X800 Pro pre-order

[xortam]

KvHagedorn ... Is that the PE version you got? Was it the BBA PE? If so, how's the heat/noise coming off the card? Have you run into many bugs yet?

[schmosef]

I'm still waiting for mine. Canada always seems to be last in the supply chain.

Only one of my 4 distributors has predicted an ETA, but it's for August 1st!

[GT98]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
Heh.. got it and set it all up.. it was hard to give up the Parhelia.. this is my first non-Matrox card since I built my first PC in 97

Its not that hard now

[KvHagedorn]

Originally posted by xortam
KvHagedorn ... Is that the PE version you got? Was it the BBA PE? If so, how's the heat/noise coming off the card? Have you run into many bugs yet?

Not sure what the BBA PE is. There are only two X800 cards being put out by ATI at the moment, as far as I know. Those are the X800 Pro and the X800 XT Platinum Edition. I got the latter. There is a bit of fan noise, but not much. Just looked at the temps in the ati software and it reads 41c with overdrive disabled and just browsing around. Haven't checked it after gameplay yet, but will play some FarCry later and I'll try to remember to check it. I do get an occasional bug in 2d where the desktop goes black with the window I'm in being corrupted. It only happens occasionally and is fixed by changing resolutions back and forth. aside from that, image quality is quite Matrox-like.. colors are rich and perfect. Text is perfectly clear even at high resolutions, though I get eyestrain at 1920x1200 because the print is too small (same as with the Parhelia.) It handles new games effortlessly. All told, it's a pretty awesome card. I'd recommend it without hesitation. I will probably not upgrade it for 3 years now.. but I doubt I will need to (I certainly can't afford to.)

I did get the best price I've seen on it though. I preordered it on May 7 and got it June 25, when some on Rage3d had already gotten theirs but some were still waiting. I think it's just a matter of where you stand in line. This reminds me of when the G400MAX came out.. it was the best of both worlds then.. 2d and 3d, image quality and fast, smooth game play. Demand was high and there was a waiting list for it. I was worried a bit that 2d would not be as good as the P and perhaps 2d speed would not be as good either. These qualms turned out to be baseless. I'm very happy with it.

[xortam]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
Not sure what the BBA PE is. There are only two X800 cards being put out by ATI at the moment, as far as I know. Those are the X800 Pro and the X800 XT Platinum Edition. I got the latter. ...

You got what I called the "BBA PE", i.e. Built By ATI Platinum Edition.

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
... There is a bit of fan noise, but not much. Just looked at the temps in the ati software and it reads 41c with overdrive disabled and just browsing around. ...

Thanks ... that's a little worrisome for casual use. Maybe I'll finally check over at Rage3D and see if there are some noise/heat comparisons between the Pro and the PE as well as other manufacturers.

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
... I think it's just a matter of where you stand in line. This reminds me of when the G400MAX came out.. it was the best of both worlds then.. 2d and 3d, image quality and fast, smooth game play. Demand was high and there was a waiting list for it. ...

I haven't started standing in line yet because I was waiting on some user reviews. This is exactly like the Max for me because both times now I borrowed a card waiting for my 3D card to ship ... last time the Max five years ago and now a PE board (not sure who's yet).

[KvHagedorn]

Originally posted by xortam
Thanks ... that's a little worrisome for casual use. Maybe I'll finally check over at Rage3D and see if there are some noise/heat comparisons between the Pro and the PE as well as other manufacturers.

I googled "X800XT temp" and found this thread on another forum. Sounds like this card was meant to run hot. I checked after playing UT2004 and got a 63c reading from the ATI overdrive software (I don't overclock the card though.) Apparently 60-70c is normal. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see a serious cooling solution for this card.. the RAM doesn't even have heatsinks on it. Perhaps I should have waited to see if Tyan would put one out. I know they had a nice 9800 pro with heatsinks covering all the RAM chips. Oh well.

[Wombat]

That isn't very hot, assuming that's an on-die probe.

Plus, if you're like me, and the case ambient is 35-40C anyway...

[KvHagedorn]

My case ambient is 25c.

[xortam]

Originally posted by KvHagedorn
I googled "X800XT temp" and found this thread on another forum. Sounds like this card was meant to run hot. I checked after playing UT2004 and got a 63c reading from the ATI overdrive software (I don't overclock the card though.) Apparently 60-70c is normal. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see a serious cooling solution for this card.. the RAM doesn't even have heatsinks on it. Perhaps I should have waited to see if Tyan would put one out. I know they had a nice 9800 pro with heatsinks covering all the RAM chips. Oh well.

Thanks for the info ...I'll check it out further. I may have to forgo the XT PE if the Pro runs noticeably cooler unless I can get an appropriate cooler on the PE. 60+ degrees C is just too toasty for my HTPC.

Originally posted by Wombat
That isn't very hot, assuming that's an on-die probe.

Plus, if you're like me, and the case ambient is 35-40C anyway...

That's too hot for my HTPC. I'm not getting above those temps on my CPU alone and I don't want the thermal management kicking up the fans and making noise due to a hot box. The Pro would be good enough if its sufficiently cooler than the PE. I'll have to check on the variants to see if anyone makes a cooler PE.

[xortam]

Interesting post about X800 temps ...

... concerned about seeing 70-80c temperature readings from the ATI overdrive panel on their shiny new X800 boards. ...

to which ATI responded:

At over 100C or so at the die temperature, thermal issues and possibilities of permanent damage start being important ... We test our boards up to 55C ambient temperature, and at that temperature, all of them work fine. Most computers have much lower ambient temperature, and the associated die temperature should be fine, except if there is a fan failure."

...

I may not worry about the temps too much because I'll be mainly using my ATSC tuner card for HDTV and DVD playback and 3-D use isn't noise sensitive though I would leverage the X800 for other video processing.