The speculation about the clock speeds of ATIs flagship X800XT Platinum edition has come to an end as the company has confirmed that the boards will carry an official 520/560 MHz rating. This statement had to be produced by the Canadian graphics firm since the latest rumours suggested an inconsistency on the versions of the boards sent to review sites.
Most of the boards tested, did feature the same clock speeds as the ones announced but there were, also, some exceptions with some review cores going as low as 500 and some memory peaking at 600 MHz. For those of you who cannot yet determine if 520/560 is adequate, have a look at the reviews but also consider that the monster used by ATI to reach that record breaking 15,738 points in 3DMark03, was running at 715 MHz (engine) 639 MHz (memory).
If something will deter gamers from getting the X800XT Platinum Edition, it will not be the clock speeds but rather the price. Nonetheless, when considering buying one ask yourself if you will also want to purchase Half-Life 2. If the reported July 7 date is confirmed you could get your hands on a neat little package.
