Club 3D X850 XT PE

The X850 XT PE is the very latest top end graphics card from ATI, and this example comes from a fairly new manufacturer on the UK scene. Club 3D sell cards from every possible chipset producer, with an emphasis on relatively no-frills cards which offer the best performance possible for the price.

The X850 XT PE is an updated version of the X800 XT PE, built to solve the production problems that made the X800 almost completely unavailable to the public. This card uses ATI's reference cooler, which is the first 2-slot cooling solution that ATI have used. It uses a centrifugal blower, and exhausts hot air out of the case via vents in the blanking plate.

The X850 XT PE is clocked slightly higher than its predecessor, at 540/590 MHz instead of 520/560 MHz, giving it a slight performance boost. Whereas the x800 XT PE sample we tested wouldn't overclock by a single MHz, this x850 managed 560/600 MHz speeds, showing that this new core isn't as overstretched as its predecessor. The X850 is only an evolution of the X800, but it fixes all of the problems of the old core, giving ATI a credible top-end card to challenge the 6800 Ultra.

As you may expect, the X850 XT PE edges out the 6800 Ultra in almost every test, but it is a very close competition. The retail price for the Club 3D X850 XT PE will be around £385, almost exactly the same price point as the Geforce 6800 Ultra. However, the most important issue that separates the cards is slot standards. The X850 XT PE is a native PCI-E chip, and whilst the PCI-E cards will be in the shops very shortly, it is unknown when we will see an AGP version available.

The X850 XT PE is the new king of graphics cards, but it comes at a very high price when you factor in the hidden cost of upgrading to PCI-E.

Benchmarks

<< Back | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | | 6 | | 7 | | 8 | | 9 | | 10 | | 11 | | 12 | | 13 | | 14 | | 15 |
| 16 | | 17 | Next >>