ATI code meanings

chamlis

Hello all
I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card from an nVidia model. I'm thinking of an ATI x800 or an x850. Problem is, I have no idea what the hell the letters after ATI cards mean. Someone told the same letters on nVidia can mean the opposite on ATI cards (XT for example). I'm on a budget so I'm trying to find the best price/performance trade off here.

Thanks in advance

8T8

The little letters after them mean different things depending on the generation and the model plus it can vary between ATI and NVIDIA for example NVIDIA found the GT very popular from a marketing perspective to denote good price/performance.

ATI then used GT on a low end model then GTO on others models to mean the same thing as NVIDIA's. Likewise ATI had the XL term to compete with NVIDIA's GT and NVIDIA boards showed up with XL on lower end parts.

In short it's awful muddy.

First don't bother with the X800 and X850XT both are "former" high parts from the previous SM 2.0 generation and you don't want to be buying that if you want something to last a while.

ATI's latest generation is commonly referred to as the X1K series.

Here is a break down of the parts and what price/performance bracket they fall into starting with the most powerful on top;
Ultra High end
X1900XT-X
X1900XT /X1900-CFE*
X1800XT /X1800-CFE

* CFE = Crossfire edition for hooking up two cards in tandem

Lower High end
X1900XL/GT/GTO [Not yet released and neither is the tag at the end but it will be one of those]
X1800XL
X1800GTO

Mid range
X1600XT
X1600 Pro
X1600

Low end
X1300 Pro
X1300

I think that is everything covered the best ATI card to get on price/performance budget at the moment is the X1800GTO you get the latest Shader Model 3.0 generation card with all the features plus very good performance Komplett has them going for €268. If that's too pricey then go with an X1600XT.

chamlis

Wow. Thanks man. That's alot more info than I thought I'd get. I was quite well read up on the last generation of cards (maybe thats last last now...) but the cliche is true; they really are obsolete tomorrow. Would you happen to know what the best nvidia card to get is? Or a comparison between ATI and nVidia right now?
To elaborate, I'm looking to upgrade my system for just under 500 euro. motherboard (ABIT K8N), processor (athlon64 3700) and graphics card. I could get a 6600GT and be perfectly happy with that, but if I can do better but still be under 500 I might as well. The proc and mobo come to about 330 squid. I have no interest in anything like SLI or Crossfire.
Thanks again

secret_squirrel

chamlis wrote:

Or a comparison between ATI and nVidia right now?

At the high end they are pretty much neck and neck at the moment, with a slight performance advantage for ATI (in most, but not all games) countered by the fact that they have a hotter, noiser solution.

Ironically the reverse of a couple of years ago!

hamster

Check this neighbouring thread on nvidia.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054914241

On the Nvidia side the sweet spot is the 7600gt. In this post it is also highlighted we need decent PSU's to go with the cards. One step up is the 7900GT which is very nice (at ~ €360) but hopefully will come down later in the
year. I plan to upgrade myself later in the year - still have a Geforce 2 GTS from Dec 2000. Hard to believe I paid €381 euro at the time. These cards have so much power for such cheap prices relatively speaking.

hamster

Actually wiki has a nice table on the changes... I had a look for Nvidia (for my lowly card and compared to the 7600 / 7900). I stuck in ATI's 1800 for ref.

hamster

Actually looking at the fillrate figures alone... what a change!

8T8

As the others have mentioned the NVIDIA 7600GT is about the best bang for buck you can get at the moment for around €204 [Club3D 7600GT on Komplett].

The difference between ATI and NVIDIA solutions are difficult to summarize both offer competitive performance and various advantages and disadvantages. The X1600XT is only about as good as a 6600GT and gets spanked by the 7600GT.

The X1800GTO is a small bit faster than the 7600GT but offers some features under the hood that could come in handy*.

*If your the sort of person who never turns on anything like AA or AF then it doesnt matter go with the 7600GT.