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PowerColor X800 GTO PCI Express Videocard Review
PowerColor X800 GTO PCI Express Videocard Review - PCSTATS
PowerColor's X800 GTO is one of the new series of ATi X800 videocards, and it offers up quite a bevy of value for the mainstream consumers.
 76% Rating:   
Filed under: Video Cards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: PowerColor Mar 07 2006   C. Sun  
Home > Reviews > Video Cards > PowerColor X800 GTO

Videocard Overclocking Tests

Overclocking Results:
Stock Overclocked
GPU (Core) Speed: 398 MHz 438 MHz
Memory Speed: 351 MHz 378 MHz
If you're new to Overclocking and not sure what to do, check out these two excellent Guides for some pointers:
Overclocking the CPU and Memory
Overclocking the Videocard

When it comes to overclocking videocards, we like to start with the GPU core first. The ATI 'R430' GPU in the PowerColor X800 GTO videocard is clocked at 398 MHz by default (or 400MHz if you like round numbers), and so the speed was increased in 5 MHz intervals.

The X800 GTO played nicely all the way up to 438 MHz, which is about a 10% core overclock. Anything higher and ATI's GPU recover software would pop up to complain after a benchmark. There were no visible artifacts on the screen, but since GPU recover was activated we limited the attempt at core overclocking to 438 MHz.

Next up was the 128MB of Samsung K4D26323QG-GC2A memory. If you're on the ball, you'll recognize that this is the same DRAM found on the Radeon 9700 and Radeon 9800 Pro videocards. Starting at 351 MHz, the memory frequency was increased in 5 MHz intervals as well. Overclocking the memory was not as fun as the core and it quickly fizzled out at 378 MHz.

Despite our mediocre overclocking results, the PowerColor X800 GTO actually performed noticeably better in the benchmark tests! Goes to show you that overclocking, even a little, can have make a noticeable impact.

experts tip: automatic overclocking programs

automatic overclocking software might sound like it takes some of the fun out of overclocking, but it's a great tool for newbie users who want to learn the ropes. ATi Tool supports automatic core and memory overclocking, and it works quite well by most accounts. If you're a budding enthusiasts who wants to know what to watch for, look at how ATi Tool does things. To use ATi Tool's automatic overclocker, first download and install the program. Once that's done run it and click the "Find Max Core" and "Find Max Mem" buttons. That will overclock an ATI-based videocard's core and memory to its maximum speeds, all the while trying to spot artifacts and or graphics card lock ups. It's the fast food of overclocking; quick and easy.

Comments and Feedback? Suggest a Tweak.

Prelude to Benchmarks

The details of how the PowerColor X800 GTO videocard test system was configured for benchmarking, including the specific hardware, software drivers, operating system and benchmark versions are indicated below. In the second column are the general specs for the reference platforms this Radeon X800 GTO videocard is to be compared against. Please take a moment to look over PCSTATS test system configurations before moving on to the individual benchmark results.

PCSTATS Test System Configurations
test system reference system
processor:

amd Athlon64 4000+

Clock Speed:

12 x 200 MHz = 2.4 GHz

Motherboards:

Asus A8N-SLI Premium (NF4 SLI)

Videocard: PowerColor X800 GTO

MSI RX1800XT-VT2D512E
Gigabyte GV-RX18L256V-B
ATi Radeon X850 XT PE
MSI RX850XT-TD256E
MSI RX800XT-VTD256E
ATi Radeon X800 XL
PowerColor X700 PRO
MSI NX7800GTX-VT2D256E (Single Mode)
MSI NX7800GTX-VT2D256E (SLI Mode)
Asus EN7800GT 2DHTV/256M/OSP/A (Single Mode)
Asus EN7800GT 2DHTV/256M/OSP/A (SLI Mode)
MSI NX6800GT-T2D256E
MSI NX6800-TD128E (Single)
MSI NX6800-TD128E (SLI Mode)
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E (Single Mode)
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E (SLI Mode)
Gigabyte GV-RX18L256V-B

Memory:

2x 512MB OCZ Gold GX PC3500 DDR

Hard Drive: 74GB Western Digital Raptor WD740
CDROM: AOpen Combo 52x
PowerSupply: PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 510 SLI
Heatsink: Athlon64 4000+ Reference Heatsink
Software Setup:

Microsoft WindowsXP SP2
nVIDIA Forceware 6.70
nVIDIA Forceware 81.95
ATI Catalyst 5.13

Benchmarks:

3DMark03
3DMark05
AquaMark3
Halo
FarCry
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Doom 3
FEAR

AA+AF Benchmarks
FarCry
FEAR
Doom 3

* For some reason the PowerColor X800 GTO would not complete Quake 4 tests, that benchmark has been omitted.

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Contents of Article: PowerColor X800 GTO
 Pg 1.  PowerColor X800 GTO PCI Express Videocard Review
 Pg 2.  — Videocard Overclocking Tests
 Pg 3.  Benchmarks: 3DMark03, 3DMark05
 Pg 4.  Benchmarks: AquaMark3, Halo
 Pg 5.  Benchmarks: FarCry
 Pg 6.  Benchmarks: SplinterCell: Chaos Theory
 Pg 7.  Benchmarks: Doom 3
 Pg 8.  Benchmarks: FEAR
 Pg 9.  Advanced Benchmarks: FarCry, Conclusions

 
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