R520, worth the wait?

Steelski · Oct 6, 2005, 04:38 PM

My thoughts are that this looks very good in the future for ATI, The pipelines really are extreme and there is no reason that they can not make a core with more of them. The XL is not that great as i heard that the core is of the older R520 chips that dont clock like the later R520's. If this card was lower priced then people would be jumping through hoops to get one,
I am sure there will also be PRO versions of the cards that will be unlockable or something along those lines. Also we have not seen what the 256MB XT board will do in a rig. only the 512MB board is reviewed, If there is a big difference then this would really not be great for ATI. The GTX has 256MB, what will it do with faster 512MB ram, we dont really know all that at the moment.
I would like to see R580 with at least 24pipes sooooooooooooon. Nvidia are almost on their revision of the card and ATI is nowhere, I would not be suprised if this does really turn out to be like the 5800U situation with ATI this time scrambling to get the X1850/900 out the door.
But if Nvidia does not have a real answer for image quality and HD-DVD decoding then guess who will be buying them. everyone, Especially the lower end cards as they will have all the features needed.
Overall a great card just a tad too late to make the splash it needed. But then again, FEAR, UNREAL 2007, HDR+AA in crossfire should be very playable.

bug77 · Oct 6, 2005, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelski

My thoughts are that this looks very good in the future for ATI, The pipelines really are extreme and there is no reason that they can not make a core with more of them. The XL is not that great as i heard that the core is of the older R520 chips that dont clock like the later R520's. If this card was lower priced then people would be jumping through hoops to get one,
I am sure there will also be PRO versions of the cards that will be unlockable or something along those lines. Also we have not seen what the 256MB XT board will do in a rig. only the 512MB board is reviewed, If there is a big difference then this would really not be great for ATI. The GTX has 256MB, what will it do with faster 512MB ram, we dont really know all that at the moment.
I would like to see R580 with at least 24pipes sooooooooooooon. Nvidia are almost on their revision of the card and ATI is nowhere, I would not be suprised if this does really turn out to be like the 5800U situation with ATI this time scrambling to get the X1850/900 out the door.
But if Nvidia does not have a real answer for image quality and HD-DVD decoding then guess who will be buying them. everyone, Especially the lower end cards as they will have all the features needed.
Overall a great card just a tad too late to make the splash it needed. But then again, FEAR, UNREAL 2007, HDR+AA in crossfire should be very playable.

1. There is a reason they cannot add more pipes: heat dissipation and/or yields.
2. I've read on another forum that the XL uses an older core. I wonder if there's any truth to that (I very much doubt it) as nobody provided a source for that rumour.
3. The days of unlocking pipes are over, there's a new mechanism for disabling them now and it won't be bypassed with a BIOS flash.
4. nVidia is already very close to introducing H.264 support in their drivers already (I think latest betas are multicore optimised as well).

Sargentwhitey · Oct 6, 2005, 04:49 PM

I do really would like to get one, just waiting to see if it actually comes ;D

tastyweat · Oct 6, 2005, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bug77

1. There is a reason they cannot add more pipes: heat dissipation and/or yields.
2. I've read on another forum that the XL uses an older core. I wonder if there's any truth to that (I very much doubt it) as nobody provided a source for that rumour.
3. The days of unlocking pipes are over, there's a new mechanism for disabling them now and it won't be bypassed with a BIOS flash.
4. nVidia is already very close to introducing H.264 support in their drivers already (I think latest betas are multicore optimised as well).

Extra pipes wise, I don't think he means with respect to the current core revision. The R580 already has 24 pipes... so they can add more pipes when they want to :-P

Then the R500 is 48 pipes lol

Pluvious · Oct 6, 2005, 08:17 PM

Disappointed:

1. No AGP model
2. $550 for top of line + possible mobo upgrade.. riiiight
3. Video quality of ATI has dropped behind Nvidia ; http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2551&p=1
4. Only 16 pipes? spin it all you want..
5. CCC is bloatware and forces you to install .net.

Falstaff · Oct 6, 2005, 10:37 PM

disappointment....
I know I wont be able to afford the new card...the 7800 still looks like a more viable option...

Zardon · Oct 6, 2005, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastyweat

Extra pipes wise, I don't think he means with respect to the current core revision. The R580 already has 24 pipes... so they can add more pipes when they want to :-P

Then the R500 is 48 pipes lol

Id love to know where you guys get all these "facts"

BulletTheory · Oct 6, 2005, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFOSOK

I'm not an ATI fanboy

That what is all about :P

ReDGuiTaR · Oct 7, 2005, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastyweat

Extra pipes wise, I don't think he means with respect to the current core revision. The R580 already has 24 pipes... so they can add more pipes when they want to :-P

Then the R500 is 48 pipes lol

Yeah ... where 24 pipes are actually ASH ( or hasch) pipes!

Falstaff · Oct 7, 2005, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pluvious

Disappointed:

1. No AGP model
2. $550 for top of line + possible mobo upgrade.. riiiight
3. Video quality of ATI has dropped behind Nvidia ; http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2551&p=1
4. Only 16 pipes? spin it all you want..
5. CCC is bloatware and forces you to install .net.

I know what you mean....
it looks like only single guys with disposable incomes will be able to afford it....and I wanted to be a tech whore and get one to treat myself...I am thinking about all the things I could buy if I didnt get this card...

BWX · Oct 7, 2005, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falstaff

I know what you mean....
it looks like only single guys with disposable incomes will be able to afford it....and I wanted to be a tech whore and get one to treat myself...I am thinking about all the things I could buy if I didnt get this card...

Hehe, I was thinking people that can really afford to spend that kind of scratch on a video card for games probably won't have enough time to really enjoy it because they work so much.

bug77 · Oct 7, 2005, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

Hehe, I was thinking people that can really afford to spend that kind of scratch on a video card for games probably won't have enough time to really enjoy it because they work so much.

They may have rich parents. Kinda like me (only mine aren't rich)

BWX · Oct 7, 2005, 04:33 PM

300 dollars is the most I will spend at this point in my life. Precisely why I bought my x800xl.. I wait until a card comes down in price enough, and has a good enough performance gain from my current one.. then buy it.

Ubergrendle · Oct 7, 2005, 05:11 PM

The 'worth the wait' question is an interesting one... if you were 'waiting' for superior ATI hardware instead of getting a 7800 GT or 7800 GTX, then you're disappointed. The X1800XT or XL aren't good enough to be considered outright superior. Similarly if you were 'waiting' for the promised AGP version of r520 which is now cancelled, you're ticked.

I think this is fairly good though, since ATI at least hasn't slipped -- they're late to the party, but are fielding contenders. Crossfire and R520 will be readily available in the next 3-6 months, offering competitor products to Nvidia's lineup..all the consumers will win.

I suspect an Nvidia 7800 Ultra is waiting behind the scenes to reclaim the top-performance crown though.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that the X1800XT will age better than a 7800GTX, since its seems more future proof (card IQ).

So ATI loses points on being late and a weak launch, but the technology seems decent. For the first time in awhile I think ATI and Nvidia pare up nicely with eachother, so your investment will be personal preference instead of outright winner. (Note: I assume ATI will reduce prices shortly to compete favourable with Nvidia)

Dalton Sleeper · Oct 7, 2005, 06:07 PM

i'll get two 1800XT and a Athlon X2 4800 as soon as the 1800 is available here in sweden.
Is there a master and a slave card or just a master and the original one?

ronnn · Oct 7, 2005, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Id love to know where you guys get all these "facts"

Well some circles that seem quite well connected have been speculating the r580 has 48 "shader units". Still 16 pipes, but would make one impressive card - if true. Anyways Zardon, what did you think? Things seem surprisingly negative around heres and was sort of wondering why?

Sandok · Oct 7, 2005, 07:15 PM

cuz the product aiin't what people were really expecting. At least for me. But I must say, this pool is very evenly matched.

Zardon · Oct 7, 2005, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnn

Well some circles that seem quite well connected have been speculating the r580 has 48 "shader units".

well considering the unit that is in the X360 has 48 I guess that is a reasonable assumption from people.

pr0digal jenius · Oct 7, 2005, 07:52 PM

i hate consoles that outdo my computer

ronnn · Oct 8, 2005, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr0digal jenius

i hate consoles that outdo my computer

Actually I hate to admit it, but I am considering an xbox with a nice tv, instead of my next computer upgrade.

Sandok · Oct 8, 2005, 12:17 PM

You evil man...

Zelig · Oct 8, 2005, 12:36 PM

Not impressed, high-end video cards are out of my acceptable price range. I've got a 6600gt, and won't be upgrading until I can get something significantly more powerful for the same price (at most) that I paid for the 6600gt.

SFOSOK · Oct 8, 2005, 12:36 PM

Perfect Dark don't look to bad. You should consider though that most of the good titles are being released for PC also : ). I think pretty much all PS3 games will be. the only thing you will be missing is PD and Halo 3 : (.

BWX · Oct 8, 2005, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFOSOK

You should consider though that most of the good titles are being released for PC also : ). I think pretty much all PS3 games will be.

Yeah I wish.. GT5 will never be on a PC.

Sandok · Oct 8, 2005, 12:45 PM

ya

GeneralClaymore · Oct 8, 2005, 01:46 PM

i was waiting for the R520 during the time my X800XL started to run 80c at stock and Beeping with a BSOd, i didnt want to buy a HSF til i knew the problem.

i used it aslong as i could during the last month of the 6months i had it. but i couldnt wait any longer and had my X800XL exchanged to a 7800GT with my compusa warrenty. now if it was old then i would had went for it since it would had been the same price as the 7800GT at compusa.

ithe X1800XL is still a good card ,so i wouldnt cared about openGL that much. but now since i have the 7800GT the only way i'll change it if something was to happen to it next yr during my 1 yr warrenty with compusa.

Lowfat · Oct 8, 2005, 11:04 PM

If they made an AGP card, i'd buy one, if not I'll stick with what i have.

IamLakota · Oct 9, 2005, 11:31 AM

After switching from my 9800xt to this 6800GT a while back I honestly had hoped ATI would have come up with an NV killer type of card,the R520 sounds like a great card,but it just doesnt impress me,and with only a 1 year warrenty
it's just not worth it.If and when I switch up to pcie and a new cpu I'll probly
go with NV-SLI of course and all ASUS at that.

Fantasma · Oct 10, 2005, 12:55 AM

I´m really disappointed, specially with the mid range cards, the x1600xt barely beats the 6600gt and it costs a lot more, about 250 dollars, that´s insane seeing that the only difference between both are the H.264 aceleration which is not available yet. I wanted to buy a x1600xt AGP but if the price is so high, I´ll change to Nvidia in Christmas

ViRuS2k · Oct 10, 2005, 02:24 AM

I just bought a PCI-Express X850XTPE that is currently doing 615/615
so im in no hurry to get a new graphics card again.

and with a price tag HIGHER than NVIDIA`s who would want to
i mean come on £460+ sheesh thats daylight robery. and i thought NVIDIA was bad.

Oct 6, 2005, 04:49 PM	#33
Sargentwhitey Has a JOB.. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 1,473 Rep Power: 0	I do really would like to get one, just waiting to see if it actually comes ;D __________________ Mobile:Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz, 40GB WD, 1GB PC24000, Intel Mediocre Graphics 2, SB Audigy 2 Notebook

Oct 6, 2005, 08:17 PM	#35
Pluvious Elisha = hottie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: USA CA. SF Bay Area Posts: 1,318 Rep Power: 56	Disappointed: 1. No AGP model 2. $550 for top of line + possible mobo upgrade.. riiiight 3. Video quality of ATI has dropped behind Nvidia ; http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2551&p=1 4. Only 16 pipes? spin it all you want.. 5. CCC is bloatware and forces you to install .net. __________________

Oct 6, 2005, 10:37 PM	#36
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,047 Rep Power: 206	disappointment.... I know I wont be able to afford the new card...the 7800 still looks like a more viable option... __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Oct 7, 2005, 04:33 PM	#43
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,665 Rep Power: 109 System Specs	300 dollars is the most I will spend at this point in my life. Precisely why I bought my x800xl.. I wait until a card comes down in price enough, and has a good enough performance gain from my current one.. then buy it. __________________

Oct 7, 2005, 05:11 PM	#44
Ubergrendle Semper ubi sub ubi Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 702 Rep Power: 0	The 'worth the wait' question is an interesting one... if you were 'waiting' for superior ATI hardware instead of getting a 7800 GT or 7800 GTX, then you're disappointed. The X1800XT or XL aren't good enough to be considered outright superior. Similarly if you were 'waiting' for the promised AGP version of r520 which is now cancelled, you're ticked. I think this is fairly good though, since ATI at least hasn't slipped -- they're late to the party, but are fielding contenders. Crossfire and R520 will be readily available in the next 3-6 months, offering competitor products to Nvidia's lineup..all the consumers will win. I suspect an Nvidia 7800 Ultra is waiting behind the scenes to reclaim the top-performance crown though. I also have a sneaking suspicion that the X1800XT will age better than a 7800GTX, since its seems more future proof (card IQ). So ATI loses points on being late and a weak launch, but the technology seems decent. For the first time in awhile I think ATI and Nvidia pare up nicely with eachother, so your investment will be personal preference instead of outright winner. (Note: I assume ATI will reduce prices shortly to compete favourable with Nvidia) __________________ Veteran of the PC Microchannel / EISA wars of the late 1980s.

Oct 6, 2005, 04:38 PM	#31
Steelski DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 22 Rep Power: 0	My thoughts are that this looks very good in the future for ATI, The pipelines really are extreme and there is no reason that they can not make a core with more of them. The XL is not that great as i heard that the core is of the older R520 chips that dont clock like the later R520's. If this card was lower priced then people would be jumping through hoops to get one, I am sure there will also be PRO versions of the cards that will be unlockable or something along those lines. Also we have not seen what the 256MB XT board will do in a rig. only the 512MB board is reviewed, If there is a big difference then this would really not be great for ATI. The GTX has 256MB, what will it do with faster 512MB ram, we dont really know all that at the moment. I would like to see R580 with at least 24pipes sooooooooooooon. Nvidia are almost on their revision of the card and ATI is nowhere, I would not be suprised if this does really turn out to be like the 5800U situation with ATI this time scrambling to get the X1850/900 out the door. But if Nvidia does not have a real answer for image quality and HD-DVD decoding then guess who will be buying them. everyone, Especially the lower end cards as they will have all the features needed. Overall a great card just a tad too late to make the splash it needed. But then again, FEAR, UNREAL 2007, HDR+AA in crossfire should be very playable.

Oct 7, 2005, 06:07 PM	#45
Dalton Sleeper Programmer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Västermo (Eskilstuna/Sweden) Posts: 94 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	i'll get two 1800XT and a Athlon X2 4800 as soon as the 1800 is available here in sweden. Is there a master and a slave card or just a master and the original one? __________________ Neverwinter Nights: The Best Game Ever

Oct 7, 2005, 07:15 PM	#47
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,472 Rep Power: 66	cuz the product aiin't what people were really expecting. At least for me. But I must say, this pool is very evenly matched.

Oct 7, 2005, 07:52 PM	#49
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	i hate consoles that outdo my computer

Oct 8, 2005, 12:17 PM	#51
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,472 Rep Power: 66	You evil man...

Oct 8, 2005, 12:36 PM	#52
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	Not impressed, high-end video cards are out of my acceptable price range. I've got a 6600gt, and won't be upgrading until I can get something significantly more powerful for the same price (at most) that I paid for the 6600gt. __________________ --

Oct 8, 2005, 12:36 PM	#53
SFOSOK 939 Goin Strong Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,033 Rep Power: 89 System Specs	Perfect Dark don't look to bad. You should consider though that most of the good titles are being released for PC also : ). I think pretty much all PS3 games will be. the only thing you will be missing is PD and Halo 3 : (. __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Oct 8, 2005, 12:45 PM	#55
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,472 Rep Power: 66	ya

Oct 8, 2005, 01:46 PM	#56
GeneralClaymore HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MI Posts: 431 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	i was waiting for the R520 during the time my X800XL started to run 80c at stock and Beeping with a BSOd, i didnt want to buy a HSF til i knew the problem. i used it aslong as i could during the last month of the 6months i had it. but i couldnt wait any longer and had my X800XL exchanged to a 7800GT with my compusa warrenty. now if it was old then i would had went for it since it would had been the same price as the 7800GT at compusa. ithe X1800XL is still a good card ,so i wouldnt cared about openGL that much. but now since i have the 7800GT the only way i'll change it if something was to happen to it next yr during my 1 yr warrenty with compusa. __________________ Source: x-fi titanium hd 2x LME49720NA + 2x LME49710NA > Fiio E9(OPA2111AM)> DT880 pro 250ohm Last edited by GeneralClaymore; Oct 8, 2005 at 02:05 PM.

Oct 8, 2005, 11:04 PM	#57
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,251 Rep Power: 99	If they made an AGP card, i'd buy one, if not I'll stick with what i have. __________________ 27" iMac: i5 750 * 80GB X25-M G1 * 4GB DDR3 * HD4850 Stacker: 2600k * P8P67 Pro * 4GB DDR3 * 80GB ioXtreme * 30GB X25-E * (2) HD6950 * Asus D2 * Enermax Revo85+ HWD: (2) Xeon E5649 * EVGA SR-2 * 6GB DDR3 * 8800GTS * 1000W Antec FT01BW: (2) Xeon E5645 * EVGA SR-2 * 6GB DDR3 * GTS210 * Gigabyte 800W Odin GT Storage: (2) Sans Digital TR8M-B * 29TB

Oct 9, 2005, 11:31 AM	#58
IamLakota HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Viriginia Posts: 552 Rep Power: 0	After switching from my 9800xt to this 6800GT a while back I honestly had hoped ATI would have come up with an NV killer type of card,the R520 sounds like a great card,but it just doesnt impress me,and with only a 1 year warrenty it's just not worth it.If and when I switch up to pcie and a new cpu I'll probly go with NV-SLI of course and all ASUS at that. __________________ Harley Davidson: If You Have To Ask You Wouldn't Understand!!! System Specs: Mobo:Asus P6T Deluxe V2,intel i7 920,2x BFG GTX 250 oc in SLI,Corsair 6gigs tri channel pc12800CL8 2xWD Velociraptor's 2x74gig WD Raptor , X-Fi Fatal1ty Titainium,HANNS-G HG281HD 1080p 28" monitor,Coolermaster HAF/922,PC-PWR&Cooling Sliencer 750,CoolerMaster V8 HSF

Oct 10, 2005, 12:55 AM	#59
Fantasma HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Lorca (Spain) Posts: 757 Rep Power: 62 System Specs	I´m really disappointed, specially with the mid range cards, the x1600xt barely beats the 6600gt and it costs a lot more, about 250 dollars, that´s insane seeing that the only difference between both are the H.264 aceleration which is not available yet. I wanted to buy a x1600xt AGP but if the price is so high, I´ll change to Nvidia in Christmas

Oct 10, 2005, 02:24 AM	#60
ViRuS2k HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Uk Posts: 8,334 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	I just bought a PCI-Express X850XTPE that is currently doing 615/615 so im in no hurry to get a new graphics card again. and with a price tag HIGHER than NVIDIA`s who would want to i mean come on £460+ sheesh thats daylight robery. and i thought NVIDIA was bad.