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Introduction

During the launch of the updated RADEON X lineup, the most exciting product was arguably the X800 XL and not the flagship X850 XT PE. The success of the R420 generation and the NV40 family has not been defined by the X800 XT PE or the 6800 Ultra, but more so on the high end but wallet friendlier X800 Pro and 6800GT. Although the RADEON X800Pro was great part in its own right, it was arguably overshadowed by NVIDIA's 6800GT, one of the great success stories of this current generation. ATI took note of this and has reacted accordingly with the X800 XL, a full 16 pipe card much like the top of the line X850 XT PE. Initially the price of the X800 XL was an announced $350 but was subsequently dropped to $299 which makes the case for it even more compelling as it is competing with not just the 6800GT anymore, but also the regular 6800.

When ATI started allowing third parties to manufacture cards, one company that sprang to the forefront was Sapphire and today they are the premiere board partner on the ATI side and only trail ATI themselves. Today we take a look at Sapphire's X800 XL a product that on paper, looks like the steal of the year compared to its rival offerings.

The Specifications

The X800 XL hammers a stake down into the heart of the X800 Pro, at least on the PCIe side. $100 cheaper and better all around specs make it the enthusiast card to have short of the X850 XT. In fact, the only new cards that will be faster than the X800 XL are the X850 XT And the X850 XT PE. The specifications for the X800 XL are almost identical to that of the 6800GT - the clock and memory rate are both the same, both have 16 pipes, both have a 256-bit memory bus. What they do not share is the price tag, the suggested retail price for the X800 XL is 299$ as opposed to the 6800GT's 399$. Like the X850 XT PE however, the X800 XL is currrently a PCIe part only with AGP versions to be announced in the future.

Sinead O'Conner never got a razor that could shave this close