Sapphire RADEON®X1800XT, (256 MB) PCI Express Video Card

The Sapphire version of the X1800 is equal in all specifications to the ATI version and features the X1800 graphics processor as the base for the card. The card sports 256MB of GDDR3 memory and 16 pixel pipelines. In a side by side comparison, the Sapphire version is equal in all aspects, except the price.

ATI's top graphics chip for gamers is currently the X1900 and I was curious as to how the X1800 would fair against it in real world application such as "CounterStrike: Source" and "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion". I purchased the Sapphire X1800 because the features and the price were together a very attractive offer.


Sapphire's 256MB Radeon X1800

The card installs in a 16X PCI-Express slot and requires additional power from the computers power supply from a regular Molex power connector. The card also sports an Arctic Cooler heatsink and fan combination that does a fantastic job of cooling the blazing hot ATI chip. So far, the card has not exceeded 62C during any gaming session (of which can last up to three or four hours at times). The card runs idle at between 44C and 46C, and max temperature runs about 58C-60C on average.

X1800 Graphics Chip Features

* 321 million transistors on 90nm fabrication process
* Ultra-threaded architecture with fast dynamic branching
* Sixteen pixel shader processors
* Eight vertex shader processors
* 256-bit 8-channel GDDR3/GDDR4 memory interface
* Native PCI Express x16 bus interface
* Dynamic Voltage Control

Ring Bus Memory Controller
* 512-bit internal ring bus for memory reads
* Programmable intelligent arbitration logic
* Fully associative texture, color, and Z/stencil cache designs
* Hierarchical Z-buffer with Early Z test
* Lossless Z Compression (up to 48:1)
* Fast Z-Buffer Clear
* Z/stencil cache optimized for real-time shadow rendering
* Optimized for performance at high display resolutions, including widescreen HDTV resolutions

Ultra-Threaded Shader Engine
* Support for Microsoft? DirectX? 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 programmable vertex and pixel shaders in hardware
* Full speed 128-bit floating point processing for all shader operations
* Up to 512 simultaneous pixel threads
* Dedicated branch execution units for high performance dynamic branching and flow control
* Dedicated texture address units for improved efficiency
* 3Dc+ texture compression
* High quality 4:1 compression for normal maps and two-channel data formats
* High quality 2:1 compression for luminance maps and single-channel data formats
* Multiple Render Target (MRT) support
* Render to vertex buffer support
* Complete feature set also supported in OpenGL? 2.0

Advanced Image Quality Features
* 64-bit floating point HDR rendering supported throughout the pipeline
* Includes support for blending and multi-sample anti-aliasing
* 2x/4x/6x Anti-Aliasing modes
* 32-bit integer HDR (10:10:10:2) format supported throughout the pipeline
* Multi-sample algorithm with gamma correction, programmable sparse sample patterns, and centroid sampling
* Adaptive Anti-Aliasing feature with Performance and Quality modes
* Temporal Anti-Aliasing mode
* Lossless Color Compression (up to 6:1) at all resolutions, including widescreen HDTV resolutions
* 2x/4x/8x/16x Anisotropic Filtering modes
* Up to 128-tap texture filtering
* Adaptive algorithm with Performance and Quality options
* High resolution texture support (up to 4k x 4k)

Avivo™ Video and Display Platform
* High performance programmable video processor
* Accelerated MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, WMV9, VC-1, and H.264 decoding and transcoding
* DXVA support
* De-blocking and noise reduction filtering
* Motion compensation, IDCT, DCT and color space conversion
* Vector adaptive per-pixel de-interlacing
* 3:2 pulldown (frame rate conversion)
* Seamless integration of pixel shaders with video in real time
* HDR tone mapping acceleration
* Maps any input format to 10 bit per channel output
* Flexible display support
* Dual integrated dual-link DVI transmitters
* DVI 1.0 compliant / HDMI interoperable and HDCP ready*
* Dual integrated 10 bit per channel 400 MHz DACs
* 16 bit per channel floating point HDR and 10 bit per channel DVI output
* Programmable piecewise linear gamma correction, color correction, and color space conversion (10 bits per color)
* Complete, independent color controls and video overlays for each display
* High quality pre- and post-scaling engines, with underscan support for all outputs
* Content-adaptive de-flicker filtering for interlaced displays
* Xilleon TV encoder for high quality analog output
* YPrPb component output for direct drive of HDTV displays
* Spatial/temporal dithering enables 10-bit color quality on 8-bit and 6-bit displays
* Fast, glitch-free mode switching
* VGA mode support on all outputs
* Drive two displays simultaneously with independent resolutions and refresh rates
* Compatible with ATI TV/Video encoder products, including Theater 550

CrossFire
* Multi-GPU technology
* Four modes of operation:
- Alternate Frame Rendering (maximum performance)
- Supertiling (optimal load-balancing)
- Scissor (compatibility)
- Super AA 8x/10x/12x/14x (maximum image quality)

Note: Specifications respectfully obtained from ATI.
http://www.ati.com/products/RadeonX1800/radeonx1800XT256mb/specs.html

The Sapphire card features the same specifications since it is uses the same graphics processor and bus architecture.


Installation

Installation is pretty easy but you must remember to connect a Molex power connector from the power supply of the computer to the card or it will not function. You must have a PCI-Express 16X slot to use this video card. This video card also requires a free slot below the 16X PCI-Express slot because of the Arctic Cooler, which fills the slot directly below the graphics card with the heatsink and fan with a vent at the rear.

You insert the card to the slot and screw it in place (or however your case secures the card in place), install the driver and you're ready to play some high powered games.


Performance

The card was impressive straight out of the box. With no overclocking at all it performed better than any other graphics card I have owned to date. It did not "knock my socks off" so to speak, but it did play "CounterSrike: Source" with seamless frame rates (with 4X anti-aliasing turned on and 16 players in the game). It also did a great job of handling "Battlefield 2" with anti-aliasing on as well. Since I have been playing computer video games (about 15 years), all video cards that supported anti-aliasing have been severely hindered when the feature was on, but this card handles the demanding games with the ability to have crisp clear imagery along with blazing fast frame rates.

I have run several benchmarks with the "Futuremark" series of graphics benchmark programs to help give an idea of what the card can do in real life performance. Keep in mind that the latest benchmarks are designed to push a video card to its limits and there are no games currently out that will push a video card anywhere close to where 3DMark06 takes them.


Benchmarks – Futuremark Benchmarking Software

I am including my benchmark results for those who are interested in the numbers. 3DMark2001SE is not the best indicator of this cards capability since it does not test some of the new features on current video cards, such as Pixel Shader 2 and Pixel Shader 3 capabilities. 3DMark2001 is listed only as a reference for older games and 3D applications. Please refer to the 3DMark06 gaming benchmark for current gaming and 3D capabilities. Although the free basic versions of 3DMark05 and 3DMark06 do not give you detailed test results, you still have fps (frames per second) results for the game tests and CPU tests which give you a fair idea of what the card can handle as far as current games.

Here are my benchmark results:


System Configuration:

All benchmarks were run on the same system with the following specifications.

* Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional w/SP2
* DirectX Version: 9.0c
* Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSteK Computer INC.
* Motherboard Model: P5AD2-E-Premium
* CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3613 MHz
* FSB: 200 MHz (X4=800MHz)
* Memory: 2 GB PC2 3200 DDR2
* Graphics Chipset: ATI RADEON X1800
* Driver Name: Radeon X1800 Series
* Driver Version: 6.14.10.6601
* Video Memory: 256 MB GDDR3
* Graphics Core Clock: 594 MHz
* Graphics Memory Clock: 693 MHz
* Sound Adapter Driver Name: SB Audigy 2 ZS Audio [9C00]
* Sound Adapter Driver Version: 5.12.1.442




3DMark2001SE

* Program Version 3DMark2001 SE
* Resolution 1024x768 32bit
* Texture Format Compressed
* FSAA Disabled
* Z-Buffer Depth 24bit
* Frame Buffer Double
* Rendering Pipeline D3D Pure Hardware T&L
* Detailed Test Results

Game tests
* Game 1 Car Chase - Low Detail 286.9 fps
* Game 1 Car Chase - High Detail 90.3 fps
* Game 2 Dragothic - Low Detail 468.3 fps
* Game 2 Dragothic - High Detail 226.8 fps
* Game 3 Lobby - Low Detail 281.9 fps
* Game 3 Lobby - High Detail 126.8 fps
* Game 4 Nature 213.9 fps

Features tests
* Fill Rate (Single-Texturing) 4695.9 MTexels/s
* Fill Rate (Multi-Texturing) 9714.0 MTexels/s
* High Polygon Count (1 light) 207.5 MTriangels/s
* High Polygon Count (8 lights) 51.5 MTriangels/s
* Environment Bump Mapping 495.2 fps
* DOT3 Bump Mapping 483.0 fps
* Vertex Shader 268.8 fps
* Pixel Shader 355.0 fps
* Advanced Pixel Shader 489.4 fps
* Point Sprite 172.6 MSprites/s

* Final 3DMark Score: 23527 3D marks


3DMark03

Game Tests
* GT1 - Wings of Fury 344.6 fps
* GT2 - Battle of Proxycon 124.4 fps
* GT3 - Troll's Lair 91.4 fps
* GT4 - Mother Nature 97.5 fps


CPU Tests
* CPU Test 1 110.9 fps
* CPU Test 2 16.2 fps

Feature Tests
* Fill Rate (Single-Texturing) 4025.3 MTexels/s
* Fill Rate (Multi-Texturing) 9051.9 MTexels/s
* Vertex Shader 58.3 fps
* Pixel Shader 2.0 162.8 fps
* Ragtroll 74.4 fps

Sound Tests
* No sounds 77.8 fps
* 24 sounds 68.6 fps
* 60 sounds 61.3 fps

* Main Test Results:
3DMark Score: 15193 3DMarks
CPU Score: 956 CPUMarks


3DMark05

I have the free basic version of 3DMark05. Futuremark no longer gives you all the tests with the free version. I have the game test results and the CPU test results to share but no texturing or shader tests.

Game Tests
* GT1 - Return To Proxycon: 31.7 fps
* GT2 - Firefly Forest: 22.0 fps
* GT3 - Canyon Flight: 40.9 fps

CPU Tests
* CPU Test 1: 2.8 fps
* CPU Test 2: 4.3 fps

Main Test Results
* 3DMark Score: 7635 3DMarks
* CPU Score: 5141 CPUMarks


3DMark06

Graphics Tests
1 - Return to Proxycon 12.1 fps
2 - Firefly Forest 14.127 fps

CPU Tests
CPU1 - Red Valley 0.335 fps
CPU2 - Red Valley 0.529 fps

HDR Tests
1 - Canyon Flight (SM 3.0) 16.863 fps
2 - Deep Freeze (SM 3.0) 18.071 fps

Main Test Results
* 3DMark Score: 3819 3DMarks
* SM 2.0 Score: 1574 Marks
* SM 3.0 Score: 1747 Marks
* CPU Score: 1052 Marks

3DMark06 is designed to push a graphics card to the limit of its abilities so the low frame rates reported are actually not bad scores at all. The 12.1 frames per second reported on "Return to Proxycon" is well above average for most video cards out today. My Radeon X800XL only reported 4.6 fps for that test and it is still a solid performer on any game I throw at it. So if you are not familiar with 3DMark scores, do not let these seemingly low scores fool you, the card is definitely a high performance card.


Real life application

Playing computer games is one of my favorite pastimes. I have played several older 3D games and several of the newer 3D games with the X1800 and it has performed like a wonder on each and every one. Older games like "Battlefield 1942" are so smooth that you almost feel invincible when flying a plane into enemy territory.


Older Games:

"Battlefield 1942"
I have been playing this game for almost three years with friends online and at my LAN parties. After installing the X1800, it feels as if I am really playing it for the first time. I can play with 64 players on my LAN (including the bots of course) and it does not lag or glitch anywhere, ever. The game runs great with anti-aliasing turned on full and anisotropic filtering enabled to the max as well. I did everything I could think of to try to get the card to lag but it beat me and handled everything I threw at it with this game. I even tried playing the game with all features maxed out while running a virus scan and it wouldn't lag, now that is impressive.

"The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind"
This game also played extremely smooth and with all possible game settings maxed out and anti-aliasing set to 6X. I have never played the game with anti-aliasing on before and it made a big difference in how the quality graphics look on the screen. Previous cards that I have had could not play smoothly with anti-aliasing turned on, so this was a nice change for me.

"CounterStrike: Condition Zero"
I have never played this game without a little lag in certain places when there were more than 10 players in the game, even with all special features turned off and settings at the lowest. The X1800 handles this game with anti-aliasing set to 4X extremely well, with no lag and nice looking graphics.


Newer Games:

"CounterStrike: Source"
This game runs well with all features maxed and anti-aliasing at 4X. In some places on certain maps there may be a momentary glitch when playing with more than 10 players in the game. It does seem that when a lot of players are on the screen at the same time and shooting, there is some momentary lag at times but not always. Turning off anti-aliasing corrects this but you do notice the graphics do not look quite as good either. With that said, the card still handles the game better than any other card I have played with before.

"Black and White 2"
While not the most intensive graphics game out, it does become very graphic and CPU demanding when you build your city up to a very large number of inhabitants. It also is very demanding when viewing a large battle between armies and during epic miracles. I have played it with anti-aliasing on 2X but it was a little glitchy during big battle sequences so I turned it off and it was very smooth after that.

"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion"
Oblivion plays wonderfully with anti-aliasing on 2X but any higher and it lags a little during graphic intense scenes. The world of Tamriel never looked so beautiful and moved by so smoothly before. My Radeon X800XL played the game fairly well, but it was a significant improvement when I upgraded to the X1800.

"Battlefield 2"
This game plays absolutely beautifully with all features on high and anti-aliasing set to 2X. This is another game that I have never been able to play with anti-aliasing on and the difference is mild but noticeable. The game plays smooth with decent frame rates with 32 players online and with the "32-man mod", it plays the same with 32 players in single player mode.


Other things to note

The card comes with dual digital out connections and no native VGA; however, it does come with a DVI to VGA converter that you can use if you do not have a digital monitor. It also has an S-video out for output to your TV, DVD recorder or VCR/DVR.


Conclusion

This is the best video card I have owned so far and it out shines my beloved Radeon X800XL by a good measure. The X1900 is the top dog from ATI right now, but I wasn't about to pay $200 more for a slightly better card. If you want a great graphics card and are willing to spend a chunk of ka-ching, the X1800 is a good buy for the price compared to the X1900 and other high end cards. If you have to have the best out there, you will spend close to $500 for the Sapphire X1900 or more for the ATI and ASUS models. The X1800 cost me only $289.00 from Newegg.com in late March of 2006.

Thanks for reading,
Gr8ful :-)