VisionTek XTASY - X800XT -

Application:	AGP Video Card
Provided by:	VisionTek
Available at:	Everywhere
MSRP:	$479.99
Availability:	Now
Review by:	Michael
Edited by:	Scott
Review date:	October 22, 2004

Now it comes time to get something for nothing. As I mentioned before, the only card higher up in the ATI food chain right now is the X800XT Platinum Edition. The "PE" boasts higher clock speeds but is still founded upon the silicone that the normal XT uses.

The Catalyst drivers have a tab in them that shows this: The Overdrive setting. With only a simple checkmark you can change the clock speed of the video processing unit onboard the card. In this case, it increased the speed from 500Mhz to 506Mhz. That is hardly anything to get excited about so naturally I installed my personal favorite ATI TOOL. which gives almost limitless core and memory speed setting combinations. Through the standard increase/test/verify regiment I began overclocking the XTASY X800XT to find its most stable settings.

X800XT "standard" clock speeds
500 Mhz VPU / 500 Mhz Memory (1000 DDR)

X800XT Platinum Edition clock speeds
520 Mhz VPU / 560 Mhz Memory (1120 DDR)

VisionTek XTASY X800XT
Maximum Stable Overclock
533 Mhz VPU / 550 Mhz Memory (1100 DDR)

I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get the memory up a little higher. According to the Samsung Technical data sheet this memory is capable of 600Mhz clock speeds.

3D Mark 2001	24,362
Game Test 1 Car Chase (LOW)	309.9 fps
Game Test 1 Car Chase (HIGH)	102 fps
Game Test 2 Dragothic (LOW)	424.7 fps
Game Test 2 Dragothic (HIGH)	227.1 fps
Game Test 3 Lobby (LOW)	291.3 fps
Game Test 3 Lobby (HIGH)	128.8 fps
Game 4 Nature	247.3 fps

3D Mark 2003	12,972
Game Test 1 Wings of Fury	307.1 fps
Game Test 2 Battle of ProxyCon	98.4 fps
Game Test 3 Trolls Lair	79.5 fps
Game Test 4 Nature	86.5 fps
CPU TEST: Index	970
CPU TEST 1	105.4 fps
CPU TEST 2	17.7 fps
Sound Test No Sounds	79 fps
Sound Test 24 Sounds	70.3 fps
Sound Test 60 Sounds	63.2 fps

3D Mark 2005	4,702
Game Test 1 Return to Proxyconn	18 fps
Game Test 2 Firefly Forest	13.3 fps
Game Test 3 Canyon Flight	27.7 fps
CPU TEST: Index	4534
CPU TEST 1	2.3 fps
CPU TEST 2	3.9 fps

Individual Game Tests

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Doom 3

     1024 x 768 = 79.4 fps
     1280 x 1024 = 68.1 fps
     1600 x 1200 = 55.2 fps

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Halo: Combat Evolved

     1024 x 768 = 92.17 fps
     1280 x 1024 = 82.14 fps
     1600 x 1200 = 64.46 fps

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Call of Duty

     1024x768 = 167.9 fps
     1280x1024 = 162.0 fps
     1600x1200 = 157.7 fps

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Unreal Tournament 2004

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So in conclusion...................

To skip past all the rhetoric, the VisionTek XTASY X800XT is a true gamers card. My first experiences with Doom3 were on an ATI 9800XT with the resolution set at 1024x768 and HIGH detail levels. On the 9800XT, playing with ULTRA detail settings was downright sluggish and moving into higher resolutions even while set at HIGH detail levels proved to be painful. Once the XTASY X800XT filled the AGP slot, the dam gates broke open! Doom3 at 1600 x 1200 with ULTRA detail settings - the experience is simple awesome. Ok, there are some stutters in the first few seconds of game play while all the textures and bump maps get loaded, but they don't last long. Then its back to the game.

Since most high end video cards we've been using have additional power requirements, being forced to bring a Molex connector to the video card is hardly a cause for debate or concern. Since the package comes with a "Y" cord so you're guaranteed to not LOOSE a Molex connector in this process, it's a null issue anyway. The requirement for a high capacity power supply are something to consider, but this is an enthusiast level video card and as such all prospective users probably already have VERY high capacity power supplies anyway.

Once you climb so high in the video card hierarchy, the more dramatic Overclock's cease to exists because the cards resources are already nearly maxed out. The XTASY X800XT easily passed the Platinum Edition core clock speed but stalled short of the Platinum Edition's memory speed by a mere 10 Mhz! In most cases, this increase in clock speed did not produce earth-shattering results. Doom3 only averaged a 2 or 3 frames per second increase per resolution tested while the 3DMark 2003 edged 28 points away from the 13,000 Club. Up 861 points from the stock clock speed test.

There really is no software bundle to speak. This can swing two ways with consumers. The first is a cost saving tactic by not adding cost to an already inflated price tag. Lets face it, in six months this card will be worth much less than what you're paying for it today. It would be almost like adding insult to injury to make you pay for a games bundle that you may already own in the first place. The other perspective is that it would be nice if the card shipped with a couple of games that showcase the ability of the card. This lets you take advantage of the purchase right away! The only true compromise here is to provide two packages, one with and one without software.

So any way you measure it, the X800XT is a very capable card and VisionTek has done the chipset very proud.

Club Overclocker Rating
Innovation:	9.0 out of 10
Performance:	10 out of 10
Quality:	10 out of 10
Stability:	10 out of 10
Overclocking:	9 out of 10
Software Pack:	N/A
Value:	9.5 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.5

Skill Level
Project Skill Level (10 being hardest)	2 out of 10