So, how does the ATI Radeon X850 XT PE and X800 XL measure up when compared to other ATI cards that have come and gone? Well, let’s just say that you might be surprised. ;o)

Earlier this autumn, ATi revealed details about their new PCI-Express video cards, the X850 XT Platinum Edition (PE) and the X800 XL. While the X850 XT PE of course is the new high-end video card, the X800 XL is ATI’s answer to NVIDIA’s GeForce 6800 GT. ATI was kind enough to lend us two reference cards for a quick spin in some of our benchmarks.

Both the X800 XL and the X850 XT PE use the new PCI-Express slot. The main difference between the R480 chip in the X850 XT PE and the R423 chip in X800 XT’s is ‘process enhancements’. These have made it possible for ATI to clock it slightly higher than the X800 XT PE. There’s a bigger difference between the R430 than can be found in the X800 XL and the R423. While the R423 is fabbed with a 0.13 um low-K process, the R430 is fabbed with a 0.11 um process. It cannot reach the clockspeeds of the R480 but runs cooler. In the end, it is the perfect chip to power the cards that ATI wants to rival the successful GeForce 6800 GT.