ATI Vs. nVidia Part 2: The X800 +Alienware''s ALX

Wed May 05, 2004 2:21 pm by Esquilax

Well, ATI's new "flagship" card is here; the X800! The reviews are out, and my opinions appear to be confirmed; it is superior to nV's 6800. Don't believe me? Check out some reviews;

X800 Review #1

X800 Review #2

X800 Review #3

Thanks to Esky for providing the links

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This new card promises to be very effective for gaming, and it appears that ATI are still on top. I could tell you exactly why it is better (and worse in one or two areas), and the features, etc, but I will only do so if you guys are too lazy to read the reviews for yourselves

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Edited by - esquilax on 5/5/2004 3:34:08 PM

Edited by - esquilax on 5/12/2004 5:16:54 PM

Wed May 05, 2004 3:02 pm by Alpha-Leader

ooh I guess I will get his instead of a 9800xt for my new computer

Wed May 05, 2004 3:44 pm by Esquilax

Thanks for those words of wisdom *rolls eyes*. Anyone else have anything to add?

Wed May 05, 2004 3:46 pm by mustang

You're such a fan boy Esq.

I only read one review there, but it appears that the cards are very evenly matched, the 6800 being a performance leader by a bee's wang. Ati is a definately better in terms of power consumption and heat generation but I honestly think you're going to get an absolutely bonkers card whichever way you go.

Wed May 05, 2004 4:06 pm by Esquilax

I am not a "fan boy"! If I were, I would be unable to see the problems with ATI's cards. Everyone is always maligning my character

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You are right Mustang, they are pretty much equal. The only problem is that nV's card is set for Dx 9.0c, while ATI's are still designed for 9.0b. The benefit with nV is that you are buying for the future if you get one, but by the time games start using Shader Model 3.0, there will be better cards out anyway. Thus, ATI have probably made a wise decision. After all, nV added Cg in the 5800, and it still isn't being used.

Wed May 05, 2004 4:30 pm by H.Q. Victor

Is it me, that so many of these new cards look like mini Mother boards?

I am afraid I will have to stick with the low end cards. Its not bad though.

Wed May 05, 2004 4:55 pm by Esquilax

They look like MBs because they are crerated using similar PCBs!

By the way, a German site Chip.de, believe that when they rename "farcry.exe" to something slightly different, the 6800 does not perform as well. They seem to feel that it's another one of these "illegal optimisations". The article is in German (obviously) but I just thought that I'd mention it.

Edited by - esquilax on 5/5/2004 5:57:22 PM

Wed May 05, 2004 6:46 pm by Indy11

Well, at least they're both available as AGP cards. That 6800 is a monster though isn't it? I thought my 4600 was "big."

Wed May 05, 2004 7:23 pm by Esquilax

Yup. The 6800 is massive; at least ATI know how to make a decent-sized card. Shut up Mustang!

Wed May 05, 2004 8:31 pm by mustang

Admit it Esq, you're ATI's biatch.

Seriously though guys, you'd be frickin bonkers to buy either of these cards. The 9800XT's and 5950's are going to drop in price dramatically as soon as these two puppies hit the stores, they'll be the cards to buy.

Thu May 06, 2004 12:55 am by Tawakalna

nV still can't handle transparencies anything like as well as ATi does, and although they've done a lot better with this new gpu than the FX series, wot's the betting that the fonkenhausen OEMs in the Far East will still make cr*p cards with nV gpus on? At least ATi have decent control over their OEMs and you can buy actual Ati-made Ati's and not some Mi-Wang-Po Industries Lo-Tek rubbish.

but I'm q happy with my 9800Pro, at least for the next year or so.

Thu May 06, 2004 1:37 am by Arania

two words:
How much?

ive been looking around for a new high-end graphics card, and thought of getting the 9800XT, but that was $800, if this one is inside a reasonable price range, i might get it

Thu May 06, 2004 5:48 am by mustang

It'll be that $800 range again Arania, actually it'll prob be a bit more. However, once these cards do come out you'll find the 9800XT price will plummet. Like I always say, buy the second best in the range.

Thu May 06, 2004 6:13 am by Indy11

*Steps out of upgrade fever rehab unit*

Which comes to another approach I'be been toying with. What if I shoot for
buying the best of the last-gen and put something together instead of waiting for the next-gen stuff to get settled in

*twitches some more and goes back to rehab unit*

Thu May 06, 2004 10:05 pm by Esquilax

That's the cheaper option, Indy. I'd wait until games start using Dx9.0c before getting anything better than a 9800XT. Still, the doubled amount of pixel pipelines make the cards quite enticing.

Mustang - You don't call Taw a "fan boy" do ya?

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