X1800 Cometh ! All hail ati for its bounteous performance !

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  We finally see a few shots of the card from http://www.hkepc.com/hwdb/r520firstlook-e.htm  , samples use 1.26ns GDDR3 = 1.6GHZ effective 51.2 gigabytes a second of memory bandwidth O_O  but default clocks will be 1.4ghz = 44.8 gigabytes per second vs 7800gtx 1.2ghz clockspeed and 38 gb/s , plus it says the card has built in 512bit memory controller that will be enabled on later revisions of the card... that DOUBLES memory bandwidth to over 89 gigabytes per second ,  anti aliasing will be like nothing to the card at those speeds.....   
    also it seems that there will be 24 and 32 pipelines in small numbers at launch or in revisions of the card  , but mainly R520 models will be equipped with 16 pipelines , the referance card is clocked at a whopping 650mhz.... 650 x 16 =  10400 vs 450 x 24 = 10800  ,  with  more memory bandwidth even 16 pipe cards will be  able to match and occasionally beat the Nvidia 7800gtx overclocked models ... plus the much smaller die size means they can afford lower prices .. but i see them launching at the same 700-600 US and eventually dropping to the same price point as the Geforce 7800s.. unless ATI wants to play nasty and offer their cards cheaper .
   The chinese are horribly polite to ati.. no performance numbers till ati officially launches the card...  we want them NOW !!!!   still have to wait... but it looks like a solid performer , note size equal to 7800gtx..
  ATI may very well maintain its position of it can deliver bulk X1800XTs clocked @ 650mhz..

  more info just in....   cards  for the  ATI linup are
 X1800 XT PE : 16 pipes   650 mhz 1.4ghz GDDR3  : 500 US area
X1800 pro :    16 pipes     550mhz  1.2 ghz GDDR3 : 400 US area
X1800 XL  :    16 pipes      500 mhz 1ghz GDDR 3    : 300 US area
X1600 series  12 pipes   clocks anywhere from 400 to 650 or more... likely 128bit memory controller , 200 us area
X1300 series  4 pipes     clocks around 400mhz...   99 us area.

 ATI will exhaust its supply of X800 chips on AGP  with a line up of X800GT with  8 pipes and 256 bit memory , X800GTO with 12 pipes etc.... ATI promised us X1800 AGP cards so we may see them soon .

[Kaizen]

yummy  x1800xl anyone   

[cdx2k1]

yay!!!!!!!!!!!......................not really>not until i could buy one

[W1nTry]

Dread that thing is HUGE and taking up 2 slots... tsk tsk. I think nvidia won this rounds... even if the 16 pipe card matches or beats the 7800GTX, I say the fact that nvidia might draw less power (judging by the size heatsink req to cool the card) plus the fact that the 7800GTX could end up cheaper.. I say round 2 nvidia.

[Czar]

It's funny how ATI is using a 2-slot design for their cards...but with the kind of heat those suckers must put out to run at those speeds, I guess it was inevitable...funny all the same.


The only thing that intrigues me about these new cards is the *internal* 512-bit interface.

[TrinireturnofGamez]

stop putting ATI down , they actually have a new core design  vs a revision for Nvidia , and most likely the power consumption will be lower  due to 90nm process, apparently the  reference cards are bieng handed out WITHOUT HEATSINKS so the reviewer had to attach his own ,  the X1800 may still be single slot .   

   Lets not forget that these cards will likely sport a pile of new features we have not been informed of, new methods of anti aliasing  and filtering to match or beat those on the geforce 7 , i'v heard ati engineers talk about shader based AA using SM3.0 costing next to nothing performance wise , also i hear the ati cards sport new gamma/colour features to give more creamy colour... ATI shouldn't be counted out of the race yet ....
   

This time round, we did not receive the cooler from the card maker therefore we use our own cooling solution. At first, we thought that the R520 mounting holes will be similar to X850XT but it seems otherwise. In fact, it is similar to the GeForce 6800 Ultra so we employ a nVidia cooler to R520

 


http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=2653&s=1 << translation from chinese that actually  makes sense .

[Czar]

Of course they have a new core design...because they still weren't up to scratch with their DirectX support yet...namely, SM3.0 support. So now they've worked it into the new core...but nVidia was already on SM3.0 since the 6x00 series of cards...and there have been no revisions or additions to the DirectX or OpenGL specs, so there's really nothing "new" for them to add to the core beyond some tweaks...your logic really amazes me sometimes.

[Crixx_Creww]

*yawn*
not gonna bash

my one remark was gonna be the instant recognition that this was a 2 slot card from the pic of the sink/fan, before i read the article.

that aa in sm3 sounds interesting.
Wonder how it stacks up against nvidia's 16x AA though

[TrinireturnofGamez]

  i own a geforce 6 card , i tell you the SM3.0 support is TOO POOR for it to use many of Sm3.0 features without halving its frame rate , try enabling HDR on a geforce 6 card in any game and the frame rate gets cut into pieces , the geforce 7 is nvidia's first proper implementation of SM3.0.... sm3.0 with shader processing fast enough to use it ..   
 
  ATI had an add on to direct x and ogl support for the R400 cards : SM2.0 B ,   it could have done anything Sm3.0 could do using multiple passes to build up the long shader needed  in a buffer ,  for anyone who programmed for it it was just as good as sm3.0 on the geforce 6's ....
   
  You people are forgetting how weak the Geforce 7 series really is for an 'upgrade'  it still occasionally gets beat by the X850 XT PE    , ati just has to surpass itself a bit to best nvidia . 
  Then again  if ATI doesn't  ship its cards in bulk none of this will matter  , but hopefully they will .

[Crixx_Creww]

yu have a 6600 gt dont yu?

EDITED yu acting like yu have a 6800 ultra and de sm3 support is ballz cause it cuttin up frame rate
lol
pfft
weak trini here bring once again

[cdx2k1]

You people are forgetting how weak the Geforce 7 series really is for an 'upgrade'  it still occasionally gets beat by the X850 XT PE    , ati just has to surpass itself a bit to best nvidia . 
 

Eh hemm....*clear throat*.....this is not true..you must admit that the 7 series is strong..beating 2 6800 Ultr's in SLI an all.....also,since the ATI X series flagship will perform the same as the GTX...wouldn't you say the same for ATI>hence being "weak"?

Also, ATI playing the clock game here..nvidia didn't even stack to jack up the clock speeds yet...

[W1nTry]

I really wonder how much of a diff this makes? althought a 512MB card with a 512 bit memory interface might be scary...

Radeon X1800XT and Pro will be 512MB cards

Putting some pressure on Nvidia

By Fuad Abazovic: Monday 12 September 2005, 11:43
ATI DECIDED to put some additional pressure on Nvidia’s 7800GTX. Its soon to be released card will feature 512MB of memory. This memory is not such a big deal but in the eyes of consumers means the world to them. We confirmed that two flagship Radeons X1800XT and X1800PRO will come as 512MB cards.

The Radeon X1800 XL will be more affordable 256 MB card but less memory means a lower price, of course. Nvidia will have to respond with a 512MB version of Geforce 7800GTX and we suspect that the green company from California plans to drop the prices of its 256MB models at the same time.

ATI is using some fast memory this time and as you could imagine 512MB of memory clocked at 1400 or 1250MHz might be an expensive piece of architecture.

We will see about the availability in first week of October as this is the planed launch date. We don’t want to get into specifics as each time we reported about a fixed date, ATI all of a sudden decided to change it for a day or a two.

[Kaizen]

price drop on nvidia side seems to be better 7800 gt
though the x1800xl is calling <since i had a x800xl> ati no doubt is pushing a force
but the green guys seem like they gonna win. the war hasnt started lets wait till the launches and see at the end
as for me a 7800gt will suit jus fine ..
o and btw trinimc use a 6800gt or so and then make ur point 6600gt no

[W1nTry]

WE'VE GOT BENCHIES PPL!!!!!
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1813.1/
I took the liberty to take post the results for the 1280x1024 benchies on that site just to give a good idea without looking at the site. I figure 1024x768 even with AA and AN is too CPU dependent... and well 1600x1200 is something SLI will dominate. So for single card performance this is the best set. All I have to say is.. with a 599USD pricetag... ATI has an uphill battle against the wind, without a paddle or sail and a hole in the bottom on the boat leaking like the titanic. PWNED imho.

[Czar]

Them HardwareAnalysis boys bitter dred

Well ATI sure kept us waiting, but it will finally be introduced this month, the R520 architecture, the successor to the X800 family of graphics cards and a contender for the 3D graphics throne. But why wait for that introduction when you can have a sneak peak today? Normally we would’ve adhered to ATI’s NDA and published results the moment it expired. However this time around ATI decided to just not bother with us as they made it very clear that we did not make the cut, as we have written some articles about CrossFire, R520 and ATI’s financial situation that were not apparently not appreciated. Hence we’ve not been briefed by ATI, nor did we sign an NDA, or have been invited to the launch event, so basically they decided to cut us off.

Unfortunately for ATI we have other sources to get detailed information from, for example the board partners that will be manufacturing and selling the majority of these new graphics cards. Obviously because we’re not bound by any NDA or other agreement with ATI we’ve worked hard to get you some benchmark results prior to the launch which is scheduled for the end of this month. To ATI we’d like to comment that it is a two-way street really, we’d like to be briefed about your products and have early access to them, if that requirement is met we will have no issues with signing and adhering to NDAs. By cutting us off however we’ve just been given a new incentive to work harder to break the news when we get a chance, in our usual no holds barred fashion.

Mash up....

[Crixx_Creww]

bITTAHRAHRERER


lol bittahmentation

lol men is like well wda

fire fuh alyuh

buh lol at de kinda lix dem cards get
an all that speeed on dey stupidee lil chips an real lixamentations went on

yawn

[Czar]

I think the funniest thing so far is the contrast of the topic "All hail ati for its bounteous performance !" and the benches that have been posted by Hardware Analysis

ATI's driver team has some serious work cut out for them if they are to surpass these numbers by launch time.

[Crixx_Creww]

lol was seriously considering changing the topic title indeed
lol

faith in ati drivers

PFFTT lol

not even unwinder could help those guys

[TrinireturnofGamez]

   ati drivers do bring more performance ... just the tons of bugs that come with them is the only problem :p ,  card looks powerful enough to match the 7800gtx  once proper  drivers release ,  ATI did massivly improve its Doom III performance over the last generation  and we still have yet to see two cards : ATI's X1800XT PE clocked at 650-700mhz , and the 24-32 pipe cards due to release next year , either one could boost ati ahead of nvidia . 
    Though i could still be swayed either way... i'm not gonna waste money on a 500 USD x1800xt or 7800gtx , i'll wait for medium end 12 pipe cards to release in the 200usd area  .

[Kaizen]

medium ..pipe ...
O_O wda boy i never see a hardcore ati man like you ..i like ati and all
but green is such a nice colour with those benchmarks posted it is a letdown but its not the final verdict ..as for the medium i dont see much spectacular stuff in that 12 pipe range