X-bit labs

PowerColor X850 XT and PowerColor X800XL Graphics Cards Review

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin

[ 03/29/2005 | 09:39 AM ]

We would like to offer you an extensive test session of the two new models from Tul Corp. based on R430 and R480 video processors. Learn more about two new members of the PowerColor graphics adapter family for the High-End users and hardware enthusiasts.

Table of contents:

• PowerColor X800 XL: For the Enthusiastic Crowd
  
• At First Glance
  
• Closer Look
  
• Noise, Overclocking and 2D Quality
  
• PowerColor X850 XT: Rank-and-File Hardware
  
• At First Glance
  
• Closer Look
  
• Noise, Overclocking and 2D Quality
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance in First-Person 3D Shooters
  
• Doom III
  
• Unreal Tournament 2004
  
• The Chronicles of Riddick
  
• Far Cry
  
• Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell
  
• Half-Life 2
  
• Performance in Third Person 3D Shooters
  
• Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
  
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
  
• Performance in Simulators
  
• IL-2 Sturmovik: Aces in the Sky
  
• Lock On: Modern Air Combat
  
• Colin McRae Rally 05
  
• Performance in Strategies
  
• Warhammer 40.000: Dawn of War
  
• Perimeter
  
• Performance in Semi-Synthetic Benchmarks
  
• Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 3
  
• Aquamark3
  
• Performance in Synthetic Benchmarks
  
• Futuremark 3DMark03
  
• Futuremark 3DMark05
  
• Conclusion
  

10 months have already passed since the official launch of the RADEON X800 graphics processor. There haven’t appeared any new graphics architectures since then, however they released quite a few new modifications of the RADEON X800 based on R430 and R480 for the performance-mainstream and high-end markets.

Tul Corp. didn’t stay aside the new graphics accelerators announcements. So today we would like to introduce to you two new solutions currently selling under PowerColor brand name.

PowerColor X800 XL: For the Enthusiastic Crowd

Just a few days ago we published a review of the RADEON X800 XL, a graphics card based on ATI’s new R430 graphics processor. Compact, quiet, cool and rather inexpensive, the newcomer proved to be quite fast in our tests.

The appealing price/performance ratio will surely make the RADEON X800 XL popular in the market. Today we will discuss an off-the-shelf R430-based product, the PowerColor X800 XL, which has certain specific traits that distinguish it from other versions of the RADEON X800 XL. Besides the X800 XL model, people at PowerColor were kind to offer us their PowerColor X850 XT graphics card that belongs to a higher product class. We’ll cover it in this review, too.

At First Glance

We received the device in its retail package, with an accompanying leaflet with a detailed list of the product’s technical characteristics. The design of the package has remained the same since the PowerColor X700 PRO and PowerColor X600 XT – the only things different are the central picture and the color of the insertions to the left and right of it. Inside the external colorful package made of thin cardboard there is a more robust, smaller box. Its contents are:

• PowerColor X800 XL graphics card;
• User manual;
• Two DVI-I-to-D-Sub adapters;
• VIVO splitter;
• YPbPr (HDTV) splitter;
• S-Video cable;
• RCA cable;
• Power adapter;
• CD with drivers;
• Cyberlink CD with PowerDirector SE+, MediaShow SE, PowerDVD, PowerProducer DVD, and Power2Go;
• Hitman: Contracts on two CDs.

The video-editing tools included into the software bundle should come in handy as this graphics card is equipped with a Rage Theater chip and supports the video-input/output functionality. The two adapters for attaching analog monitors don’t look superfluous, either, because the PowerColor X800 XL, unlike the reference card, has two DVI-I outputs. The accessories are quite sufficient for a product of this category. The user manual is comprehensible enough, but it doesn’t describe the installation procedure.