Final thoughts
Final thoughtsATI's introduced a new SKU into its R4xx lineup but it's all the better for it. We remarked at how much overall the X800 GT 256MB gave to users on a ~£100 budget. Those that can spare a few extra pennies and up the ante to £125-£135 will find that the X800 GTO 256MB PCI-Express card continues that sweet price-to-performance ratio. The GTO's slower core speed is more than compensated for by the use of 12 rendering pipelines as opposed to the X800 GT's 8, and there's always the possibility, however slim, of opening up the remaining quad, should it be operational, and turning the £125-ish Radeon X800 GTO 256MB card into a fully-fledged Radeon X800 XL.
Our performance numbers have shown that the X800 GTO 256MB SKU has enough overall power to play some of the latest games, with reasonable framerates, at 1280x1024. There's even scope to add in a modicum of image enhancement in titles that aren't too graphically intensive, something along the lines of Half-Life 2. In short, the ATI Radeon X800 GTO 256MB GPU is a good one for potential buyers on a relative budget, and you can always add another one once, hardware permitting, CrossFire technology is firmly established.
SAPPHIRE's realised the benefits of the X800 GTO and quickly launched a few models of its own. Our sample, dubbed the Ultimate Silent Series, as the name suggests, is a passively-cooled design that's ideally suited to users who want midrange power but don't want the fan noise to go with it. Whilst the sample was perfectly stable during testing, it must be noted that the GPU, according to SAPPHIRE's monitoring hardware and without additional cooling, often exceeded 100c when under prolonged 3D load. Overclocking, then, is a no-no unless there's explicit card-directed cooling.
SAPPHIRE's bundle choice is an interesting one. Its SAPPHIRE Select bundle allows you to trial (1-hour) a number of games, housed on a single DVD, and activate the one of choice via a web-based unlocking medium. It certainly puts back the choice in the consumers' hand, rather than the manufacturer deciding what to bundle. Its TriXX overclocking/monitoring software is also a handy, useful inclusion, especially for a card that runs quite hot, and the sample overclocked well with a little help from a couple of 80mm fans.
Priced at £129.99, the financial cost of having a passively-cooled card is a £10 or so premium over a regular ATI Radeon X800 GT0 256MB card. Is it worth it? That depends upon how much you value silence. Whatever the case, the X800 GTO is another fine addition to ATI's burgeoning PCI-Express family. Users with <£150 budgets should certainly put this on their immediate shortlist. You might just want to hang fire for a short while, as SAPPHIRE's already announced another 'GTO iteration in its ranks. We'll be taking a look at the Radeon X800 GTO² 256MB card in due course. Until then, we can recommended the GTO 256MB at its current price-point.
