3DMark 2005

3D Mark 2005 scores impress us with how much more performance $ 200 buys now than it did in 2003, when placed into an average three-year-old performance system. Perhaps there really is some life left in those old AGP bones?

F.E.A.R

After a careful analysis of the system's hardware, we chose three settings for the game First Encounter Assault Recon, Medium Detail with no AA/AF, Maximum Detail with 4xAA/8xAF and Maximum Detail with Soft Shadows and no AA/AF.

F.E.A.R. puts the tremendous improvement seen in 3DMark back into perspective, showing that even with the new card this system is best left to low resolutions for modern games. The Radeon 9600 Pro couldn't even play smoothly at the most basic settings, and the Viper looses its venom when detail levels are cranked up. Although they look nice, soft shadows scared away playable frame rates.