Digital Trends

MSI RX800 XT

November 22nd, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Introduction

Our readers are probably going to hang us for reviewing this card so late in the year, but nonetheless we have finally gotten around to reviewing the latest and greatest from ATI and MSI. ATI's “X” series of graphics cards are based on the company's new R420 chip and competes directly with Nvidia's 6800 series of graphics cards. Using ATI's X800 XT chip, the MSI RX800 we are reviewing today utilizes Intel's new PCI-Express interface which, when used at its full potential, can theoretically double the bandwidth of the AGP 8X graphics bus. Video card reviews can become quite redundant because there are so many manufacturers repackaging the same reference board and branding it as their own. MSI on the other hand has taken this theory to the next level by literally transforming a standard video card into a package that makes it feel like you are getting a complete gaming machine.

Last year ATI was able to get a one up on Nvidia with their 9000 series of graphics cards. This includes their popular 9800 and 9600 product lines. Nvidia's 5900 series cards simply could not compete with ATI on the same level. This year things have changed and the competition is hotter than ever before. Literally racing neck-to-neck, Nvidia and ATI both have cards on the market promising even greater speeds for gamers. Because the MSI RX800 is designed to work on new PCI-Express motherboards, there are fewer being produced which equates to a higher price. You can expect to pay between $500 and $600 for the RX800 using the popular comparison shopping sites.

Features and Design

The PCI-Express version of the RX800 is powered by ATI's R420 chip running at 500MHz and uses 256MB of Samsung GDDR3 memory. Video In and Video Out (VIVO) are provided by the ATI Rage Theater 200 chip allowing you to output the video signal to either a television using S-Video or a DVI/VGA enabled monitor. If you have an AGP based system, then you might want to consider the MSI RX800XT Platinum Edition which features a faster 520MHz core and AGP 8X support. Unfortunately the Platinum Edition is only limited to the AGP version of this card. MSI is currently selling four video cards based on the ATI R420 chip. This includes the X800 PRO (AGP), X800 Platinum Edition (AGP), X600XT (PCI-Express) and the RX800 (PCI-Express).

Unlike MSI's Nvidia based NX6800 video card, the RX800 does not come with dual DVI outputs; instead the card comes with a VGA and a DVI output. CAD and workstation users will most likely be turned off by this, although we are fairly certain this is more of a limitation of the board design and not MSI's choice.

Image courtesy MSI

Until the latest crops of video cards were introduced, power requirements were not much of a concern to most of us. Our older 250-watt power supplies did just the trick. That has changed and both ATI and Nvidia are requiring larger power supplies if you want to use their video cards. We were astonished to find out that the Nvidia 6800 Ultra video card wanted a 480-watt power supply just in order to work. This forced most users to have to spend an extra $100 bucks on a new power supply just to use the Nvidia graphics cards. Luckily the power requirements of the RX800 are not so bad, although 350-watts is probably more than what most people currently have in their systems. Another major advantage the RX800 has over its Nvidia based brethren is the fact that it only requires a single slot in your computer chassis versus the two slots the Nvidia cards need. This means you can possibly even use the RX800 in a SFF (Small Form Factor) based system or any other system where you will need more room.

While the ATI X800 has its advantages over its competition in the power consumption ring, it also has some disadvantages. First of all, the RX800 does not support DirectX 9.0c. This means that you will not be able to take advantage of games that support Pixel Shader and Vertex Shader 3.0. “So what?” you might be saying? Well the list of games supporting DirectX 9.0c is growing and includes Far Cry, Battlefield Vietnam, Pain Killer, Serious Sam 2, Tribes Vengeance and more. For most people this is not that big of a deal, but for hardcore gamers, it can mean a huge loss in sales for ATI. Only time will tell.

As with MSI's other video cards, the RX800 comes with a fantastic package that includes 14 CD's worth of games and utilities, and a large box to help you get excited about the product inside. It makes you feel like you are getting a lot for your money, not just another run-of-the-mill video card. MSI has gone to great lengths to make you feel like the RX800 is worth the purchase. Of the games included you get XIII, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Prince of Persia, URU plus 15 other games. Surely this has to cut into some of MSI's profit margins, but we aren't complaining.