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Nice! My OC has also been dispatched.Both my Nitro+ OC and Nitro+ OCSE 6800XTs are with DPD! Will post a pic once they arrive.
I just thought I would share some expriences in performance between 2x different 6800 (non XT) GPUs.
I used CP2077 and Hitman 2 at 4K for the comparison. This was never intended as a comprehensive test other than to ensure the replacement 6800 actually worked as the first one was RMAd.
At stock the GPUs were as expected within margin of error and getting roughly 40 FPS in CP2077. I won't go into detail here because the same settings were used for all tests on an identical PC. Both would sit at ~2200 MHz core.
What was most interesting for me was how both GPUs overclocked.
The first GPU would undervolt very well at 925mV and it was sitting at ~2450 - 2500 MHz on the core with the clock set to 2550. Unfortunately the VRAM would not overclock at all, even moving the slider from 2000 to 2030 would cause an instant crash. The same would happen if I touched fast timings, so VRAM had to be left at default. This core OC resulted in around 5-7% better FPS in this game. So nothing special but it's free performance.
The second GPU would barely undervolt and at best I got .015mV hardly worth it really. It is not a big an issue as the GPU is already very efficient. But this meant the core clock would max out at 2350 with the core OC set to 2420, any higher would result in a driver crash. So initially I felt underwhelmed but once I tried the VRAM I noticed the opposite of the 1st 6800. This GPU would overclock VRAM to 2130 before error correction actually degraded performance. I could also enable fast timing without issue. So overall the core clock would sit at 2350 and VRAM at 2130 with fast timings. This resulted in 10% better performance at the same settings.
So overall it is better to have a decent VRAM overclock than a core overclock. Obvioulsy both would be nice but thus is the silicone lottery.
Another point worth mentioning is that this overclock put the 6800 around 15% slower in CP2077 at 4K than my overclocked and undervotled 3080. In Hitman 2 it was ~10% slower OC vs OC. I don't own either 6800 anymore as the first one was RMAd and replaced by a 3080FE I managed to get at MSRP. The second replacmeent 6800 was then sold in MM at the cost I got from OCUK for. I only decided to run the replacement 6800 for a day to ensure there were no issues before I posted it to the buyer. I'm sure he won't mind.
The 6800 is a very nice GPU, cool, quiet and efficient. Honestly if both GPUs were available at MSRP and I knew then what I know now I would be hard justified to spend the extra £140 (or 27%) for the 3080. The only caveat being RT and DLSS 2.0 of course.
So I think if anyone is in the hunt for a very good GPU then don't rule out the 6800, especially at MSRP. AMD really have outdone themselves with the reference coolers this time.
Both my Nitro+ OC and Nitro+ OCSE 6800XTs are with DPD! Will post a pic once they arrive.
Nice! My OC has also been dispatched.
Hi both, when you get your new cards would you be able to have a look how your fan housing is attached to the backplate right at the end of the card please? I have the 6800XT Nitro + (managed to get it just before Christmas) and noticed a lot of movement here, noticed when I picked it up. As it seems to have a screw with a spring on it but its not strong enough to stop the fan housing from pulling away from the back plate and there is a gap here when the card is installed. Its like it's missing a spacer or a stronger spring. It doesn't seem to vibrate when running but not the best for such an expensive card (even more so at the current pricings) . I am in discussions with the place I got it from which they want me to return it but have no stock to replace it.
I am going to try add a photo of what I mean, not sure if it will work.
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Cheers both. I didn't want to put a photo to big onto the forum (not 100% on the rules for that) so I have added another larger one below and rotated it 90 degrees. The gap you see is the gap you see when installed due to the weight of the cover and fans. When not installed the back plate and platic legs nearly touch so not obvious initally. I do have a video of the movement but I don't have it on any of the sources the forum said I need to use.
Apart from this the card runs quite well and currently the highest spot on Timespy with a 2700x. VR doesn't work too well though as the drivers don't seem to load the card up properly so sat under 40% usage even when under target FPS. I am hoping AMD sort it out.
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Nice review, glad you are enjoying the switch from the 3080 to the 6800 XT.Some pics and some thoughts and impressions
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As you can see from the pics, the Sapphire Nitro+ OCSE 6800XT is quite a bit thinner, shorter and not as tall as the 3080 Aorus Master it replaced.
Build quality feels absolutely premium when compared to the overly plasticky 3080. The Sapphire feels solid with its alloy shroud etc, and really looks nice and subtle.
The software for the Gigabyte card is some of the worst i have ever used, the Sapphire Trixx software in comparison is so much better. Gigabyte seemed to try and copy everyone else and failed, Sapphire keeps it simple and intuitive and it just works.
The Sapphire card has a bios switch with 3 positions, OC, Quiet and Software controlled. This means you can control which bios you want to use from within windows, to be fair i left mine on OC.
In games the 6800XT is keeping up and surpassing the 3080 in stuff ive tested, Division 2, FF14, CP2077, Godfall, CoD MW & BOCW and Watchdogs Legion, so its a side grade mostly from the 3080. With regards to Raytracing, im not overly interested, hence why i ditched my 3080 for the 6800XT.
Using the DF settings in CP2077 im getting 81fps on average, which is good enough for me. Not missing Ray Tracing at all either.
Id say for anyone not interested in Ray Tracing, if you could walk into a store and buy either a ref 3080 or ref 6800XT at MSRP right now id buy the 6800XT, obviously if your desperate for Ray Tracing buy the Nvidia card.
You cant go wrong with either right now for pure rasterization support.
I have gotten SAM working but i cant really see any boosts in FPS in anything i have tried but the fact with either card outside of Raytracing you can pretty much play any game currently around at 60fps @ 1440p at max settings.
Im running 3440x1440 @ 100hz, Godfall is running at 100fps, Division 2 100fps, CP2077 81fps etc etc
My system is far from tuned as well, Ram is just running xmp 3600mhz c16, 5900x is running PBO +200mhz etc, i am sure if i tuned the ram and cpu further and played with OCing the GPU id get even more performance, so my PC is fairly out of the box in some regards.
Will have a go at the RAM at some point to see if i can tighten it further, then start on CPU and finally the GPU, but as a starting point its giving terrific performance
Nice review, glad you are enjoying the switch from the 3080 to the 6800 XT.
The Sapphire card looks really nice with the lighting.
What do you plan to do with the 3080?
I just thought I would share some expriences in performance between 2x different 6800 (non XT) GPUs.
I used CP2077 and Hitman 2 at 4K for the comparison. This was never intended as a comprehensive test other than to ensure the replacement 6800 actually worked as the first one was RMAd.
At stock the GPUs were as expected within margin of error and getting roughly 40 FPS in CP2077. I won't go into detail here because the same settings were used for all tests on an identical PC. Both would sit at ~2200 MHz core.
What was most interesting for me was how both GPUs overclocked.
The first GPU would undervolt very well at 925mV and it was sitting at ~2450 - 2500 MHz on the core with the clock set to 2550. Unfortunately the VRAM would not overclock at all, even moving the slider from 2000 to 2030 would cause an instant crash. The same would happen if I touched fast timings, so VRAM had to be left at default. This core OC resulted in around 5-7% better FPS in this game. So nothing special but it's free performance.
The second GPU would barely undervolt and at best I got .015mV hardly worth it really. It is not a big an issue as the GPU is already very efficient. But this meant the core clock would max out at 2350 with the core OC set to 2420, any higher would result in a driver crash. So initially I felt underwhelmed but once I tried the VRAM I noticed the opposite of the 1st 6800. This GPU would overclock VRAM to 2130 before error correction actually degraded performance. I could also enable fast timing without issue. So overall the core clock would sit at 2350 and VRAM at 2130 with fast timings. This resulted in 10% better performance at the same settings.
So overall it is better to have a decent VRAM overclock than a core overclock. Obvioulsy both would be nice but thus is the silicone lottery.
Another point worth mentioning is that this overclock put the 6800 around 15% slower in CP2077 at 4K than my overclocked and undervotled 3080. In Hitman 2 it was ~10% slower OC vs OC. I don't own either 6800 anymore as the first one was RMAd and replaced by a 3080FE I managed to get at MSRP. The second replacmeent 6800 was then sold in MM at the cost I got from OCUK for. I only decided to run the replacement 6800 for a day to ensure there were no issues before I posted it to the buyer. I'm sure he won't mind.
The 6800 is a very nice GPU, cool, quiet and efficient. Honestly if both GPUs were available at MSRP and I knew then what I know now I would be hard justified to spend the extra £140 (or 27%) for the 3080. The only caveat being RT and DLSS 2.0 of course.
So I think if anyone is in the hunt for a very good GPU then don't rule out the 6800, especially at MSRP. AMD really have outdone themselves with the reference coolers this time.
Some pics and some thoughts and impressions
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
As you can see from the pics, the Sapphire Nitro+ OCSE 6800XT is quite a bit thinner, shorter and not as tall as the 3080 Aorus Master it replaced.
Build quality feels absolutely premium when compared to the overly plasticky 3080. The Sapphire feels solid with its alloy shroud etc, and really looks nice and subtle.
The software for the Gigabyte card is some of the worst i have ever used, the Sapphire Trixx software in comparison is so much better. Gigabyte seemed to try and copy everyone else and failed, Sapphire keeps it simple and intuitive and it just works.
The Sapphire card has a bios switch with 3 positions, OC, Quiet and Software controlled. This means you can control which bios you want to use from within windows, to be fair i left mine on OC.
In games the 6800XT is keeping up and surpassing the 3080 in stuff ive tested, Division 2, FF14, CP2077, Godfall, CoD MW & BOCW and Watchdogs Legion, so its a side grade mostly from the 3080. With regards to Raytracing, im not overly interested, hence why i ditched my 3080 for the 6800XT.
Using the DF settings in CP2077 im getting 81fps on average, which is good enough for me. Not missing Ray Tracing at all either.
Id say for anyone not interested in Ray Tracing, if you could walk into a store and buy either a ref 3080 or ref 6800XT at MSRP right now id buy the 6800XT, obviously if your desperate for Ray Tracing buy the Nvidia card.
You cant go wrong with either right now for pure rasterization support.
I have gotten SAM working but i cant really see any boosts in FPS in anything i have tried but the fact with either card outside of Raytracing you can pretty much play any game currently around at 60fps @ 1440p at max settings.
Im running 3440x1440 @ 100hz, Godfall is running at 100fps, Division 2 100fps, CP2077 81fps etc etc
My system is far from tuned as well, Ram is just running xmp 3600mhz c16, 5900x is running PBO +200mhz etc, i am sure if i tuned the ram and cpu further and played with OCing the GPU id get even more performance, so my PC is fairly out of the box in some regards.
Will have a go at the RAM at some point to see if i can tighten it further, then start on CPU and finally the GPU, but as a starting point its giving terrific performance
Just out of curiosity, what made you change for a 6800xt?
Thats a really interesting read, were both 6800's reference models?
Firstly, i have mainly used AMD for many years, 6950, 7870, 290 (4 diff ones), Vega 64, 1070, 5700XT, 3080 and now 6800XT. I prefer their driver suite on AMD cards, i have a Freesync monitor, even though it will work with Gsync, i wanted to see what all the fuss with Raytracing was about so i got the 3080, but i am massively unimpressed by it. So back to AMD i go, as the performance in non Raytracing is almost identical i havent really lost anything
As for your 2nd question, no, they are both custom partner models, performancewise they are identical, the only difference between the 2 models is the SE version has clear RGB Fans and it has a USBC port on the card, thats it, nothing else.
Thats a really interesting read, were both 6800's reference models?
Received my 6800XT today.
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Some pics and some thoughts and impressions
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
As you can see from the pics, the Sapphire Nitro+ OCSE 6800XT is quite a bit thinner, shorter and not as tall as the 3080 Aorus Master it replaced.
Build quality feels absolutely premium when compared to the overly plasticky 3080. The Sapphire feels solid with its alloy shroud etc, and really looks nice and subtle.
The software for the Gigabyte card is some of the worst i have ever used, the Sapphire Trixx software in comparison is so much better. Gigabyte seemed to try and copy everyone else and failed, Sapphire keeps it simple and intuitive and it just works.
The Sapphire card has a bios switch with 3 positions, OC, Quiet and Software controlled. This means you can control which bios you want to use from within windows, to be fair i left mine on OC.
In games the 6800XT is keeping up and surpassing the 3080 in stuff ive tested, Division 2, FF14, CP2077, Godfall, CoD MW & BOCW and Watchdogs Legion, so its a side grade mostly from the 3080. With regards to Raytracing, im not overly interested, hence why i ditched my 3080 for the 6800XT.
Using the DF settings in CP2077 im getting 81fps on average, which is good enough for me. Not missing Ray Tracing at all either.
Id say for anyone not interested in Ray Tracing, if you could walk into a store and buy either a ref 3080 or ref 6800XT at MSRP right now id buy the 6800XT, obviously if your desperate for Ray Tracing buy the Nvidia card.
You cant go wrong with either right now for pure rasterization support.
I have gotten SAM working but i cant really see any boosts in FPS in anything i have tried but the fact with either card outside of Raytracing you can pretty much play any game currently around at 60fps @ 1440p at max settings.
Im running 3440x1440 @ 100hz, Godfall is running at 100fps, Division 2 100fps, CP2077 81fps etc etc
My system is far from tuned as well, Ram is just running xmp 3600mhz c16, 5900x is running PBO +200mhz etc, i am sure if i tuned the ram and cpu further and played with OCing the GPU id get even more performance, so my PC is fairly out of the box in some regards.
Will have a go at the RAM at some point to see if i can tighten it further, then start on CPU and finally the GPU, but as a starting point its giving terrific performance