NVIDIA.
Powering the guts of their latest mid-range strategy, the tiny GPU is packed
full of features and potential performance, and that performance is largely
unlocked by the 560MHz core clock and 700MHz memory clock NVIDIA deemed suitable for the
flagship, GeForce 7600 GT. ATI's
counter offensive is the Radeon X1800 GTO, the company wheeling out the first of
their reduced configuration R5xx GPU's in order to create something to bring the
fight to G73 and GeForce 7600 GT. Sapphire were the first to send us a Radeon X1800 GTO retail
sample.
 Sapphire
Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB PCI-E Review
For just under £170 where you can find it in stock in the UK the Radeon X1800 GTO is an interesting proposition. On the one hand it's a hot, noisy board that's matched by the GeForce 7600 GT performance wise, dulling its appeal, while on the other hand it's able to offer higher overall image quality if that's what you covet. Depends how much you crave the best looking pixels since that's where ATI beat NVIDIA these days. Otherwise it's a puzzling SKU. Mid-range products made from big expensive bits of silicon, especially when they just manage to hold a frames per second candle to chips half the size, never make sense.
NVIDIA are beating on ATI in a perf-per-area and perf-per-watt scenario here at comparable image quality levels, and that usually translates into nice margins. While the consumer is mostly ambivalent to the silicon drawing the pixels, this time you're well served to pay attention. ATI can't make the Radeon X1800 GTO much cheaper without giving it away, while NVIDIA can match any price shift ATI have for this SKU while maintaining a margin, so you won't win on price with the Radeon X1800 GTO because ATI can't stomach it. This is where NVIDIA can really win the battle.
And you certainly don't win on heat, noise and power, all of which are top-tier considerations when you really think about it. If you chase the best looking pixels, give the Radeon X1800 GTO a look. Otherwise the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT is definitely what's deserving of your pennies, all other things considered. It's cheaper to run, quieter, smaller and offers up the same comparable image quality performance for less money. ATI whisper that the Radeon X1800 GTO will be less than £160 soon enough. Shame the GeForce 7600 GT is already there and Sapphire's example offers little to sway.
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