ATI intros X800 XT for the Mac


ATI has announced the introduction of the RADEON X800 XT (page not yet posted), an 8X AGP card that doubles the performance of the RADEON 9800. This single-slot solution can power Apple's 30-inch Cinema Display.

"The RADEON X800 XT brings a new level of gaming performance to the Mac," said Glenda Adams, director of development, Aspyr Media. "The ability to support ultra-high resolutions with amazing frame rates in our current and next-generation games puts this card on the must-have list for Mac gamers."

Features are said to include:

• 16 pixel pipelines
• Six vertex pipelines
• 256MB GDDR3 memory
• One Dual-Link DVI port, one ADC port

The RADEON X800 XT will be on display at the company's MacWorld San Francisco booth (#2217). This product carries a $499 suggested retail price.

If you're up for some serious spinning, check out ATI's freshly-posted Macworld promotion page, which oddly enough doesn't mention the X800 directly.

Editor's note: It's worth noting that NVIDIA--makers of a $599, two-slot card that can power the 30-inch Cinema Display--apparently won't even have a booth at MWSF.

That ATI has pre-announced this card is also interesting. Apparently, the company anticipates a deafening level of noise from "other companies" at the event...