It would be nice, but they actually made a different core. Despite the same number of pipelines, the x800XT is an overclocked x800 pro core with 4 extra pipelines enabled. The x800XL is the same kind of core as the x850PE, but is made with a different process. The x850PE uses the 130nm process instead of the x800XL's 90nm process, since the 130nm is more refined tech (been around for longer) it is capable of maintaining much higher speeds. Plus the ram chips are much better on the PE. In esscence, it is near impossible to reach x850PE speeds on an x800XL core, simply because of manufacturing limitations.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Will some games work better than others on the cards?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Yes. Some games also work better on different CPUs.... If you get a high end card, the difference may hit 5 fps, when you get at least 100.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->is the price difference worth it?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> For most people, no, if you want the best out there right now, go for it.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, is there a huge difference between the top line ATI and nVidia cards?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Somewhat I guess, theres the inherent differences in features, but nVidia's can run in SLi, and I have yet to see a single crossfire board for sale. The x850PE is widely considered the fastest card available, sometimes outperforming SLi rigs, but again its all basically 10 fps difference when you already get enough to make any game run silky smooth.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->On another note, how can I find out how much RAM I can upgrade to? On my mum's computer, we hit a limit of 1 gig. Is there any way to find out before I buy a stick of memory?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Yea, not wasting money on unuseable memory is a boost. Most current motherboards support up to 1GB per slot. But google your motherboard/computer model number and see if you can find spec sheets. Just if it uses a P4 or Athlon XP CPU, odds are it can support 1GB per slot.
Comments
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Will some games work better than others on the cards?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes. Some games also work better on different CPUs.... If you get a high end card, the difference may hit 5 fps, when you get at least 100.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->is the price difference worth it?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
For most people, no, if you want the best out there right now, go for it.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, is there a huge difference between the top line ATI and nVidia cards?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Somewhat I guess, theres the inherent differences in features, but nVidia's can run in SLi, and I have yet to see a single crossfire board for sale. The x850PE is widely considered the fastest card available, sometimes outperforming SLi rigs, but again its all basically 10 fps difference when you already get enough to make any game run silky smooth.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->On another note, how can I find out how much RAM I can upgrade to? On my mum's computer, we hit a limit of 1 gig. Is there any way to find out before I buy a stick of memory?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yea, not wasting money on unuseable memory is a boost. Most current motherboards support up to 1GB per slot. But google your motherboard/computer model number and see if you can find spec sheets. Just if it uses a P4 or Athlon XP CPU, odds are it can support 1GB per slot.