Sapphire GTO2

[jlbenedict]

Well.. I guess after the big craze over this card, the price has dropped back down...

Newegg has the OEM for $209 and the retail for $219..

now that is a pretty reasonable price for the performance to be gained from this card..
too bad I had already purchased the C3D GTO instead .. I'd have to snag one of these up..

 

[johnnqq]

not really worth it...you can get a 6800gs.

 

[dman918]

Is the 6800gs better than a modded gto???

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: johnnqq
not really worth it...you can get a 6800gs.

WTF?

the GTO2 is 100% guaranteed to unlock to 16 pipes.. with 1.6 ns memory, this card will run as an X850XT at a minimum.. most of the time pushing 850XT PE speeds.. on stock cooling, with no additional investment..

you are honestly out of your mind to think the 6800GS is a better buy over the GTO2

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict

Originally posted by: johnnqq
not really worth it...you can get a 6800gs.

WTF?

the GTO2 is 100% guaranteed to unlock to 16 pipes.. with 1.6 ns memory, this card will run as an X850XT at a minimum.. most of the time pushing 850XT PE speeds.. on stock cooling, with no additional investment..

you are honestly out of your mind to think the 6800GS is a better buy over the GTO2

He speaks the truth at that pirce it is worth it. I payed $550 for my x850 xt pe 1/2 year ago.

 

[sisq0kidd]

I guess they realized everyone was buying the Connect3d GTOs for ~$150 and unlocking/overclocking them and decided to wise up a bit.

Nothing beats the Connect3d GTO (well, before when they unlocked at high rates). ~$150 + some mods + some patience + some luck = x800xt!

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: johnnqq
not really worth it...you can get a 6800gs.

Which is slower and more expensive than an unlocked (guaranteed) and overclocked GTO^2

Definitely not worth it

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: jlbenedict

Originally posted by: johnnqq
not really worth it...you can get a 6800gs.

WTF?

the GTO2 is 100% guaranteed to unlock to 16 pipes.. with 1.6 ns memory, this card will run as an X850XT at a minimum.. most of the time pushing 850XT PE speeds.. on stock cooling, with no additional investment..

you are honestly out of your mind to think the 6800GS is a better buy over the GTO2

This card is clearly better than the GS, and GREAT timing as well. Basically when the Connect 3D GTOs were $179 and the GTO^2s were $200 (and that wasn't for very long) they were about even deals. The GTO^2 offered 100% certainty of unlocking and faster memory, and the GTO was cheaper. Soon the GTO^2 soared in price, and the GTO became the only game in sub-$200-don't-mind-overclocking-town. Now the GTO doesn't like unlocking anymore, and the GTO^2 is back down. If I didn't think the eVGA 7800GT CO was such a great deal at $299 (when it's in stock) I would definately pick this up.

 

[Pocatello]

Back to the original price. This card is still an excellent buy.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: Pocatello
Back to the original price. This card is still an excellent buy.

As of 11:00pm EST on 12-08-2005 it is still at $209 OEM

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089

Originally posted by: jlbenedict

Originally posted by: johnnqq
not really worth it...you can get a 6800gs.

WTF?

the GTO2 is 100% guaranteed to unlock to 16 pipes.. with 1.6 ns memory, this card will run as an X850XT at a minimum.. most of the time pushing 850XT PE speeds.. on stock cooling, with no additional investment..

you are honestly out of your mind to think the 6800GS is a better buy over the GTO2

This card is clearly better than the GS, and GREAT timing as well. Basically when the Connect 3D GTOs were $179 and the GTO^2s were $200 (and that wasn't for very long) they were about even deals. The GTO^2 offered 100% certainty of unlocking and faster memory, and the GTO was cheaper. Soon the GTO^2 soared in price, and the GTO became the only game in sub-$200-don't-mind-overclocking-town. Now the GTO doesn't like unlocking anymore, and the GTO^2 is back down. If I didn't think the eVGA 7800GT CO was such a great deal at $299 (when it's in stock) I would definately pick this up.

I remember when I bought my GTO, I was frantically looking for a GTO^2. They were soaring in price and people just found out the GTO could unlock. I took the plunge and bought a GTO and it unlocked just fine and overclocked like a monster. Now since they dont like to unlock as much as they used to and GTO^2 prices are starting to go back, it seems like a very good buy.

 

[Sonikku]

The Connect 3D GTO is better then the GTO2. The superior coppor heatsink of the cheaper unit allows for greater overclocks. Considering how much more overclocking the GTO effects performance versus unlocking pipes, even if your GTO cannot unluck (which is unlikely), the card itself with such a high overclock is a steal for $179. Paying $30 more for a slightly better chance to unlock with inferior heat sink is not as good a deal in my overqualified opinion.

 

[ND40oz]

Originally posted by: Sonikku
The Connect 3D GTO is better then the GTO2. The superior coppor heatsink of the cheaper unit allows for greater overclocks. Considering how much more overclocking the GTO effects performance versus unlocking pipes, even if your GTO cannot unluck (which is unlikely), the card itself with such a high overclock is a steal for $179. Paying $30 more for a slightly better chance to unlock with inferior heat sink is not as good a deal in my overqualified opinion.

I definitely don't agree, the GTO2 has the R480 core and the C3D GTO has the R423 core. Show me people complaining of not hitting X850XT speeds with their GTO2 on stock cooling. I haven't seen it.

Now if you can find this, it's a great buy.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: Sonikku
The Connect 3D GTO is better then the GTO2. The superior coppor heatsink of the cheaper unit allows for greater overclocks. Considering how much more overclocking the GTO effects performance versus unlocking pipes, even if your GTO cannot unluck (which is unlikely), the card itself with such a high overclock is a steal for $179. Paying $30 more for a slightly better chance to unlock with inferior heat sink is not as good a deal in my overqualified opinion.

This is horrible advice. As of a few weeks ago it would have been fine, but since then the majority of newly purchased GTOs seem not to unlock. Add to that the faster memory and newer core of the 100% unlocking GTO^2 and the choice seems pretty clear to me.

Sonikku, unless you have better info than I do, I think you are under the impression that more GTOs are unlocking right now than actually are.

 

[SonicIce]

Wheres AGP?

 

[dman918]

I just ordered a 7800gt today. I hope I made the right decision in getting that card and not this one...

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: ND40oz

Originally posted by: Sonikku
The Connect 3D GTO is better then the GTO2. The superior coppor heatsink of the cheaper unit allows for greater overclocks. Considering how much more overclocking the GTO effects performance versus unlocking pipes, even if your GTO cannot unluck (which is unlikely), the card itself with such a high overclock is a steal for $179. Paying $30 more for a slightly better chance to unlock with inferior heat sink is not as good a deal in my overqualified opinion.

I definitely don't agree, the GTO2 has the R480 core and the C3D GTO has the R423 core. Show me people complaining of not hitting X850XT speeds with their GTO2 on stock cooling. I haven't seen it.

Now if you can find this, it's a great buy.

Interesting find on that powercolor GTO, if it comes with the R480 core and turns out to be a good overclocker, this'll probably replace the GTO^2 and C3D GTO as best bang for buck.

 

[Budarow]

Here's a X850XT in PCI-E for $249 with NO rebates from TD. Not too bad, but I'd pay another ~$30 and get a 7800GT.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1752732&enterthread=y

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: Sunrise089

Originally posted by: Sonikku
The Connect 3D GTO is better then the GTO2. The superior coppor heatsink of the cheaper unit allows for greater overclocks. Considering how much more overclocking the GTO effects performance versus unlocking pipes, even if your GTO cannot unluck (which is unlikely), the card itself with such a high overclock is a steal for $179. Paying $30 more for a slightly better chance to unlock with inferior heat sink is not as good a deal in my overqualified opinion.

This is horrible advice. As of a few weeks ago it would have been fine, but since then the majority of newly purchased GTOs seem not to unlock. Add to that the faster memory and newer core of the 100% unlocking GTO^2 and the choice seems pretty clear to me.

Sonikku, unless you have better info than I do, I think you are under the impression that more GTOs are unlocking right now than actually are.

How is it bad advice? The C3D cards are faster clock for clock compared to the Sapphire GTO^2 cards when they're unlocked even with the slower ram. And the R423 core found in the X800XT isn't too far off the R480 of the X850XT, a very small FPS difference in games. And im not pulling this out of my ass, I've got my C3D at 570/560 and it stomps the GTO^2 in terms of benchmarks.

The chances of an unlock are very unlikely now but the card still overclocks like a beast, and just to prove it, here are some threads of people overclocking it.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...&STARTPAGE=2&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1722296&enterthread=y

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...&STARTPAGE=4&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

Even without the pipe mod, they are still a damn good deal for money just for the overclocking.

 

[fliguy84]

Originally posted by: dman918
I just ordered a 7800gt today. I hope I made the right decision in getting that card and not this one...

don't worry, that card is better

 

[videopho]

I actually paid $299.99 for a brand new XFX 7800 GT on 11/28 @ the Egg. However, if you factored in the COD2 game ($49.99 MSRP, DVD-ROM)) + $30 Rebate from XFX. The bottom line price is ~ $220, YMMV.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

Originally posted by: ND40oz

Originally posted by: Sonikku
The Connect 3D GTO is better then the GTO2. The superior coppor heatsink of the cheaper unit allows for greater overclocks. Considering how much more overclocking the GTO effects performance versus unlocking pipes, even if your GTO cannot unluck (which is unlikely), the card itself with such a high overclock is a steal for $179. Paying $30 more for a slightly better chance to unlock with inferior heat sink is not as good a deal in my overqualified opinion.

I definitely don't agree, the GTO2 has the R480 core and the C3D GTO has the R423 core. Show me people complaining of not hitting X850XT speeds with their GTO2 on stock cooling. I haven't seen it.

Now if you can find this, it's a great buy.

Interesting find on that powercolor GTO, if it comes with the R480 core and turns out to be a good overclocker, this'll probably replace the GTO^2 and C3D GTO as best bang for buck.

wonder when it'll be on sale

 

[Munky]

The gto2 is not necessarily better than the c3d gto. The only advantage it has is it always unlocks, where as some gto's dont. But when it comes to OC'ing, it depends on luck more than anything. Case in point: my c3d gto will run stable up to around 580 core/590 mem. And I've heard that the r423 core is faster clock per clock than the r480. One of my friends got a gto2, and put a silencer on it. But it will not run stable past 550 core and about 550 mem, even though his temps are fine.

 

[tomt4535]

Ive got my GTO2 at 520core/540mem on watercooling. Thats not max, just a comfortable overclock. I can probably squeeze a little more out of it, but this is fine as it is. Once i get some decent ramsinks on it, Ill probably try to overclock more. This is a great price for this card, considering I paid $220 on the forums for it.

 

[DJSfurry]

530/600 max on mine. i run 520/600 for 3D however...