Monthly drivers report and popular 3D
accelerators comparison

Monthy 3Digest is the project of iXBT.com and Digit-Life.com dedicated to informing you about the performance of a large number of graphics cards under Windows XP in the past month.

This issue is dedicated to drivers released from the 15th of December 2005 to the 15th of January 2006. Traditionally our 3Digest informs you about the best price/performance ratios available in the market. Another very important part of any issue is cards' 3D graphics quality shown on the example of a wide selection of games.

It's our 68th issue of 3Digest.

January 2006

This issue is dedicated to benchmarking in 3DMark06 and RightMark3D (SM 2.0b/3.0)

PLEASE NOTE! For this issue we tested only PCI-E graphics cards! The AGP-based benchmarks are provided in the November 2005 issue!

CONTENTS

1. Testbed configurations and test software
2. Tested videocards list
3. What's new in 3Digest
4. Test summary diagrams and digest bottom line
5. 3D accelerator rating calculations for the end of the month
6. Screenshot gallery
7. Game Quality Section
8. Game Quality Control Section

1. Testbed configuration

• System on Athlon 64 (939Socket)
  • AMD Athlon 64 4000+ CPU (L2=1024K);
  • ASUS A8N32 SLI Deluxe motherboard on NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16. To test ATI CrossFire we used ASUS A8R-MVP motherboard on ATI RADEON Xpress 200 CrossFire.
  • 2 GB DDR SDRAM 400MHz (CAS (tCL)=2.5; RAS to CAS delay (tRCD)=3; Row Precharge (tRP)=3; tRAS=6);
  • WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA HDD.

Testbeds had Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2, DirectX 9.0c installed. IIYAMA Vision Master Pro 514 (22") monitor was used.

The list of benchmarks is here.

2. Graphics card list

Below is a list of graphics cards that we tested linked to respective 3Digest feature-description pages.

You can see the quality of 3D graphics produced by tested cards in our monthly updated Screenshot gallery.

Card list:

1. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X550 256MB DDR 4ns (400/500 MHz)
2. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X550 XT 128MB GDDR3 2.0ns (400/900 MHz)
3. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X600 PRO 128MB DDR 3.3ns (400/600 MHz)
4. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1300 256MB DDR 2.8ns (450/550 MHz)
5. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1300 PRO 256MB DDR 2.5ns (600/800 MHz)
6. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X700 256MB DDR 2.8ns (400/700 MHz)
7. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X700 PRO 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (425/860 MHz)
8. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1600 PRO 256MB DDR 2.0ns (500/900 MHz)
9. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1600 XT 256MB DDR 1.26ns (590/1380 MHz)
10. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X800 GT 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (475/990 MHz)
11. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X800 128MB DDR 2.8ns (400/700 MHz)
12. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X800 GTO 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (400/990 MHz)
13. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X800 XL 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (400/990 MHz)
14. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X800 XL 512MB GDDR3 2.0ns (400/990 MHz)
15. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X850 XT 256MB GDDR3 1.6ns (520/1080 MHz)
16. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X850 XT PE 256MB GDDR3 1.6ns (540/1180 MHz)
17. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 1.26ns (625/1500 MHz)
18. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1800 XT PE 512MB GDDR3 1.26ns (700/1600 MHz)
19. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1800 XL 256MB GDDR3 1.4ns (500/1000 MHz)
20. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 1.26ns (650/1550 MHz)
21. PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1900 XTX 512MB GDDR3 1.1ns (625/1450 MHz)
22. 

    PCI-E-ATI RADEON X1900 XT CrossFire 2x512MB GDDR3 1.26ns (2x625/1450 MHz)

23. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6600LE 128MB DDR 3.6ns (300/550 MHz)
24. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB DDR 3.6ns (300/550 MHz)
25. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6600 512MB DDR2 3.8ns (300/550 MHz)
26. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6600 256MB DDR2 2.5ns (350/800 MHz)
27. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 2.0ns (500/1000 MHz)
28. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB DDR 2.8ns (350/600 MHz)
29. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (425/1000 MHz)
30. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (425/1000 MHz)
31. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (350/1000 MHz)
32. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB GDDR3 1.6ns (425/1100 MHz)
33. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (400/1000 MHz)
34. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (450/1100 MHz)
35. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB GDDR3 1.6ns (430/1200 MHz)
36. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB GDDR3 1.6ns (459/1300 MHz)
37. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB GDDR3 1.6ns (486/1350 MHz)
38. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT SLI 2x256MB DDR3 2.0ns (2x400/1000 MHz)
39. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX SLI 2x256MB DDR3 1.6ns (2x486/1350 MHz)
40. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB GDDR3 1.1ns (550/1700 MHz)
41. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB GDDR3 1.1ns (580/1760 MHz)
42. PCI-E-NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX SLI 2x512MB DDR3 1.1ns (2x580/1760 MHz)

Archive (videocards, which info is no longer updated)

3. January 2006 news and current business

Added a number of new graphics cards (marked "NEW").

Upgraded the testbed with an NForce4 SLI X16 based motherboard.

• 3.1. The following drivers were released from December 15, 2005 to January 15, 2006:
  
  
  • NVIDIA ForceWare for all NVIDIA-based cards:
    
    
    • Windows XP: 81.98 WHQL, 82.65 WHQL (unofficial);

    
    

  • ATI Catalyst for all ATI-based cards:
    
    
    • Windows XP: CATALYST 5.13beta (for X1900 series), 6.1
      

  
  
  

• 3.2. In this issue we used NVIDIA 81.98 and ATI 5.13beta, 6.1 drivers for building summary charts.
  
  

4. Summary charts of graphics cards performance with the latest drivers available at the moment of testing in January 2006.

• 4.1. 3DMark 06, Shader Model 2.0 MARKS
  • PCI-E cards
    • 1024x768 (PCI-E cards)
    • 1280x1024 (PCI-E cards)
    • 1600x1200 (PCI-E cards)

  • PCI-E cards, AntiAliasing+Anisotropy
    • 1024x768, AA+AF (PCI-E cards)
    • 1280x1024, AA+AF (PCI-E cards)
    • 1600x1200, AA+AF (PCI-E cards)

  
  
  

• 4.2. 3DMark 06, Shader Model 3.0 MARKS
  • PCI-E cards
    • 1024x768 (PCI-E cards)
    • 1280x1024 (PCI-E cards)
    • 1600x1200 (PCI-E cards)

  • PCI-E cards, AntiAliasing+Anisotropy
    • 1024x768, AA+AF (PCI-E cards)
    • 1280x1024, AA+AF (PCI-E cards)
    • 1600x1200, AA+AF (PCI-E cards)

  
  
  

• 4.3. RightMark3D, Shader Model 3.0, Procedural Fur
  • PCI-E cards

  
  
  

• 4.4. RightMark3D, Shader Model 3.0, Lighting Parallax Mapping
  • PCI-E cards

  
  
  

• 4.5. RightMark3D, Shader Model 2.0b, Frozen Glass (FP32/FP16)
  • PCI-E cards

  
  
  

• 4.6. RightMark3D, Shader Model 2.0b, Lighting Parallax Mapping (FP32/FP16)
  • PCI-E cards

  
  
  

• 4.7. Archive (information from the previous 3Digests absent in this issue)
  
  
• 4.8 Notes on graphics cards performance with the latest drivers:
  
  
  • If a particular card is not in the summary, i.e. its results are either 0, or 1, it means the given benchmark hasn't work or has worked incorrectly with this card.
  • Shader Model 3.0 based RightMark3D benchmarks indicated the obvious advantage of ATI's latest graphics card generation. But you should note benchmark's incorrect performance on X1600 series that resulted in results almost equal to X1300 series' that has 3 times fewer pixel pipelines.
  • But similarly complex Shader Model 2.0b tests demonstrated a different picture. First, it was obvious that FP32/FP16 played a significant role in NVIDIA cards' performance and no role in ATI cards' performance (since it wasn't supported). Second, the performance distribution was less harsh for NVIDIA-based cards.
  • We could clearly see that NVIDIA cards received lower ratings due to incapability of driving HDR along with AA. NVIDIA's GPUs failed all 3DMark06's Shader Model 3.0 tests in the AA+AF mode with enabled HDR.

  5. 3D accelerator ratings calculations for the end of the month

  The calculations were conducted on the basis of existing game benchmark data obtained in the issue of December 2005, excluding the new tests of 3DMark06 (ATI CATALYST 6.1, NVIDIA ForceWare 81.98) and RADEON X1900 tests with 5.13beta drivers.

  
  All willing to conduct his own rating calculations with his own values are invited to download this Excel XP table in RAR 3.0 or ZIP format.

  The method of rating calculation is described here.

  Calculations were conducted considering the following assumptions:

  1. Percentage of performance and quality demand ratio:
     • performance priority - 60%
     • quality priority - 40%

  2. ONLY 1600x1200@32bpp resolution was used for the prospect rating;
  3. The usability rating indicates performance and features of a card (numerator) related to its price (denominator).
  1. Athlon 64 4000+ platforms:

     Usability rating graphs
     

     Usability rating (rating from the previous 3Digest is in parentheses):
     
     

     Usability rating

     b„-	НАЗВАНИЕ УСКОРИТЕЛЯ	РЕЙТИНГ ПОЛЕЗ.	РЕЙТИНГ ПЕРСП.	ЦЕНА	Old #
     01.	RADEON X1600 PRO 256MB 500/800	1911	1002	144	(02)
     02.	RADEON X1300 PRO 256MB, 600/800	1764	901	107	(04)
     03.	RADEON X1600 XT 256MB 590/1380	1711	1099	192	(01)
     04.	RADEON X1900 XT 512MB 625/1450	1573	1551	600	(--)
     05.	RADEON X1800 XL 256MB 500/1000	1507	1299	385	(14)
     06.	RADEON X1300 256MB, 450/550	1446	800	93	(10)
     07.	RADEON X1800 XT 512MB 625/1500	1436	1436	540	(15)
     08.	RADEON X1900 XTX 512MB 650/1550	1404	1573	700	(--)
     09.	GeForce 6600 DDR2 256MB 350/800 PCI-E	1346	799	105	(03)
     10.	GeForce 6800 GS 256MB 425/1000 PCI-E	1208	1019	236	(05)
     11.	RADEON X1800 XT PE 512MB 700/1600	1179	1475	705	(25)
     12.	GeForce 6800XT 256MB 425/1000 PCI-E	1155	940	197	(06)
     13.	GeForce 6800 256MB 350/600 PCI-E	1027	941	220	(13)
     14.	GeForce 7800GT 256MB, 450/1100	1025	1210	450	(09)
     15.	GeForce 7800GT 256MB, 400/1000	990	1172	412	(11)
     16.	RADEON X1900 XT CF 2x512MB 625/1450	987	1748	1300	(--)
     17.	GeForce 7800GTX 256MB, 459/1300	910	1244	546	(16)
     18.	GeForce 7800GTX 256MB, 430/1200	892	1223	535	(20)
     19.	GeForce 7800GTX 256MB, 486/1350	876	1264	595	(19)
     20.	GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB 425/1100 PCI-E	828	1064	384	(27)
     21.	GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 350/1000 PCI-E	827	1013	340	(26)
     22.	GeForce 7800GT SLI 2x256MB, 400/1000	793	1374	824	(28)
     23.	GeForce 6600 128MB 300/550 PCI-E	756	520	96	(12)
     24.	GeForce 6600GT 128MB 500/1000 PCI-E	755	588	148	(07)
     25.	GeForce 6600 DDR2 512MB 300/550 PCI-E	690	531	111	(08)
     26.	GeForce 7800GTX 512MB, 580/1760	683	1321	860	(33)
     27.	GeForce 7800GTX 512MB, 550/1700	673	1305	848	(34)
     28.	RADEON X550 256MB, 400/500	635	502	65	(31)
     29.	GeForce 7800GTX SLI 2x256MB, 486/1350	597	1423	1190	(35)
     30.	RADEON X800GTO 256MB 400/990 PCI-E	596	721	185	(17)
     31.	GeForce 6600LE 128MB 300/550 PCI-E	592	464	80	(30)
     32.	RADEON X550 XT 128MB, 400/900	576	536	74	(32)
     33.	RADEON X700 PRO 256MB 425/860 PCI-E	570	640	126	(18)
     34.	RADEON X700 256MB 400/700 PCI-E	558	614	114	(21)
     35.	RADEON X800 128MB 400/700 PCI-E	534	673	155	(24)
     36.	RADEON X800 GT 256MB 475/990 PCI-E	491	689	182	(22)
     37.	RADEON X850 XT 256MB 520/1080 PCI-E	465	805	295	(23)
     38.	RADEON X800 XL 256MB 400/990 PCI-E	464	768	259	(29)
     39.	RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600	457	520	85	(39)
     40.	GeForce 7800GTX SLI 2x512MB, 580/1760	449	1474	1720	(38)
     41.	RADEON X850 XT PE 256MB 540/1180 PCI-E	446	817	320	(36)
     42.	RADEON X800 XL 512MB 400/990 PCI-E	408	772	330	(37)

     Prospect rating graphs

     Prospect rating (the previous rating is in parenthesis):
     
     

     b„-	НАЗВАНИЕ УСКОРИТЕЛЯ	РЕЙТИНГ ПОЛЕЗ.	РЕЙТИНГ ПЕРСП.	ЦЕНА	Old #
     01.	RADEON X1900 XT CF 2x512MB 625/1450	987	1748	1300	(--)
     02.	RADEON X1900 XTX 512MB 650/1550	1404	1573	700	(--)
     03.	RADEON X1900 XT 512MB 625/1450	1573	1551	600	(--)
     04.	RADEON X1800 XT PE 512MB 700/1600	1179	1475	705	(06)
     05.	GeForce 7800GTX SLI 2x512MB, 580/1760	449	1474	1720	(01)
     06.	RADEON X1800 XT 512MB 625/1500	1436	1436	540	(07)
     07.	GeForce 7800GTX SLI 2x256MB, 486/1350	597	1423	1190	(02)
     08.	GeForce 7800GT SLI 2x256MB, 400/1000	793	1374	824	(03)
     09.	GeForce 7800GTX 512MB, 580/1760	683	1321	860	(04)
     10.	GeForce 7800GTX 512MB, 550/1700	673	1305	848	(05)
     11.	RADEON X1800 XL 256MB 500/1000	1507	1299	385	(13)
     12.	GeForce 7800GTX 256MB, 486/1350	876	1264	595	(08)
     13.	GeForce 7800GTX 256MB, 459/1300	910	1244	546	(09)
     14.	GeForce 7800GTX 256MB, 430/1200	892	1223	535	(10)
     15.	GeForce 7800GT 256MB, 450/1100	1025	1210	450	(11)
     16.	GeForce 7800GT 256MB, 400/1000	990	1172	412	(12)
     17.	RADEON X1600 XT 256MB 590/1380	1711	1099	192	(19)
     18.	GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB 425/1100 PCI-E	828	1064	384	(14)
     19.	GeForce 6800 GS 256MB 425/1000 PCI-E	1208	1019	236	(15)
     20.	GeForce 6800 GT 256MB 350/1000 PCI-E	827	1013	340	(16)
     21.	RADEON X1600 PRO 256MB 500/800	1911	1002	144	(24)
     22.	GeForce 6800 256MB 350/600 PCI-E	1027	941	220	(21)
     23.	GeForce 6800XT 256MB 425/1000 PCI-E	1155	940	197	(20)
     24.	RADEON X1300 PRO 256MB, 600/800	1764	901	107	(29)
     25.	RADEON X850 XT PE 256MB 540/1180 PCI-E	446	817	320	(17)
     26.	RADEON X850 XT 256MB 520/1080 PCI-E	465	805	295	(18)
     27.	RADEON X1300 256MB, 450/550	1446	800	93	(34)
     28.	GeForce 6600 DDR2 256MB 350/800 PCI-E	1346	799	105	(27)
     29.	RADEON X800 XL 512MB 400/990 PCI-E	408	772	330	(22)
     30.	RADEON X800 XL 256MB 400/990 PCI-E	464	768	259	(23)
     31.	RADEON X800GTO 256MB 400/990 PCI-E	596	721	185	(25)
     32.	RADEON X800 GT 256MB 475/990 PCI-E	491	689	182	(26)
     33.	RADEON X800 128MB 400/700 PCI-E	534	673	155	(30)
     34.	RADEON X700 PRO 256MB 425/860 PCI-E	570	640	126	(31)
     35.	RADEON X700 256MB 400/700 PCI-E	558	614	114	(33)
     36.	GeForce 6600GT 128MB 500/1000 PCI-E	755	588	148	(28)
     37.	RADEON X550 XT 128MB, 400/900	576	536	74	(37)
     38.	GeForce 6600 DDR2 512MB 300/550 PCI-E	690	531	111	(32)
     39.	GeForce 6600 128MB 300/550 PCI-E	756	520	96	(35)
     40.	RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600	457	520	85	(39)
     41.	RADEON X550 256MB, 400/500	635	502	65	(38)
     42.	GeForce 6600LE 128MB 300/550 PCI-E	592	464	80	(36)

  
  
  

  Ingame quality

  
  
  

  6. Games screenshot gallery

  All test screenshots are compiled into a gallery where you can qualify the work of a chosen videocard and compare it to the reference images taken on ATI Radeon 9500. All shots were taken at the same 1024x768 resolution at the maximum quality. Screenshot gallery

  7. Game Artefacts Gallery

  Game Quality Section

  8. Game Quality Control Section

  Game Quality Control Section
  

  Vitaly Milov (vmilov@ixbt.com)	Danil Gridasov (degust@ixbt.com)

  
  
  

  Andrey Vorobiev (anvakams@ixbt.com)

  
  

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