X850XT 256MB AGP for 249.99 AR microcenter.com

[Tegeril]

On my box that I picked up in store from the Microcenter in Cambridge, MA, it says 3 year limited warranty.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Farfle
apoppin (and anyone else who has this card), i'm curious to know what your thoughts are regarding it. Performance wise I think it's pretty darn good, at least on the 1-2 year old games that I currently play. However, i've been having concerns that not having the SM3.0 support may, in the long run, be a major detriment to the card. As of now, I certainly don't play any games that utilize the utilize the SM3, but I can't help but think about the future.

I do like the VIVO capabilities of x850XT though, as well as the HDTV component out dongle. Most of the 6800GSs that i've seen don't include HDTV out support. (I think the only one i've run across is the PNY version).

Also, to throw the 7800GS AGP card into the mix... When it debuts (mainstream) sometime in the next few weeks -- and hypothetically the price on it is in the $250 range --- could that possibly drive the 6800GS prices well below $200. In which case, I think a 6800GS purchase would be far better than a $200 x850XT deal. But that's just total speculation...

Anyways, I guess I just wanted some form of feedback from similiar users who made this x850XT purchase, considering I only have 1 day left to RMA this back to Microcenter.

let's start with the AGP 7800GS . . . MSRP is $350!
:Q

SM3.0 . . . not very useful - yet. There isn't anything SM3.0 has done [so far] that SM2.0b can't also do [with a little more 'overhead'] . . .Unreal3 engine games may change this a bit and are due later this year.

And the 6800GS is too slow to take advantage of NextGen games also.

i bought this $200 card as a cheap AGP "stopgap" - for the next 1-2 years - as i save for my PCIe[2] "uber-rig"
:thumbsup:

BTW, it plays FEAR [fluidly] at 10x7 with ALL details ON and High and Max [except Soft Shadows which look bad anyway] and even 2xAA/4xAF . . . i can push it to 11x8 and even 10x9 but have to sacrifice AA to keep it smooth. Older games ['04 and before] run perfect with plenty of AA/AF.

As to speed, it is more than twice as fast as my old 9800xt

 

[gecko97]

I too replaced my recently dead 9800xt, with the X850XT. I expected to get about 3x performance boost, but I can't even break 2000 on 3dmark06. I use I875 MB,1gb ram,2.8 processor,winXP,most recent omegadriver, with 160GB SATA HD. Any clue where the bottleneck might be? I know the 2.8 is a bit slow, but still I should get better marks. btw, that's with AA/AF off and direct3d/opengl set to performance. Sorry if it's a bit off topic, but I could use some leads on where or how to fix it...

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: gecko97
I too replaced my recently dead 9800xt, with the X850XT. I expected to get about 3x performance boost, but I can't even break 2000 on 3dmark06. I use I875 MB,1gb ram,2.8 processor,winXP,most recent omegadriver, with 160GB SATA HD. Any clue where the bottleneck might be? I know the 2.8 is a bit slow, but still I should get better marks. btw, that's with AA/AF off and direct3d/opengl set to performance. Sorry if it's a bit off topic, but I could use some leads on where or how to fix it...

the 'bottleneck' is 3DMark06 . . . it is CRAP for measuring performance [between cards] as the x1600p - a MUCH slower card - 'scores' better since it can complete SM3.0 tests and the x800 series can't.

Use 3DMark 05 instead . . . should score ~5500-6000 or so.

 

[aboothman]

Also, did you use driver cleaner to remove all of your old drivers before you installed the x850?
I have also heard that Omega drivers suck, but that is hear say....

 

[tbogstad]

Originally posted by: gecko97
I too replaced my recently dead 9800xt, with the X850XT. I expected to get about 3x performance boost, but I can't even break 2000 on 3dmark06. I use I875 MB,1gb ram,2.8 processor,winXP,most recent omegadriver, with 160GB SATA HD. Any clue where the bottleneck might be? I know the 2.8 is a bit slow, but still I should get better marks. btw, that's with AA/AF off and direct3d/opengl set to performance. Sorry if it's a bit off topic, but I could use some leads on where or how to fix it...

the bottle neck is his 2.8ghz P4 cpu, nowadays that is hella slow, with a A64 at 2.6ghz i bet his score would go up 1000 points.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: tbogstad

Originally posted by: gecko97
I too replaced my recently dead 9800xt, with the X850XT. I expected to get about 3x performance boost, but I can't even break 2000 on 3dmark06. I use I875 MB,1gb ram,2.8 processor,winXP,most recent omegadriver, with 160GB SATA HD. Any clue where the bottleneck might be? I know the 2.8 is a bit slow, but still I should get better marks. btw, that's with AA/AF off and direct3d/opengl set to performance. Sorry if it's a bit off topic, but I could use some leads on where or how to fix it...

the bottle neck is his 2.8ghz P4 cpu, nowadays that is hella slow, with a A64 at 2.6ghz i bet his score would go up 1000 points.

nonsense

my 2.80c at default scores only a hundred or so points lower than when o/c'd to 3.5Hgz in 3DMark05

3DMark06 is not reliable for comparing performance of 'older' cards.

 

[tbogstad]

cept that a P4 4.0ghz gets beat by a 2.6ghz A64.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: tbogstad
cept that a P4 4.0ghz gets beat by a 2.6ghz A64.

whatever
:roll:

it STILL has nothing to do with 3DMark05 - it's mostly a GPU test, not CPU . . .

and nothing to do with gecko97's "problem" . . . 3DMark06 is fairly accurate ONLY for x1800 series up and 6800 series and up.

his score is about right for a x850xt in '06 [try putting your 9800xt back in]

and try "playing" 3DMark . . . the REAL test is how it performs in GAMES
AWESOME
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Farfle]

Here's my 3dMark 06 results with my P4c and X850XT AGP at stock speeds:

P4c 2.8Ghz @ 200Mhz System clock, DDR400:

3dMarks (Total): 1916
SM2.0 Score: 1097
CPU Score: 594

P4c 3.5Ghz @ 250Mhz System clock, DDR500:

3dMarks (Total): 2021
SM2.0 Score: 1091
CPU Score: 756

So, don't feel discouraged about your score, Gecko. I just barely broke 2000, and that was with overclocking my processor 25% (and even then, I only gained 105 3dMark points.)

3dMark06 is all about your GPU, plain and simple; and since the X850XT can't complete all the tests, the scores are majorely skewed.

 

[fastcuda]

Just ordered 1 at 249.99 before the 50 dollar rebate....

 

[Farfle]

Welcome to the club. I'm still debating on whether I should keep mine. Since the warranty lasts for 30 days, and Microcenter apparently has a fairly leniant RMA policy, i'm gonna test it out a bit more for the next week and then make my decision.

 

[Mloot]

Originally posted by: Farfle
Welcome to the club. I'm still debating on whether I should keep mine. Since the warranty lasts for 30 days, and Microcenter apparently has a fairly leniant RMA policy, i'm gonna test it out a bit more for the next week and then make my decision.

Are you thinking of going the 7800gs route instead?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Mloot

Originally posted by: Farfle
Welcome to the club. I'm still debating on whether I should keep mine. Since the warranty lasts for 30 days, and Microcenter apparently has a fairly leniant RMA policy, i'm gonna test it out a bit more for the next week and then make my decision.

Are you thinking of going the 7800gs route instead?

x850xt vs 7800GS


from this user's review i'd say the x850xt is much better bang-for-buck . . . although the o/c'd GS is slightly faster.

slightly
[you're gonna play the same games at nearly identical speeds . . . and o/c'ing results vary . . . my xt o/c's to 547/614

 

[Tegeril]

Originally posted by: aboothman
I have also heard that Omega drivers suck, but that is hear say....

Huh? They are fantastic.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Tegeril

Originally posted by: aboothman
I have also heard that Omega drivers suck, but that is hear say....

Huh? They are fantastic.

The only thing omega drivers don't do right is multimonitor support. But most on more than one monitor go nvidia anyway so no worries there. Omegas have always been faster for me than the regular catalyst drivers in all games. They even helped fix CSS for me when it first game out.

 

[Tegeril]

I've never had any trouble with Omega drivers and multimonitor displays. I've been using two monitors and Omegas for 2 years.

 

[Farfle]

Originally posted by: Mloot
Are you thinking of going the 7800gs route instead?

Well, to be honest, I've been thinking of jumping over to the PCI-E bandwagon. Considering that I need to buy new memory ($200) and a new AGP card ($200), that's a $400 upgrade cost. If I go PCI-E, and try and sell my old CPU, MB, Memory, and Vid Card for at least $200, then I figure I could effectivly change my whole computer's inards for the same price ($175 A64 + $100 S939 MB + $150 2GB PC3200 + $200 Vid Card = $625 - $200 = $400.

However, I suppose the question is is it really worth doing that. I mean, the Socket 939 platform is going the way of the dodo; AMD has already introduced it's last S939 chip. Granted, there's a slew of X2s I could potentially upgrade to in the future if I went this route, but I doubt I see myself doing that. It's almost like trading in one dead platform for another. The only difference I can see is more options for Video cards due to PCI-E. That said, however, what PCI-E card am I going to get that gives the same amount of performance as the AGP X850XT for the $200 price mark?

 

[StudioAudience]

Dead deal? Price shows up as 399 for me now.

 

[Daaavo]

If anyone still has the.pdf of the rebate form and would be willing to email it to me, please do.

Thanks!

 

[Farfle]

The rebate form still exists on their website. Here's the direct link:

http://www.microcenter.com/rebates/rebate_show.phtml?id=22030

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: Farfle

Originally posted by: Mloot
Are you thinking of going the 7800gs route instead?

Well, to be honest, I've been thinking of jumping over to the PCI-E bandwagon. Considering that I need to buy new memory ($200) and a new AGP card ($200), that's a $400 upgrade cost. If I go PCI-E, and try and sell my old CPU, MB, Memory, and Vid Card for at least $200, then I figure I could effectivly change my whole computer's inards for the same price ($175 A64 + $100 S939 MB + $150 2GB PC3200 + $200 Vid Card = $625 - $200 = $400.

However, I suppose the question is is it really worth doing that. I mean, the Socket 939 platform is going the way of the dodo; AMD has already introduced it's last S939 chip. Granted, there's a slew of X2s I could potentially upgrade to in the future if I went this route, but I doubt I see myself doing that. It's almost like trading in one dead platform for another. The only difference I can see is more options for Video cards due to PCI-E. That said, however, what PCI-E card am I going to get that gives the same amount of performance as the AGP X850XT for the $200 price mark?

Well, I just ordered this combo deal over the weekend. Unfortunately a $20 MIR just expired yesterday, but $350 for the 7800GT plus a decent motherboard is only stretching your budget by $50. The 7800GT is faster than the X850XT in almost every game at stock speeds. The EVGA card actually comes factory overclocked, so the difference would be even more pronounced. If you do want to stick around $200, then I suggest you look at the 6800GS. The AGP version stinks for the price, but the PCI-e version is as fast as the 6800GT and costs less. But it's still roughly 30-40% slower than the 7800GT.

I had the same debate with myself about getting more life out of my AGP system or going PCI-e. I wanted to wait for AM2, but if it is released in June, then I would have to wait 6 months for prices to come down and better support to come out. Then, Conroe would be coming out, so I would want to wait and see if that beats AM2. So, I decided to pick up the above combo with 2GB of RAM and an opteron 165 and be done with it. I have no problem waiting a little while, but I certainly don't want to wait a year to upgrade my 2 1/2-year-old system.

Good luck to you!

 

[cubeless]

i just got a reject on the rebate... the offer was NATIONAL - Faster, Better Graphics Oct 15 - Jan 3/06... they are saying the x850 card wasn't the right one... anyone else got the rebate yet? i'm not at home so i can't look at my scans of the stuff, but i'm pretty sure i checked all the numbers... this is going to be a massive pi$$er if it's a $crewing...

 

[troublesbro]

Mine still shows as processing.

I'm seeing on other sites that people are being rejected for incorrect serial numbers. The rebate form I used didn't have serial numbers listed on it.

If for some reason they screw us all over... this'll be my last ATI card that I buy.

 

[philipx99]

I bought two from Microcenter on Jan 2006. I sent out the ATI rebate form with the original UPC on the box to ATI but was rejected with the undermentioned remarks.I have email to ATI telling them that the ATI product was originally bought from Microcenter.com and till now no reply from them. If this UPC is not valid,then it might be a possible scam to lure us into buying the product. Unfortunately, I do not have any microcenter retail store nearby to confront the rebate problem.

Remark:Your submission did not include a valid original UPC or original serial number barcode