GeForce 6800 Ultra vs ATI Radeon X1900 XTX

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
ArchitectureR500 (2005−2007)Curie (2003−2013)
GPU code nameR580NV45
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date24 January 2006 (18 years ago)26 July 2004 (20 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$399 $499

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 speed650 MHz425 MHz
Number of transistors384 million222 million
Manufacturing process technology90 nm130 nm
Power consumption (TDP)135 Watt81 Watt
Texture fill rate10.406.800
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
Length242 mm197 mm
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 amount512 MB256 MB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed775 MHz550 MHz
Memory bandwidth49.6 GB/s35.2 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
OpenGL2.1 (full) 3.0 (partial)2.1
OpenCLN/AN/A
VulkanN/AN/A

Pros & cons summary


Recency 24 January 2006 26 July 2004
Maximum RAM amount 512 MB 256 MB
Chip lithography 90 nm 130 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 135 Watt 81 Watt

ATI X1900 XTX has an age advantage of 1 year, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 44.4% more advanced lithography process.

6800 Ultra, on the other hand, has 66.7% lower power consumption.

We couldn't decide between Radeon X1900 XTX and GeForce 6800 Ultra. 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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ATI Radeon X1900 XTX
Radeon X1900 XTX
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
GeForce 6800 Ultra

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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Community ratings

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3.4 9 votes

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3.9 15 votes

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Questions & comments

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