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Marketing materials for the Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition (for G5 computers) threw down some impressive specs. Double this, 150 percent more of that, 2X, 3X and so on. While we were quite satisfied with the X800, specs don't tell the whole story. If you really want the numbers, check them on the ATI website (www.atitech.com).
Installing the X800 isn't a big deal unless you drop the screw that holds it in place into the Mac. This turns an otherwise simple job into a potentially damaging ordeal. Think quarter in a vacuum cleaner. Let's just say that letting the smoke out of our G5 processors is not something we want to pay to fix. Fortunately, tilting the case back and forth freed the screw. The X800 takes up exactly one slot giving you room to fill all three PCI slots.
If you are thinking about buying a 30" Cinema Display ($3,000, www.apple.com), you can save yourself a whole hundred bucks (and a second PCI slot) by buying an X800 rather than an nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL ($600, www. nvidia.com), which was the first card that could drive it. The downside is, get this, you won't be able to drive two 30" displays. The X800 only supports one. Our guess is that if you have that kind of cash, $100 isn't going to be an issue.
Unlike the nVidia 6800 boards, the X800 includes an ADC connector for older Apple Cinema Displays. There is also a DVI port. Using adapters (sold separately) you can hook up two DVI monitors, two ADC monitors or send the DVI output to a TV.
The VersaVision feature of this card (also available on the Radeon 9800) is almost worth the entire price of admission. This feature rotates the display image 90 or 180 degrees. This puts the menus on the side or the bottom. There are many LCD displays that can be rotated to be taller than they are wide—perfect for editing documents, page layout or Web surfing. Please note that Apple Cinema Displays should not be turned, as they do not have adequate cooling for sideways orientation, unless you don't mind burning a $1,000 display by propping it up with a stick and a book.
Many of the things the card does so well are invisible to you. For example, when playing DVDs, the resolution is merely 640x480. It becomes the job of the video card to clean up the stretched out image. As expected, DVDs looked outstanding using the X800.
Another reason to upgrade from an older card is if you use high-end 3D or motion graphics programs. We tested Luxology Modo, Apple Motion and Alias Maya and MotionBuilder, and these apps took total advantage of the horsepower of the X800. While using these applications, we experienced some performance improvements, however, they were such that it was difficult to measure them. In the case of Motion, most of the effects moved along at a preset speed; running them faster is something you could do, but it isn't always visually appealing. We could run more layers of effects, however, it didn't take long to overwhelm the X800; the more you add, the slower it goes.
We gave some games a spin and found virtually the same frame rates and effects as with the Radeon 9800 Pro Special Edition (four out of five apples, September 2004). However, since the X800 actually is a more powerful card, you can turn up the anti-aliasing to 4x or even 8x without a performance hit. The X800 also displays higher resolutions better. It will take a bleeding edge game like Aspyr's Doom 3 (not available at press time) to really see the X800's gaming potential.
We suspect the X800's true potential is not yet realized and will be more evident when Apple ships OS 10.4 with its Core Image processing. You can witness a taste at www.atitech.com/ruby, which is a video that renders on the fly with the X800. It is amazing. If you still have the original nVidia or Radeon that came with your G5 and are using Motion or another 3D or motion graphics app, this would be our choice of upgrade cards. If you already have a Radeon 9800 Pro, there's not a huge impetus as of today to upgrade.
–JOHN FOSTER
Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition: 
ATI Technologies, Inc. | www.atitech.com | 905-882-2626 | $500
Pros: Single slot, quiet, outstanding graphics processing performance.
Cons: Unrealized potential.
Requires: G5 PowerMac, OS 10.3.6 or higher
macHOME recommends: Big ol' dual LCDs
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