ATI Radeon X800 XL Review
Overclocking the X800 XL
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Before wrapping up our testing, we spent a little time overclocking the Radeon X800 XL using the latest version of Entech's PowerStrip software. There is no "Overdrive" tab available within the Catalyst drivers with the XL, so any and all overclocking will have to be done with a third-party application - at least for now. With the X800 XL's R430 GPU being produced on a .11 micron manufacturing process, we were quite eager to see just how high we could clock it. Although, we weren't expecting any miracles, due to the fact that TSMC's .11 micron line doesn't use a low-k dielectric.
We slowly raised our Radeon X800 XL's core and memory clock speed until we begin to see on-screen visual artifacts while gaming. When all was said and done, we were able to take our Radeon X800 XL's core up to 439MHz, up from its default of 400MHz. And we were able to crank the memory's speed up to 567MHz (1.13GHz), a respectable increase of 67MHz. While running at the overclocked speeds, performance in Aquamark 3 and Doom 3 jumped by about 10%-14%.
We'd also like to note that the GPU core actually functioned at higher clock speeds, approaching 455MHz, for short periods of time without any visual anomalies, but our test system would eventually hang. With a volt-mod and some enhanced cooling, the X800 XL, may prove to be a hit amongst hardcore overclockers. Especially considering the card's feature set and price point. Although not having auxiliary power may be a tough obstacle to overcome should a heavily overclocked X800 XL draw too much power from its PEG slot.
