R480 and R430: ATI's Fall PCIe Update

PCI Express Only

Both the R430 and R480 were designed as native PCI Express graphics processors. AGP versions that can handle ATI's PCIe -> AGP bridge chip (Rialto) are now being created, and thus are not expected to arrive anytime soon. The previous R423-core PCIe models in the Radeon X800 Pro and XT (PE) line are still on the books, but will fade from the market over time.

The new X850 XT PE sets itself apart from the previous X800 cards with a new dual-slot fan, but in terms of 3D capabilities, everything is the same. Performance differences are solely due to the differing clock speeds of the graphics chip and memory; only the Radeon X800 XL and X800 are really new. Even there, technical changes are restricted to the manufacturing process. Instead of producing the R430 chips with the 130-nanometer process with Low-K, TSMC makes them with the less expensive 110-nanometer method. As far as 3D features go, again, there is nothing new over the previous models.

ATI takes a clean broom to the enthusiast segment.

The new Radeon X850 models (PCIe):

• Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition (R480) : 16 Pipes, 540 MHz Core, 1.18 GHz Memory, $549
• Radeon X850 XT (R480) : 16 Pipes, 520 MHz Core, 1.08 GHz Memory, $499
• Radeon X850 Pro (R480) : 12 Pipes, 520 MHz Core, 1.08 GHz Memory, $399

The new Radeon X800 models (PCIe):

• Radeon X800 XL (R430) , 16 Pipes, 256 MB, 400 MHz Core, 1 GHz Memory, $349
• Radeon X800 (R430) , 12 Pipes, 128 MB, 400 MHz Core, 700 MHz Memory, $249

PCIe X800 models already introduced (sales of which continue for the time being):

• Radeon X800 XT PE (R423) : 16 Pipes, 256 MB, 520 MHz Core, 1.2 GHz Memory
• Radeon X800 XT (R423) : 16 Pipes, 256 MB, 500 MHz Core, 1 GHz Memory
• Radeon X800 Pro (R423) : 12 Pipes, 256 MB, 475 MHz Core, 950 MHz Memory
• Radeon X800 SE (R423) : 8 Pipes, 128/256 MB, 425 MHz Core, 800 MHz Memory