ATI Graphics Buyer's Guide Spring 2006, Part 1

Features
By
published

Test Setup

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Single NVIDIA and ATI Graphics Cards
CPUIntel Dual Core 3.2 GHz
FSB200 MHz
MotherboardIntel D975XBX
ChipsetIntel 975 BX, driver 7.2.2.1006
Memory2x OCZ 512 MB, DDR2, PC2 8000 Platinum Edition 5-5-5-15, Dual Channel
Hard DriveHitachi2 x 120 GB SATA (8 MB cache)
DVDGigabyte GO-D1600C
LANIntel Pro/1000
AudioSigmatel
Power SupplySilverstone SST-ST56ZF 560 Watt
NVIDIA SLI Graphics Cards
CPUIntel Dual Core 3,2 GHz
FSB200 MHz
MotherboardGigabyte GA-8N-SLI Royal
ChipsetnForce4 Intel SLI, driver nForce4 Intel 7.15 SLI
Memory2x DDR2, Kingston KVR667D2N5K2/1G, Dual Channel
LANMarvell
AudioRealtek
AGP Graphics Cards
CPUIntel 3,06 GHz
FSB133 MHz
MotherboardAsus P4P800 Deluxe
ChipsetIntel 865, driver 7.2.2.1006
Memory2 x 512 MB, DDR 266 MHz, Dual Channel
AudioCreative SB Live
Drivers & Configuration
Graphics DriversATI Catalyst 6.3, X1800 GTO Gecube driver 8.223NVIDIA 81.98, AGP 7800 GS EVGA driver 81.98
Operating SystemWindows XP Pro SP1a
DirectXVersion 9.0c
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Test Matrix
ApplicationBenchmarkAnti Aliasing (AA)Anisotropic Filtering (AF)Possible Problems and SettingsNVIDIA SLI Settings
Age of Empires 3 (v1.04)Fraps 60 sec / Custom recorded THG game, Max Details/QualitySet through application, Low and HighSet through driverAA rendered incorrectly when set through driver; AF not available in the game. Shader settings: Pixel Shader 2.0 = High, Pixel Shader 3.0 = Very High (speed not directly comparable)Single GPU rendering
Black & White 2 (v1.1)Fraps 60 sec / Intro Island Flyby, Max Details/QualitySet through application, Low and HighSet through driverAA rendered incorrectly if set through driver; AF not available in the gameMulti GPU-Rendering
Call of Duty 2 (v1.01 Intel)Custom THG-Timedemo, Max Details/QualitySet through driverSet through driverAF not available in the gameActivate multi GPU rendering and SLI optimizations in the game
F.E.A.R. (v1.02)F.E.A.R. Benchmark, Max Details/QualitySet through driver, deactivate soft shadows in combination with AASet through driverSoft shadows render incorrectly with AA, higher fps for AA without soft shadowsMulti GPU rendering
Quake 4 (v1.04)Custom THG Timedemo, Ultra QualitySet through driverSet through driver, AF set to zero through Quake 4 with command: image_anisotropy 0AF not available in the game menuMulti GPU rendering
Serious Sam 2 (v2.066a)Timedemo Shield Generator28, Max Details/Quality/32-BitSet through application, set AA to none on NVIDIA cards with HDR-RSet through driverHDR-R + AA not possible on NVIDIA cards, only AF is calculated; ATI's Pixel Shader 2.0 cards don't support HDR renderingSingle GPU rendering
3DMark06 (v1.0.2)Default BenchmarkSet through applicationSet through applicationHDR-R + AA not possible on NVIDIA cards; only AF is calculatedMulti GPU-Rendering
Tino Kreiss