ATI Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition

The ATI Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition is a dual-GPU capable graphics card built on the 110 nm R430 chip, utilizing the R400 architecture. As an end-of-life product released in late 2005, it occupies a specific niche in the benchmark database, with a percentile rank of 50 among all GPUs, indicating it sits exactly at the median of the tracked performance spectrum. The card features 16 texture mapping units and 16 render output units, delivering a pixel rate of 8.000 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 8.000 GTexel/s, figures that define its raw throughput capabilities.

How It Compares

The X800 CrossFire Edition has no directly listed nearest rivals in the benchmark data, which means its competitive positioning must be inferred from its absolute performance metrics and architectural characteristics. With a percentile rank of 50, it stands precisely in the middle of the database's performance distribution, suggesting it was a mainstream-to-midrange offering in its era rather than a flagship or entry-level part. Its pixel and texture rates of 8.000 GPixel/s and 8.000 GTexel/s are identical, indicating a balanced design where both fill-rate operations proceed at the same speed, a characteristic typical of GPUs that prioritize consistent rasterization performance over specialized compute workloads.

Without explicit rival data, the card's position can be understood through its generational context. It is the successor to the Radeon R300 series and the predecessor to the Radeon R500 PCIe line, placing it in a transitional period where the move to PCIe 1.0 x16 was established but DirectX 10 had not yet arrived. The X800 CrossFire Edition supports DirectX 9.0b (9_2), which limits it to the feature set of that API revision, a notable constraint compared to later cards that would support DirectX 9.0c or newer. This suggests that in multi-core or shader-heavy workloads from subsequent software releases, the card would fall behind more modern parts, though within its native API generation it would perform as its fill rates indicate.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The X800 CrossFire Edition does not include any ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as these technologies were not part of the R400 architecture. The card's feature set is defined entirely by its fixed-function pipeline and programmable shaders available through DirectX 9.0b (9_2). This API revision supports pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 2.0, which were the standard for games released during its active period, but it lacks the advanced shader model 3.0 features that would come with DirectX 9.0c. Consequently, the card cannot execute dynamic branching in shaders at the same level as later parts, and it has no hardware acceleration for ray-traced effects, which did not exist in consumer GPUs at that time.

The card supports OpenGL 2.1, providing a secondary graphics API path for applications that did not use DirectX. This OpenGL version allows for programmable shaders via GLSL 1.20, but again, there are no dedicated compute or ray tracing capabilities. The absence of Vulkan support is expected, as that API was introduced years later. The feature set is therefore entirely rasterization-focused, with the 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs handling texture fetching and pixel output. The 2x DVI display outputs indicate support for dual digital displays, which was a professional-grade feature at the time, but there are no display outputs for analog connections listed, suggesting a digital-only design.

Power and Cooling

The power profile of the X800 CrossFire Edition is modest by modern standards, with a suggested power supply of 200 W for the entire system. This low PSU recommendation reflects the card's 110 nm manufacturing process, which was relatively power-hungry per transistor compared to later nodes, but the overall transistor count of 160 million on a 240 mm² die kept absolute consumption in check. The card does not list a TDP figure in the data, but the 200 W system PSU requirement gives a concrete reference point for builders. Notably, the card requires no auxiliary power connectors, drawing all its power from the PCIe 1.0 x16 slot, which supplies up to 75 W by specification.

The cooling solution is a dual-slot design, meaning it occupies two expansion slots in a chassis. This dual-slot form factor typically allows for a larger heatsink and fan compared to single-slot cards, which is beneficial for thermal management given the 110 nm process's heat output characteristics. The absence of power connectors simplifies installation, as the user does not need to manage additional 6-pin or 8-pin cables, but it also caps the maximum power draw of the card, potentially limiting overclocking headroom. The dual-slot cooler, combined with the 200 W system PSU recommendation, indicates that this card was designed for mainstream systems rather than high-end workstations or overclocking enthusiasts.

FAQ

Q: What DirectX version does the X800 CrossFire Edition support?

A: The card supports DirectX 9.0b (9_2), which includes pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 2.0 but lacks shader model 3.0 features found in later API revisions.

Q: Does this card have any ray tracing or tensor core hardware?

A: No, the R400 architecture does not include ray tracing cores or tensor cores. The card is purely rasterization-based with no dedicated compute units for such workloads.

Q: What is the memory configuration of the X800 CrossFire Edition?

A: It comes with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 32.00 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The memory operates at 500 MHz, which translates to 1000 Mbps effective data rate.

Q: What power supply is recommended for a system with this card?

A: The suggested PSU rating is 200 W, and the card requires no auxiliary power connectors, drawing power solely from the PCIe 1.0 x16 slot.

Q: How many display outputs does the card have, and what type?

A: It has two DVI outputs, supporting dual digital displays. There are no analog outputs listed.

Q: What is the production status and release context of this GPU?

A: The card is marked as end-of-life, having been released on October 27, 2005. It sits between the Radeon R300 and Radeon R500 PCIe generations in the product timeline.

Who Should Consider It

Given its median percentile rank of 50, the X800 CrossFire Edition is appropriate for users targeting 720p or 1080p resolution at medium to low settings in games from its 2005-era generation. The card's 8.000 GPixel/s pixel rate and 8.000 GTexel/s texture rate provide sufficient fill-rate for titles that were optimized for DirectX 9.0b, but these figures will be strained by later games that expect shader model 3.0 or higher. For users who primarily play older titles or run productivity applications that rely on OpenGL 2.1, the card offers balanced performance, but it would not be suitable for modern gaming workloads that demand features the R400 architecture lacks.

The dual-slot cooling and 200 W PSU requirement make it a viable option for upgrading legacy systems with limited power delivery, particularly since no additional power connectors are needed. However, the 256 MB VRAM capacity is a limiting factor at higher resolutions, as texture-heavy scenes at 1440p or above will exceed this buffer quickly. The card's performance profile is best suited for 1280x1024 or 1366x768 resolutions with reduced texture detail, where its fill-rate capabilities can be fully utilized without memory capacity constraints. Users who require higher resolution gaming or modern API support should look to successors in the Radeon R500 line or later architectures.

Memory Subsystem

The memory subsystem of the X800 CrossFire Edition consists of 256 MB of GDDR3 memory connected via a 256-bit bus, yielding a total bandwidth of 32.00 GB/s. The memory clock is listed at 500 MHz, with an effective data rate of 1000 Mbps due to double data rate transmission. This bandwidth figure is adequate for the card's fill-rate capabilities, as the 8.000 GPixel/s pixel rate at 32-bit color depth requires approximately 32.00 GB/s of bandwidth to sustain without bottlenecks. The 256-bit bus width is a mainstream configuration for the era, providing a balance between memory interface complexity and bandwidth.

At higher resolutions such as 1600x1200 or 1920x1080, the 256 MB capacity becomes a significant constraint, as frame buffers for these resolutions with anti-aliasing enabled can exceed this allocation. The 32.00 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the card's 8.000 GTexel/s texture rate, but demanding games with large texture sets will experience stuttering or texture thrashing as the GPU swaps data in and out of the limited VRAM. For the card's intended use case of 2005-era games at standard resolutions, the memory subsystem is well-matched, but it is the primary bottleneck for any attempt to push beyond that scope. The GDDR3 type was a premium memory standard at the time, offering lower latency and higher clock speeds compared to DDR2 alternatives, which helps mitigate the modest capacity somewhat.