Ati X1800 / X1900 Faq

Discussion in 'Links' started by CraptacularOne, Jul 10, 2006.

  1. Hello folks, I would like to answer a few of the common questions regarding the X1800 & X1900 series of video cards. It seems there is always some missunderstanding regarding their clock speeds, temperatures, specs...ect.

    What I have done is answered for you some of the most frequently asked questions.

    X1800 questions....

    Q) I see when I look in ATI Tool that my cards clock speeds are only 600/700!?! WTF?! I thought they were supposed to be 625/1500? Do I have a bad card?

    A) No those are your cards 2D clock speeds. When you enter a 3D app or game it will throttle up to full speed and you will get your advertised 625/1500.

    Q) Even after I do that it still says my memory is only 750Mhz?!?

    A) Remember that since it's DDR (Double Data Rate) memory you double it's actual clock speed to get it's effective clock speed 750Mhz = 1500Mhz DDR.

    Q) My card is running at 85C under full load! Is it going to melt?!

    A) No, your card is fine. Those are perfectly normal operating temperatures for your card with the stock cooler. The R520 has an operating range of 75 - 95C under load. The card has 321 million transistors in the core. As you can imagine it will generate a good amount of heat to have them running at 625Mhz.

    Q) Is my power supply good enough for the X1800XT

    A) ATI recommends a 450w PSU with at least 30a (combined) on the 12v rail for a single card. For crossfire ATI recommends a 550w PSU with 38a (combined) on the 12v rail. I personally would recommend a quality PSU of 500w with 32a (combined) on the 12v for one card. And at the minimum 600w with 38a (combined) on the 12v rail for Crossfire. Remember that cheap = cheap. Don't buy a crappy PSU and expect everything to be peachy. Some good brands are....Antec, OCZ, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, and FSP Group (Fortron Source) just to name a few.

    Q) I'm a little confused about all the pipeline and shader details, can you tell me what is what?

    A) The X1800XT has 16 traditional pipelines and 16 shader processors with 8 vertex units.

    X1800XT = 625/1500 16 pipes, 16 shader processors and 8 vertex units.
    X1800XL = 500/1000 16 pipes, 16 shader processors and 8 vertex units.
    X1800GTO = 500/1000 12 pipes, 12 shader processors, and 8 vertex units.


    Q) I want to go Crossfire, can I just buy 2 X1800XT's and put them together?

    A) No, you will need an X1800 Corssfire Edition master card to use Crossfire. The X1800 CF master card will work with all of the X1800 line to enable Crossfire. The only X1800 series card that will work in Crossfire without at master card is the X1800GTO. But you will need a X3200Xpress motherboard to enable it without a master card. I would recommend an X3200Xpress motherboard for Crossfire in general. Though it will still work on the older X200 chipsets. (with the exception of the X1800GTOs, you will need a master card for Crossfire if you don't have the X3200Xpress chipset)

    Q) Can I put a X1800XT with a X1900XT together in Crossfire?

    A) No, you cannot mix 1800 series cards with 1900 series cards.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    X1900XT/X questions....

    Q) Why do my cards clocks only say 500/1200? I thought the clocks were supposed to be 625/1450 for the XT and 650/1550 for the XTX?

    A) Your card has 2D and 3D clocks in 2D mode they are only 500/1200, as soon as you enter a 3D app or game they throttle up to their advertised 625/1450 for the XT and 650/1550 for the XTX.

    Q) Even after I do that it still says my memory is only 725Mhz for the XT and 775Mhz for the XTX?!?

    A) Remember that since it's DDR (Double Data Rate) memory you double it's actual clock speed to get it's effective clock speed 725Mhz = 1450Mhz DDR for the XT and 775Mhz = 1550 for the XTX.

    Q) My card is running at 85C under full load! Is it going to melt?!

    A) No, your card is fine. Those are perfectly normal operating temperatures for your card with the stock cooler. The R580 (like it's little brother the R520) has an operating range of 75 - 95C under load. The card has 384 million transistors in the core. As you can imagine it will generate a good amount of heat to have them running at 625 - 650Mhz.

    Q) Is my power supply good enough for the X1900XT/X?

    A) ATI recommends a 450w PSU with at least 30a (combined) on the 12v rail for a single card. For crossfire ATI recommends a 550w PSU with 38a (combined) on the 12v rail. I personally would recommend a quality PSU of 500w with 32a (combined) on the 12v for one card. And at the minimum 600w with 38a (combined) on the 12v rail for Crossfire. Remember that cheap = cheap. Don't buy a crappy PSU and expect everything to be peachy. Some good brands are....Antec, OCZ, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, and FSP Group (Fortron Source) just to name a few.

    Q) I heard that the X1900XT/X has 48 pipes, is that true?

    A) No the X1900XT/X has 16 pipes just like the X1800XT. But here's where the two are radically different....

    X1900XTX = 650/1550 16 pipes, 48 shader processors, and 8 vertex units.
    X1900XT = 625/1450 16 pipes, 48 shader processors, and 8 vertex units.
    X1900GT = 575/1200 12 pipes, 36 shader processors, and 8 vertex units.


    Q) I want to go Crossfire can I buy 2 X1900XT's and be ready to go?

    A) No, You will need an X1900 Crossfre Edition master card for Crossfire to work. The X1900 CF master card will work with any of the X1900 line. I would recommend a X3200Xpress motherboard for Crossfire.

    Q) I have a X1900XT, can I buy the X1800 CF master card to enable Crossfire?

    A) No, you cannot mix the X1800 series with the X1900 series cards.

    For a great guide on Crossfire look here...
    http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=181125
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2006
  2. .............
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 23, 2006
  3. phrozin

    phrozin Guest

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    the psu recommend 12v amps are not correct craps they are as follows
    fx 57, x850 crossfire is 30a 12v
    4000, x850 crossfire is 25a 12v
    3400, x800 crossfire is 20a 12v

    as you can see the psu for x8xx scales up depending on cpu i would say dc amds would need 30a also

    single x1900 is 450w with 30a 12v
    crossfire x1900 is 550w 38a with duel 6pin pci-e connections

    i dont know about x1800's but i would assume they are the same as x19's :)

    great start though m8 well done :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2006
  4. That was taken directly from ATI. But the amperage was a typo:bonk: It is indeed 30a for single and 38a for Crossfire. It has been corrected. Thanks for pointing that out:)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2006

  5. phrozin

    phrozin Guest

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    probably should point out that is a combined 12v for multi 12v rail psu's thats why crossfire requires 2x 6 pin pci-e, for the extreme noobe craps cause some on will ask it :)
    but great job m8!
     
  6. :newb:S
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 10, 2006
  7. nystylin74

    nystylin74 Active Member

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    Hello all long time no see, bee away for a bit, but I'm back and at'em. See things have changed a bit. We're up to 6.6 eh, anyone try it yet, Oh, the whole issue for games not supporting CF the game F.E.A.R do I have to change the name of the exe so it will support Crossfire? And what about older games, how can I make a flight sim that (Falcon 4.0 Allied Force) Made by Lead Pursuit to run in CF mode? Do I change the EXE to a crossfire supporting game name, or how or I do that? What are some names that I would change them to?
    Someone help please, nice to see you guys again.
     
  8. El1jonmc

    El1jonmc Guest

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    that's a pretty crappy job.....


























    jk Crap :rolleyes:
     
  9. Hey I think you are looking for the Crossfire thread;)
    http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=181125

    But too answer your questions. 6.6's are working fine for me (although the 6.6 beta's score a lil more in benchmarks) no problmes here. As far as FEAR goes I honestly can't remember (it's been months since I've played it) but at the time, I did rename it to something else to get CF to work with my X1800's (think I named it TEAR) and it was fine. And as for older games. Lets be honest, 1 X1900XT will play the game you listed at whatever settings you want and at any res buttery smooth;)
     


  10. :finger:......:peeright:El1jonmc:peeleft:......lol.........that's for you:)
     

  11. thecake90

    thecake90 Guest

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    Craptacular1 I love your attitude





    I really do:)
     
  12. lol....I try....
     
  13. fajitasforme7

    fajitasforme7 Ancient Guru

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    great post crap
     
  14. kawie95

    kawie95 Member

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    Thanks for the guide.
    The guru 3d forums answered a lot of my questions about crossfire.
    I was wondering exactly how serious of a punch dual 1900xt's pack? I was looking at installing a single x1900xt on my Abit AW8D motherboard and the crossfire models really caught my eye on newegg. If I purchase a crossfire card, should I look if it is the slave card (eg.) or the master card, or does ATI Crossfire marked cards include both (doubt it). It sounds like Crossfire cards just support the rear dvi inline cable.
    A single x1900xt card should be sufficient on a 4.0Ghz clocked pc that I will be doing graphics and playing games like Counter-Strike source and WoWC on, It would also be nice to have this card optomal for the next year of video game releases (IF thats possible nowdays).
    Also, I have a Antec NEO 480 psu and I don't recall a 6pin pcie power cord on it, is it required for a single x1900xt card?
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2006
  15. You can get either a slave or a master card for a single card solution. It dosen't matter. If you are planning on going crossfire down the road pick up the master card now and the slave later when you need it. But these cards are beasts by themselves. One card will chew up and spit out any game on the market today (even Oblivion) One card should easily last you another year.

    Your PSU should be OK for one card, and don't worry about the power cable, if you buy the card new it will come with an adapter. Or you can just buy one from your local PC store, they are only about $5.

    And as for your wondering how much of a punch 2 in CF pack....words cannot describe.....
     

  16. kawie95

    kawie95 Member

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    Sweet man, thanks for the info. I think i'm gonan hold off for a month or so to upgrade my pc to the specs on the left.
     
  17. Good luck. I hope you enjoy your stay here at Guru3D:)


    P.S. Might I recommend you don't get a pentium CPU? Get either a conroe or an AMD CPU. They are much better for what you are looking for.
     
  18. kawie95

    kawie95 Member

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    Ooh, are the 64bits better for me?
     
  19. Vinnie

    Vinnie Ancient Guru

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    Hmmm, I think that there will be a huge cpu bottleneck with a 4mhz cpu :)

    Just jking, I think you meant 4GHZ :D?
     
  20. kawie95

    kawie95 Member

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    Shutup lol
     

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