X800 GTO² a good choice?

[Ice Rich]

Hello,

Im very tempted to purchase the ASROCK Dual SATA motherboard and make the jump to PCI.

Just need to get a decent budget card now, been thinking of the X800 GTO². Is it my best option on a budget? Will I have any problems unlocking the extra pipelines and overclocking?

Im currently using an 3000+ winnie (which I plan to keep for abit) and a 9800PRO. Will be moving my 3200 ballistix RAM over too. Am I likely to see much gain?

Thanks,

Rich

 

[locutus12]

heya rich, well i have a GTO2 and an asrock and i can tell you they are great items to own, best system ive had in years (on a 3000+ venice @ 2.2Ghz 1.4v 38oC )

the jump of a GTO2 over the 9800pro is huge, remember the original GTO2`s scored not too far away from a 7800GT in 3dmark05 (mine pulled 6250, avg 78GT is 7K )

the problem is thatthe newer GTO2`s in a lot of cases arnt worth a crap, some are comming with crappy memory, others with R430 core instead of R480, and many with an utterly different Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout on a blue board, which alters the product from what it was originally based on which was that of an X850XTPE PCB with an R480 core and good memory.

my advice is to either buy the PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT for a touch more, or buy a first batch GTO2 second hand, one that you know will clock, one like mine which i may be selling over the next day or 2... (see how i slipped that last bit in, good wasnt it... )

 

[Ice Rich]

Thanks loctus, nice post

May I ask what card you upgrading too?

Also have you had any problems with your ASROCK? I take it its meeting your expectations?

Thanks

 

[oweneades]

If you can guarantee you get a GTO2 with a red pcb then go for it. Don't bother with the blue one. Its basically a rebadged X800XL.

I had one of the older Red ones which is basically a X850XTPE with a different cooler and it clocked to 660/1270 on stock volts/cooling. Scored 7.6k in 3dmark05.

Phrozin from Guru3d almost took out 9k with one.

 

[locutus12]

Thanks loctus, nice post

May I ask what card you upgrading too?

Also have you had any problems with your ASROCK? I take it its meeting your expectations?

Thanks

im going for a 7800GT, i really want an X1800XL but too much £££ for me


the board is going great guns, i originally had an AGP card so it was brilliant for a smooth upgrade to PCI-E, also the M2 supports a bonus, means i dont need to chuck it in 6 months lol.

currently the board fsb is 245, i hear they will do 275, not the greatest of overclockers this is true but its more than enough. just a pitty my cpu doesnt like going above 2.25ghz. (could also be my ram but 2.2 from 1.8 is more thn enough for me )

 

[ACESHIGH]

Id say best buys would be PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-037-PC) or PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-055-PC)

 

[thermomonkey]

If you can guarantee you get a GTO2 with a red pcb then go for it. Don't bother with the blue one. Its basically a rebadged X800XL.

I had one of the older Red ones which is basically a X850XTPE with a different cooler and it clocked to 660/1270 on stock volts/cooling. Scored 7.6k in 3dmark05.

Phrozin from Guru3d almost took out 9k with one.

That memory speed is amazing

 

[oldhat]

sorry to jump the thread but...what is actually the diff between gto2 and gto16? which is better?

 

[ACESHIGH]

GTO2 is made by Sapphire & GTO16 is made by Powercolor, other than that they have the same clocks & number of pipes (16). Most GTO2's are unlocked to 16 pipes now rather than needing to be flashed. Get whichever is cheaper is my advice.