ATI Radeon X1800 XT vs GeForce 6800 Ultra

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the rankingnot ratednot rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureCurie (2003−2013)R500 (2005−2007)
GPU code nameNV45R520
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date26 July 2004 (20 years ago)1 October 2005 (19 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$499 $549

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Core clock speed425 MHz600 MHz
Number of transistors222 million321 million
Manufacturing process technology130 nm90 nm
Power consumption (TDP)81 Watt113 Watt
Texture fill rate6.8009.600
ROPs1616
TMUs1616

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

InterfacePCIe 1.0 x16PCIe 1.0 x16
Length197 mmno data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin1x 6-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR3GDDR3
Maximum RAM amount256 MB512 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed550 MHz700 MHz
Memory bandwidth35.2 GB/s44.8 GB/s

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x S-Video2x DVI, 1x S-Video

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX9.0c (9_3)9.0c (9_3)
Shader Model3.03.0
OpenGL2.12.0
OpenCLN/AN/A
VulkanN/AN/A

Pros & cons summary


Recency 26 July 2004 1 October 2005
Maximum RAM amount 256 MB 512 MB
Chip lithography 130 nm 90 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 81 Watt 113 Watt

6800 Ultra has 39.5% lower power consumption.

ATI X1800 XT, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 44.4% more advanced lithography process.

We couldn't decide between GeForce 6800 Ultra and Radeon X1800 XT. We've got no test results to judge.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
GeForce 6800 Ultra
ATI Radeon X1800 XT
Radeon X1800 XT

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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Community ratings

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3.7 16 votes

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3.8 12 votes

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Questions & comments

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