I have a Fireblade edition gto..as mentioned, it TOTALLY smokes the others in overclocking!!
The Fireblade edition should have been reviewed...NOT to ultimate version..
Why bother writing a review if you aren't going to do the proper investigation. The GTO2 uses the same chip (R480) as the X850XT PE . A simple bios update enables the other 4 pipes....he calls it too risky though "technically" possibe. I guess the quality of the reviews at this site have gone to the pits.
My only problem is that they specifically mentioned unlocking in the article. It wasn't even just a single sentence afterthought, either, but it was several blurbs. Why mention it if you aren't going to try it?
Did Anand mention the pencil mod for the DFI Ultra-D but not follow through? No! He pulled the HSF off the northbridge of his board and went and modded it, then reported it to us fellow users. That's the stuff I like to see.
BIOS flashing is hardly more dangerous than overclocking as to justify doing one but not the other.
I have the X800 GTO2. It's a sweet card. It unlocked just fine to 16 pipelines, and it overclocks to similar speeds as a X850 XT PE. I didn't even need to replace the stock heatsink on it.
Firstly the review is about 4 months too late! Then we get this guff about that bios modding/unlocking pipelines on your card is unsafe! Who cares! We come to this site to read about what happens when you mod and the performance increases/risks, not to read some lecture about how dangerous bios modding is!
So its safe for you guys to 'overclock' the cards, but it's not ok to mod the bios to unlock pipes? In my view, both are equally dangerous, it must of come down to sheer lazyness on your reviewers part!
The review was for folks looking for mid-level graphics cards to plug and play. Sure some folks want to overclock everything, but most PC users aren't willing to risk damage to their hardware with long term overclocking. And spare me the dribble about O/C'ing being 100% safe as I've done it for years. The reality is if there were zero risk in overclocking, then all hardware would be clocked to the max.
Besides the really important part of any Mobo, video card or PSU review is how cool the box is that the hardware comes in. Ya gotta give these hardware mfgs. credit, they know the hormone crazed kids will get off on the cyborg bimbos on the front of the box, the pretty colors on the box, and the all important heatsink shape and fan color. How the product actually performs ain't all that important as long as makes the hormones flow...
"The review was for folks looking for mid-level graphics cards to plug and play."
6800GS out of the box, under $200 at NewEgg right now and smacks any board in this review silly. No matter how you look at it, this review was lacking giving the most credit possible to it. Flat out misleading is closer to what it appears.
This review is really lacking.I agree with Avalon and others, without breaking down the differences and unlocking the cards that can be unlocked the review is really lacking in info. The reviews have to to get back to what made Anandtech tops, which is uncovering the true potential of the hardware.
I would agree the review is quite lacking. In the $200 range there are two serious competitors- unlocked 16 pipe GTOs and the 6800GS neither of which were shown in this test. Why exclude the only two configurations really worth considering?
This review is useless without attempting to unlock the cards and identify the cores and memory used on them. Why even mention how these cards unlock if you aren't even going to do it?
It would really be helpful to lay out where these cards are situated in the ATI line-up. For alot of people, including me, its getting difficult to know the differences between all these X800 cards (X800 Pro, X800 XL, X800 GT, X800 GTO), not to mention how the X850 fits in.
Probably Jarred updating his cheatsheet would be the best place for this info, but Anandtech needs a place where you can go to see which cores are being used, what the basic specifications for these cores are, and a rough estimate of the price for these different models. Doing the same for Nvidia would also be good, though they seem to have a less confusing lineup, with really only the 6800 GS to be added to the 6800 lineup.
Of course, with the GPU cheatsheet being over a year old, there's no mention of the 7800s or the 1800s, either.
Never knew anandtech was so out of touch with the community, since the GTO² has been making waves in it for the past 4 months. And with that I don't mean the timing of the review, but the content of it.
What you get is essentially a X850XT for a price a little higher than a standard GTO. The chip is the R480 GUARANTEED to unlock the remaining pipes (yes, that's a 100% succes rate), the cooler is the reference X850Pro cooler, the PCB is the one used for the X850 line and you get the same memory as on the XT PE, as well as the power connector necessary for all of it. I don't see much of it mentioned in the review.
Actually it's quite pointless buying it if you're not going to do any unlocking. The other GTO's can be had a bit cheaper and with quieter cooling solutions. Regardless, it's a limited edition and finding it 4 months after introduction with such a reputation will be troublesome at best. You are obliged to leave it on the shelf if you're not gonna do unlocking, as you are quite possibly taking away one of the precious remaining cards from someone who is actually wanting one, when you can get another for less money that is gonna service you just as well. Even though the 6800GS took away some of the appeal of buying a SM2.0 type card.
I know that the newer Connect3D x800 GTO's have been sabotaged so that they no longer unlock, but shouldn't the article have contained a mention, somewhere, about the possibility a few lucky recipients might be able to unlock them to 16 pipes in addition to their great overclocking? These cards were all the rage back in late October and early November and had an unlocking success rate of about 95% before the new batches were ruined.
I would have liked to see the Sapphire X800 GTO Fireblade Edition reviewed and benched as well. It's louder with the huge fan, but I bet it overclocks more than the Ultimate Edition.
Wow, you guys are getting really soft lately. The GTO2's main claim to fame is the ability to unlock the 4 extra pipelines and the tremendous overclocking headroom available. At least give it a try, it can always be flashed back if you experience problems.
Second, did you actually remove any of the HS units to determine the actual core installed on each card? That and a list of brand/speed of memory used on each one would have been very beneficial to the overall review.
Seems to be another in a line of reviews with decreasing quality.
I research all of these cards before settling with the c3d gto - and I would have gotten the gto2 if it was avaliable.
Sapphire GTO2
R480
Samsung 1.6ns
C3D GTO
R423
Samsung 2.0ns
PowerColor
R430
Samsung 2.0ns
An article at anandtech commented on why the Powercolor card (the R430) can't hit high clocks - although it uses a smaller process, the 130nm uses a low k process. The 110nm process does NOT. The article goes on to say that this shrink was to cut costs, at the expense of clock speed.
However, it is interesting to note that the die shrink didn't do anything to reduce power draw. An investigation into the voltages the R430 is running at is in order. :)
One more thing to note - the c3d has VIVO, with a rage theatre chip soldered (as usual) on the board.
I can't remember the ones for ultimtate, but the fireblade should also be using 1.6ns rams.
At least the different manufacturer made it interesting, and customized the boards a little bit to differentiate from one another and not stick to the reference design.
The 6800 GS is quite the competitor for the X800 GTO, and from my persepctive is a better buy if you want something straight out of the box save for the Powercolor X800 GTO 16. Though there is also the XFX Edition clocked at 485/1100 to worry about.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
27 Comments
Back to Article
Zax - Saturday, December 31, 2005 - link
I have a Fireblade edition gto..as mentioned, it TOTALLY smokes the others in overclocking!!The Fireblade edition should have been reviewed...NOT to ultimate version..
crusadersrealm - Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - link
Why bother writing a review if you aren't going to do the proper investigation. The GTO2 uses the same chip (R480) as the X850XT PE . A simple bios update enables the other 4 pipes....he calls it too risky though "technically" possibe. I guess the quality of the reviews at this site have gone to the pits.Sanctusx2 - Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - link
vertical-align:super:P
Jimmdean - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
Personally, I feel the real strength of the x800GTO is its availability in AGP form.Since I'm still using AGP, the 6800GS isn't an option.
My Sapphire X800GTO AGP is highly overclockable, and definately the best card value I've ever gotten...
Jimmdean - Wednesday, December 28, 2005 - link
Well, looks like now there is 6800GS in AGP, my bad...Avalon - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
My only problem is that they specifically mentioned unlocking in the article. It wasn't even just a single sentence afterthought, either, but it was several blurbs. Why mention it if you aren't going to try it?Did Anand mention the pencil mod for the DFI Ultra-D but not follow through? No! He pulled the HSF off the northbridge of his board and went and modded it, then reported it to us fellow users. That's the stuff I like to see.
BIOS flashing is hardly more dangerous than overclocking as to justify doing one but not the other.
Brian23 - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
I have the X800 GTO2. It's a sweet card. It unlocked just fine to 16 pipelines, and it overclocks to similar speeds as a X850 XT PE. I didn't even need to replace the stock heatsink on it.Wesleyrpg - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
Whats happened to Anandtech of late?Firstly the review is about 4 months too late! Then we get this guff about that bios modding/unlocking pipelines on your card is unsafe! Who cares! We come to this site to read about what happens when you mod and the performance increases/risks, not to read some lecture about how dangerous bios modding is!
So its safe for you guys to 'overclock' the cards, but it's not ok to mod the bios to unlock pipes? In my view, both are equally dangerous, it must of come down to sheer lazyness on your reviewers part!
C'mon guys, pull your finger out...
Beenthere - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
The review was for folks looking for mid-level graphics cards to plug and play. Sure some folks want to overclock everything, but most PC users aren't willing to risk damage to their hardware with long term overclocking. And spare me the dribble about O/C'ing being 100% safe as I've done it for years. The reality is if there were zero risk in overclocking, then all hardware would be clocked to the max.Besides the really important part of any Mobo, video card or PSU review is how cool the box is that the hardware comes in. Ya gotta give these hardware mfgs. credit, they know the hormone crazed kids will get off on the cyborg bimbos on the front of the box, the pretty colors on the box, and the all important heatsink shape and fan color. How the product actually performs ain't all that important as long as makes the hormones flow...
Ya gotta Luv it !!!
BenSkywalker - Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - link
"The review was for folks looking for mid-level graphics cards to plug and play."6800GS out of the box, under $200 at NewEgg right now and smacks any board in this review silly. No matter how you look at it, this review was lacking giving the most credit possible to it. Flat out misleading is closer to what it appears.
classy - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
This review is really lacking.I agree with Avalon and others, without breaking down the differences and unlocking the cards that can be unlocked the review is really lacking in info. The reviews have to to get back to what made Anandtech tops, which is uncovering the true potential of the hardware.BenSkywalker - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I would agree the review is quite lacking. In the $200 range there are two serious competitors- unlocked 16 pipe GTOs and the 6800GS neither of which were shown in this test. Why exclude the only two configurations really worth considering?Avalon - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
This review is useless without attempting to unlock the cards and identify the cores and memory used on them. Why even mention how these cards unlock if you aren't even going to do it?Spacecomber - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
It would really be helpful to lay out where these cards are situated in the ATI line-up. For alot of people, including me, its getting difficult to know the differences between all these X800 cards (X800 Pro, X800 XL, X800 GT, X800 GTO), not to mention how the X850 fits in.Probably Jarred updating his cheatsheet would be the best place for this info, but Anandtech needs a place where you can go to see which cores are being used, what the basic specifications for these cores are, and a rough estimate of the price for these different models. Doing the same for Nvidia would also be good, though they seem to have a less confusing lineup, with really only the 6800 GS to be added to the 6800 lineup.
Of course, with the GPU cheatsheet being over a year old, there's no mention of the 7800s or the 1800s, either.
Space
Spoelie - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
Never knew anandtech was so out of touch with the community, since the GTO² has been making waves in it for the past 4 months. And with that I don't mean the timing of the review, but the content of it.What you get is essentially a X850XT for a price a little higher than a standard GTO. The chip is the R480 GUARANTEED to unlock the remaining pipes (yes, that's a 100% succes rate), the cooler is the reference X850Pro cooler, the PCB is the one used for the X850 line and you get the same memory as on the XT PE, as well as the power connector necessary for all of it. I don't see much of it mentioned in the review.
Actually it's quite pointless buying it if you're not going to do any unlocking. The other GTO's can be had a bit cheaper and with quieter cooling solutions. Regardless, it's a limited edition and finding it 4 months after introduction with such a reputation will be troublesome at best. You are obliged to leave it on the shelf if you're not gonna do unlocking, as you are quite possibly taking away one of the precious remaining cards from someone who is actually wanting one, when you can get another for less money that is gonna service you just as well. Even though the 6800GS took away some of the appeal of buying a SM2.0 type card.
Cruise51 - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I'm not sure why they left out the Fireblade GTO, It overclocks FAR higher than any of the cards in the review.WhipperSnapper - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I know that the newer Connect3D x800 GTO's have been sabotaged so that they no longer unlock, but shouldn't the article have contained a mention, somewhere, about the possibility a few lucky recipients might be able to unlock them to 16 pipes in addition to their great overclocking? These cards were all the rage back in late October and early November and had an unlocking success rate of about 95% before the new batches were ruined.
skunkbuster - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
how were the new ones sabotaged? i havent read anything about thatZoomer - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
They are not sabotaged; they just use a core that isn't unlockable anymore.Unlocking is only possible if the right fuses aren't laser cut.
bamacre - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I would have liked to see the Sapphire X800 GTO Fireblade Edition reviewed and benched as well. It's louder with the huge fan, but I bet it overclocks more than the Ultimate Edition.Le Québécois - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
Is it just me or the PowerColor GTO 16 has the exact same spec as the standart ATI Radeon X800XL?AtaStrumf - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
Almost. X800XL runs at 400/500 vs. 400/490 of the GTO 16. They also both use the same .11 mikron R430 chip.mamisano - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
Wow, you guys are getting really soft lately. The GTO2's main claim to fame is the ability to unlock the 4 extra pipelines and the tremendous overclocking headroom available. At least give it a try, it can always be flashed back if you experience problems.Second, did you actually remove any of the HS units to determine the actual core installed on each card? That and a list of brand/speed of memory used on each one would have been very beneficial to the overall review.
Seems to be another in a line of reviews with decreasing quality.
AtaStrumf - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I absolutely agree! Very low quality review and VERY, VERY late!!!Zoomer - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I research all of these cards before settling with the c3d gto - and I would have gotten the gto2 if it was avaliable.Sapphire GTO2
R480
Samsung 1.6ns
C3D GTO
R423
Samsung 2.0ns
PowerColor
R430
Samsung 2.0ns
An article at anandtech commented on why the Powercolor card (the R430) can't hit high clocks - although it uses a smaller process, the 130nm uses a low k process. The 110nm process does NOT. The article goes on to say that this shrink was to cut costs, at the expense of clock speed.
However, it is interesting to note that the die shrink didn't do anything to reduce power draw. An investigation into the voltages the R430 is running at is in order. :)
One more thing to note - the c3d has VIVO, with a rage theatre chip soldered (as usual) on the board.
I can't remember the ones for ultimtate, but the fireblade should also be using 1.6ns rams.
tuteja1986 - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
I wonder why anandtech never did it earlier ;(coldpower27 - Monday, December 26, 2005 - link
At least the different manufacturer made it interesting, and customized the boards a little bit to differentiate from one another and not stick to the reference design.The 6800 GS is quite the competitor for the X800 GTO, and from my persepctive is a better buy if you want something straight out of the box save for the Powercolor X800 GTO 16. Though there is also the XFX Edition clocked at 485/1100 to worry about.