Purchasing X800XT

[Hawkeye32]

Ok so Im going to buy a Radeon X800XT and would like to know which OEM's are the higher quality cards.

 

[Vapor]

Read the B.G. (first post)

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[Hawkeye32]

Well it would seem that HIS, Sapphire, and ASUS seem to be the top OEMS however... Sapphire seems to be pretty average and only on par with the reference cards, Asus seems to be an average maker as well considering their nvidia cards seem to be somewhere midrange as well. HIS seems to be about the only really serious card in the bunch.

So if im going for top end the HIS Exalibur seems the best bet then.

 

[Vapor]

HIS is the best for stock cooling...they do, however, use the reference design.
Sapphire is great because it uses the reference design (so great, in fact, that ATi sells Sapphire cards under their BBA brand).
ASUS is great because they don't always use reference and they often are higher quality.

TBH, I'd just go for whatever you can find, those things are so bloody rare (not like steak)...

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Sapphire is OK, they have high end ranges and their generica. What used to be their top end (Fireblade Edition [never did see an R9800series Fireblade and UltimateEdition is something else]) is now the 'TOXIC', but like the Fireblade it's not offered on their top cards, it's only the also rans, only the X800Pro comes in a 'Toxic Edition'.

From the group I'd say the HIS IceQII is the best, and then after that it's a toss up of what you're looking for in a card. At stock the ASUS would likely be better than the Sapphire, but if you're looking to Overclock ASUS(s) don't seem to handle OCs as well, and then the Sapphire makes more sense IMO.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Actually the HIS uses the IceQII cooler on some of their XTs and the reference cooler on others, so it's not always the reference design. And the 'Stock' speeds are higher than reference too. I'd say HIS right now has the most options for ATI buyers.

<A HREF="http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/141/8/" target="_new">And Guru actually got respectable OCs out of an IceQII</A>


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[priyajeet]

That small matrix they give in the center of page 1 shows default on HIS is 533 Mhz core. I think thats wrong. Its defaulted to 520 Mhz only. I have seen two ICEQ II LEs and both have 520 MHz default. Maybe the PRESS EDITION has 533 !

:tongue: <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/priyajeet/Fing.jpg" target="_new"><i><font color=red>Very funny, Scotty.</font color=red><font color=blue> Now beam down my clothes.</font color=blue></i></A> :tongue:

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Well regardless of Press Edition or not, Considering it IS a limited Edition, like the BFG OC, they may be OC'd from the start. This Guru3D review does show however that it still has respectable overhead, and that the cooler is different than the regular reference HIS X800XT which looks exactly like a BBA board.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[priyajeet]

But what ive seen (on 2 cards)is that the out of box X800XT PE ICEQII VIVO LE...has the official ATI speeds of 520/1120. I dunno how they got onw that was OCed ? See even HIS's own website doesnt report that.
<A HREF="http://www.hisdigital.com/html/product_sp.php?id=126" target="_new">http://www.hisdigital.com/html/product_sp.php?id=126</A>. BFG do ! I bet Guru3d got a special one. In anycase i u say and as they say, they are good OCers.

:tongue: <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/priyajeet/Fing.jpg" target="_new"><i><font color=red>Very funny, Scotty.</font color=red><font color=blue> Now beam down my clothes.</font color=blue></i></A> :tongue: <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by priyajeet on 10/12/04 04:03 PM.</EM></FONT></P>