X800 XT... "PE"? Difference is what?

[Steffenm]

I understand that the X800 XT and X800 XT PE have identical memory chips (Samsung...something). Do I understand correct if I say:

X800 XT PE is to X800 XT like 6800GT Golden Sample is to 6800GT? Like a factory-OC'ed card so you don't have to do it yourself? If so, then it really isn't worth the money, is it.. when they also have the exact same cooler and can clock just as far. You're just starting a bit lower with the standard X800 XT.

What's right and wrong?

Btw: Don't know if it matters, but I'm talking about Sapphire's X800 cards

 

[LTC8K6]

You are pretty much correct. The PE cards are just clocked higher. You also have the X850 series cards out now as well as what is probably the best buy, the X800XL.

 

[Fenuxx]

Yeah, the plain XT's are just clocked lower than the PE's. Other than that, there is no difference. They both have 16 pipelines, and 6 vertex processors.

 

[JBT]

You're right they are just clocked a tad bit highier. I would just look at the X800 XL's or X850's if I were you though

 

[Steffenm]

My problem is that the X850 cards are not available in AGP version. I was unlucky enough to upgrade my Motherboard and CPU just a months time before PCIe became popular for serious. I'll wait till my next full-scale upgrade with buying PCIe. I guess the X800XL you mention neither is available as AGP?

It's a (convert NOK->USD..hmm) $30-$40 price difference between the standard XT and the PE XT. I guess it's not worth it then. I'll most likely also buy a custom VGA-cooler so I can run higher OC's a low temps. Guess X800 XT is the way to go for me then. Thanks for the answer.

...Additional advice is very welcome, though. $680 is a great deal of money for a VGA-card.

 

[Dolly]

It is just a small clock speed diff, and not something to write home about imho.

It is not SUCH a big difference, and on 99.9% of the occations you will be able to clock your no PE card with ati tool easily as high and maybe higher if you need to.

As Steffenm said they are noy out on AGP though so tis kinda unfair.

Not worth paying for the "PE" imo, and plus you can flash it and make it "PE" if you get the VIVO version, as they used to do with the X800 cards.

 

[Steffenm]

Thank you, dolly 🙂 That does it. I'm 95% certain that I will buy the Sapphire X800 XT ViVO card. I take it that it's a kick-ass graphics card and worth the money. The other 5% goes to Gainward 6800GT, but that's very doubtfull.. I've read many reviews and benchmarks and it seems that the only GPU able to match the X800XT (PE-clocked) is 6800Ultra which is a heap lot more expensive. So I think I'll settle for X800XT and say goodbye to shaders 3.0 and rather have super high memory frequencies. Thanks again for all advice.

 

[LTC8K6]

THe X800XL is PCI-E only for now. I have heard all sorts of talk about whether or not the cards that are PCI-E only now will be available in AGP later. I suspect they will, but there is no telling when.

I could not decide what to do myself. I want a 16 pipe card for AGP. I decided to just wait a while and see what develops.

I bought a fanless Gigabyte 9600pro in the meantime to tide me over until I see what newer cards will be available for AGP. 😀

If you are wondering why I haven't mentioned NV cards, it's because I said I would not buy an NV card due to the PVP issue and the ethics surrounding it.

 

[Steffenm]

I see.<offtopic> I'm growing tired of waiting with my MSI Geforce 4 Ti 4200 128MB... Honestly, It's quite enough for today's games. Not the newest technologies of course, but the gameplay is pretty smooth. I ran Doom 3 with medium quality and 1024x768 with a useful fps. But I'm tired of all the time making sure that my card isn't on the blood edge and about to die. I'm want a powerful graphics card which is able to laugh Doom 3's High Quality in the face. Far Cry and HL2 are prettier imo though, but I guess Doom 3 is the most technically advanced with the extreme lighting. </offtopic>

Can't wait for my X800XT 🙂