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October 2004 3Digest

 

 Forum





Monthly drivers report and popular 3D
accelerators comparison

Monthly 3D Digest is the project of iXBT.com devoted to releases of new Windows XP (monthly) and Windows 9x/ME (once in 4 months) drivers for popular videocards (released from the 10th of September 2004 to the 10th of October 2004. As usual, there are many diagrams containing the information on changes in operation of videocards at change to last version drivers, and also summary diagrams of popular modern videocards performance. Traditionally we provide the best price/performance information for our 2004Digest. We also pay much attention to ingame 3D graphics quality.

It's our 53th issue of 3Digest.

October 2004

The autumn is at its peak. It's usual time for gamers to pine for new graphics card announcements. But this year it's different, because new mid-end PCI-Express solutions have already been released (GeForce 6600, RADEON X700), and High-End is yet to come.

Therefore it's high time for various hybrids like ASUS V9999GT that has GeForce 6800GT GPU on GeForce 6800 PCB with DDR memory or some other.

Such cards were the primary additions to our list this month.

As for ratings, starting from this issue we considerably changed the calculations method. Now instead of calculating simple average of performance and quality parameters we calculate geometric mean. This change was implemented after considerable consultations with mathematicians at the suggestion of our reader Mikhail Kuzmin to whom we are very grateful. Now the method is way more objective.

The favourite of all usability ratings of this issue became ASUS V9999GT 128MB graphics card that demonstrated excellent ratio of price and performance.

To this issue we added the new benchmark - 3DMark05 of which we used three gaming components and MARKS summary diagrams.

Now about the future look of 3Digest. In the usual way you all got used to 3Digest will be published once in 5 month. In the meantime you will be offered 3Digest: graphics card scalability (CPU dependence), 3Digest: additional gaming benchmarks (for games without built-in benchmarks (2 issues), 3Digest: AA & Aniso. It will be a repeating series of 5 monthly materials.

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. Games quality section



1. Testbed configuration



1.1. System on Athlon 64 3200+:

  • AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (L2=1024K);
  • ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard on VIA K8T800;
  • 1 GB DDR SDRAM PC3200;
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB SATA HDD.

1.2. Pentium4 Overclocked 3200 MHz (Prescott) testbed

  • Intel Pentium4 3600 MHz CPU (225MHz x 16; L2=1024 KB, LGA775); Hyper-Threading ON
  • ABIT AA8 DuraMAX motherboard on i925X chipset;
  • 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 300MHz;
  • WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA HDD.

Testbeds have Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2, DirectX 9.0C installed. ViewSonic P810 (21") and IIYAMA Vision Master Pro 514 (22") monitors were used.

The list of benchmarks is here

2. Videocard list

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

Drivers released by videocard manufacturers are not taken into account (unless written by GPU manufacturers) because there are very many of them and it's impossible to test them all.

3D graphics quality screenshots are provided in our monthly updated Screenshot Gallery.

Cards list:

  1. ATI RADEON 9550 128MB DDR 4ns (250/400 MHz)
  2. ATI RADEON 9550XT 128MB DDR 3.3ns (400/500 MHz)
  3. ATI RADEON 9600 SE 128MB 64bit DDR 4ns (325/400 MHz)
  4. ATI RADEON X300 SE PCX 128MB 64bit DDR 5ns (325/400 MHz)
  5. ATI RADEON X300 PCX 128MB DDR 5ns (325/400 MHz)
  6. ATI RADEON X600 PRO PCX 128MB DDR 3.3ns (400/600 MHz)
  7. ATI RADEON 9600 Pro 128MB DDR 2.8ns (400/600 MHz)
  8. ATI RADEON 9600 256MB DDR 5ns (325/400 MHz)
  9. ATI RADEON 9600 XT 128MB DDR 3.3ns (500/600 MHz)
  10. ATI RADEON X600 XT PCX 128MB DDR 2.5ns (500/760 MHz)
  11. ATI RADEON X600 XT PCX 128MB DDR 2.2ns (540/800 MHz)
  12. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB DDR 3.3ns 128bit (380/600 MHz)
  13. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB DDR 3.3ns (325/580 MHz)
  14. ATI RADEON 9800 Pro 128MB DDR 2.8ns (380/680 MHz)
  15. ATI RADEON 9800 Pro 256MB DDR 2.8ns (380/680 MHz)
  16. ATI RADEON 9800 XT 256MB DDR 2.5ns (412/730 MHz)
  17. ATI RADEON X700 PCX 256MB DDR 2.8ns (400/700 MHz)
  18. ATI RADEON X700 PRO PCX 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (425/860 MHz)
  19. ATI RADEON X700 XT PCX 128MB GDDR3 2.0ns (475/1050 MHz)
  20. ATI RADEON X800 SE 256MB DDR3 2.0ns (425/800 MHz)
  21. ATI RADEON X800 Pro 256MB DDR3 2.0ns (475/900 MHz)
  22. ATI RADEON X800 XT PE 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (520/1120 MHz)
  23. ATI RADEON X800 XT 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (500/1000 MHz)
  24. ATI RADEON X800 XT PCX 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (500/1000 MHz)
  25. ATI RADEON X800 XT PE PCX 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (520/1120 MHz)
  26. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB DDR 64bit 6ns (250/333 MHz)
  27. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB DDR 5ns (250/400 MHz)
  28. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB DDR 3.6ns (325/550 MHz)
  29. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 XT 128MB 64bit DDR 4ns (235/400 MHz)
  30. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 XT 128MB 128bit DDR 4ns (235/400 MHz)
  31. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 LE 128MB DDR 5ns (250/400 MHz)
  32. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 128MB DDR 3.6ns (425/550 MHz)
  33. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 128MB DDR 3.6ns (425/500 MHz)
  34. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128MB DDR3 2.0ns (475/950 MHz)
  35. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 XT 128MB DDR 2.8ns (390/700 MHz)
  36. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5900 128MB DDR 3.6ns (350/550 MHz)
  37. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB DDR 2.0ns (475/950 MHz)
  38. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB DDR 3.6ns (300/550 MHz)
  39. NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 2.0ns (500/1000 MHz)
  40. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB DDR 2.8ns (325/700 MHz)
  41. NVIDIA GeForce 6800LE 128MB DDR 2.8ns (325/700 MHz)
  42. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB GDDR3 2.0ns (350/1000 MHz)
  43. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 128MB DDR 2.8ns (350/700 MHz)
  44. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 2.0ns (350/1000 MHz)
  45. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCX 256MB DDR3 2.0ns (350/1000 MHz)
  46. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (400/1100 MHz)
  47. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra PCX 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (400/1100 MHz)
  48. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB DDR3 1.6ns (425/1100 MHz)

Archive (videocards, information on which is no longer updated)

3. October 2004 news and the current business

  • 3.1. The following drivers were released from September 10, 2004 to October 10, 2004:

    • NVIDIA ForceWare for all NVIDIA cards:

      • Windows XP: 66.71, 66.81;


    • ATI Catalyst for all ATI cards:

      • Windows XP: 6.483 (CATALYST 4.10 WHQL); 6.490 (CATALYST beta)




  • 3.2. This month we used 66.81 drivers for NVIDIA cards summaries; 6.490 drivers for ATI cards summaries.

4. Summary diagrams of graphics cards performance with the latest drivers for October 2004

We recommend you visit unofficial product support websites, if you come across any "peculiarities".

Summary graphs were compiled using all testbed results. I guess no more comments needed, readers will easily understand what is what themselves. :)

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


Anyone who wants to conduct his own rating calculations with his own values may download this Excel table (Office XP) in RAR 3.0 or ZIP format.

Prospect and usability ratings were calculated platformwise, i.e. there are two rating series.

The method of rating calculation is described here.

Calculations were conducted considering the following assumptions:

  1. Windows XP is used;
  2. Percentage of performance and quality demand ratio:
    • performance priority - 60%
    • quality priority - 40%

  3. ONLY 1600x1200@32bpp resolution was used for the prospect rating;
  4. Usability ratings are split into the 4 categories. First three imply additional expenses for system upgrade. This is considered in APG value that is +$100 for Low-End, +$250 for Middle-End, and +$500 for High-End. We believe that if a user wants to purchase a very expensive and powerful accelerator, he understands the inanity of installing it into a Low-End PC. So we separated the usability rating for different PC levels. The 4th category implies only card expenses.

  1. Athlon64 3200+ (VIA K8T800):

    Usability rating (no previous data is published due to calculation method change):

    Usability rating: card price + $500

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 128MB, 350/700 MHz
    02. ATI RADEON X800XT PE 256MB, 525/1150 MHz
    03. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800XT 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 425/1100 MHz
    06. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    07. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB, 475/900 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    10. NVIDIA GeForce 6800LE 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X800 SE 256MB, 425/800 MHz
    12. ATI RADEON 9800XT 256MB, 412/730 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB, 380/680 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB, 380/680 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB, 325/590 MHz
    16. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB, 475/950 MHz
    17. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900XT 128MB, 390/700 MHz
    18. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB 128bit, 380/600 MHz
    19. ATI RADEON 9600XT 128MB, 500/600 MHz
    20. ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    21. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128MB 475/950 MHz DDR3
    22. ATI RADEON 9550XT 128MB 400/500 MHz
    23. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 128MB, 425/550 MHz
    24. ATI RADEON 9600 256MB, 325/400 MHz
    25. ATI RADEON 9550 128MB 250/400 MHz
    26. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    27. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB, 325/550 MHz
    28. ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB 64bit, 325/400 MHz
    29. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 128bit, 235/400 MHz
    30. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    31. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 64bit, 235/400 MHz
    32. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 64bit, 250/333 MHz


    Usability rating: card price + $250

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 128MB, 350/700 MHz
    02. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    03. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800XT PE 256MB, 525/1150 MHz
    05. ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB, 475/900 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X800XT 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    07. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    08. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 425/1100 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    10. NVIDIA GeForce 6800LE 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X800 SE 256MB, 425/800 MHz
    12. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB, 380/680 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON 9800XT 256MB, 412/730 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB, 380/680 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB, 325/590 MHz
    16. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900XT 128MB, 390/700 MHz
    17. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB 128bit, 380/600 MHz
    18. ATI RADEON 9600XT 128MB, 500/600 MHz
    19. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB, 475/950 MHz
    20. ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    21. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128MB 475/950 MHz DDR3
    22. ATI RADEON 9550XT 128MB 400/500 MHz
    23. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 128MB, 425/550 MHz
    24. ATI RADEON 9600 256MB, 325/400 MHz
    25. ATI RADEON 9550 128MB 250/400 MHz
    26. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB, 325/550 MHz
    27. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    28. ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB 64bit, 325/400 MHz
    29. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    30. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 128bit, 235/400 MHz
    31. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 64bit, 235/400 MHz
    32. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 64bit, 250/333 MHz


    Usability rating: card price + $100

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 128MB, 350/700 MHz
    02. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    03. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB, 475/900 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6800LE 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X800XT PE 256MB, 525/1150 MHz
    07. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON X800XT 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    10. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 425/1100 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X800 SE 256MB, 425/800 MHz
    12. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB, 380/680 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB, 325/590 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB, 380/680 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON 9800XT 256MB, 412/730 MHz
    16. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900XT 128MB, 390/700 MHz
    17. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB 128bit, 380/600 MHz
    18. ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    19. ATI RADEON 9600XT 128MB, 500/600 MHz
    20. ATI RADEON 9550XT 128MB 400/500 MHz
    21. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB, 475/950 MHz
    22. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128MB 475/950 MHz DDR3
    23. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 128MB, 425/550 MHz
    24. ATI RADEON 9600 256MB, 325/400 MHz
    25. ATI RADEON 9550 128MB 250/400 MHz
    26. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB, 325/550 MHz
    27. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    28. ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB 64bit, 325/400 MHz
    29. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    30. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 128bit, 235/400 MHz
    31. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 64bit, 235/400 MHz
    32. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 64bit, 250/333 MHz


    Usability rating: just card price

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 128MB, 350/700 MHz
    02. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    03. NVIDIA GeForce 6800LE 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB, 475/900 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    07. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB, 325/590 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB, 380/680 MHz
    09. ATI RADEON X800XT PE 256MB, 525/1150 MHz
    10. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X800XT 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    12. ATI RADEON X800 SE 256MB, 425/800 MHz
    13. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON 9550XT 128MB 400/500 MHz
    15. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 425/1100 MHz
    16. ATI RADEON 9600XT 128MB, 500/600 MHz
    17. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB 128bit, 380/600 MHz
    18. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900XT 128MB, 390/700 MHz
    19. ATI RADEON 9550 128MB 250/400 MHz
    20. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB, 380/680 MHz
    21. ATI RADEON 9800XT 256MB, 412/730 MHz
    22. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 128MB, 425/550 MHz
    23. ATI RADEON 9600 256MB, 325/400 MHz
    24. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB, 325/550 MHz
    25. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128MB 475/950 MHz DDR3
    26. ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB 64bit, 325/400 MHz
    27. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    28. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    29. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB, 475/950 MHz
    30. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 128bit, 235/400 MHz
    31. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 64bit, 250/333 MHz
    32. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 64bit, 235/400 MHz

    Prospect rating (no previous data is published due to calculation method change):

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 425/1100 MHz
    02. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    03. ATI RADEON X800XT PE 256MB, 525/1150 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800XT 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    06. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 128MB, 350/700 MHz
    07. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB, 475/900 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    10. ATI RADEON X800 SE 256MB, 425/800 MHz
    11. NVIDIA GeForce 6800LE 128MB, 325/700 MHz
    12. ATI RADEON 9800XT 256MB, 412/730 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB, 380/680 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB, 380/680 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB, 325/590 MHz
    16. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB, 475/950 MHz
    17. ATI RADEON 9800 128MB 128bit, 380/600 MHz
    18. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900XT 128MB, 390/700 MHz
    19. ATI RADEON 9600XT 128MB, 500/600 MHz
    20. ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    21. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 128MB 475/950 MHz DDR3
    22. ATI RADEON 9550XT 128MB 400/500 MHz
    23. ATI RADEON 9600 256MB, 325/400 MHz
    24. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 128MB, 425/550 MHz
    25. ATI RADEON 9550 128MB 250/400 MHz
    26. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    27. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB, 325/550 MHz
    28. ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB 64bit, 325/400 MHz
    29. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 128bit, 235/400 MHz
    30. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 250/400 MHz
    31. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB 64bit, 235/400 MHz
    32. NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB, 64bit, 250/333 MHz


  2. Pentium4 3600 (i925X):

    Usability rating (no previous data is published due to calculation method change):

    Usability rating: card price + $500

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCX 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    02. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra PCX 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    03. ATI RADEON X800XT PCI-E 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800XT PE PCI-E 256MB, 520/1120 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB, 500/1000 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X700XT 128MB, 475/1050 MHz
    07. ATI RADEON X700PRO 256MB, 425/860 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON X700 256MB (400/700 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB, 300/550 MHz
    10. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 540/800 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 500/760 MHz
    12. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5900 128MB, 350/550 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    14. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 128MB, 425/500 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON X300 128MB 325/400 MHz
    16. ATI RADEON X300SE 128MB 64bit 325/400 MHz


    Usability rating: card price + $250

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCX 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    02. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB, 500/1000 MHz
    03. ATI RADEON X800XT PCI-E 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    04. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra PCX 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    05. ATI RADEON X700XT 128MB, 475/1050 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X800XT PE PCI-E 256MB, 520/1120 MHz
    07. ATI RADEON X700PRO 256MB, 425/860 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON X700 256MB (400/700 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB, 300/550 MHz
    10. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 540/800 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 500/760 MHz
    12. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5900 128MB, 350/550 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    14. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 128MB, 425/500 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON X300 128MB 325/400 MHz
    16. ATI RADEON X300SE 128MB 64bit 325/400 MHz


    Usability rating: card price + $100

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB, 500/1000 MHz
    02. ATI RADEON X700XT 128MB, 475/1050 MHz
    03. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCX 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X800XT PCI-E 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra PCX 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X800XT PE PCI-E 256MB, 520/1120 MHz
    07. ATI RADEON X700 256MB (400/700 MHz
    08. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB, 300/550 MHz
    09. ATI RADEON X700PRO 256MB, 425/860 MHz
    10. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 500/760 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 540/800 MHz
    12. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5900 128MB, 350/550 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON X300 128MB 325/400 MHz
    15. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 128MB, 425/500 MHz
    16. ATI RADEON X300SE 128MB 64bit 325/400 MHz


    Usability rating: just card price

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB, 500/1000 MHz
    02. ATI RADEON X700XT 128MB, 475/1050 MHz
    03. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB, 300/550 MHz
    04. ATI RADEON X700 256MB (400/700 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCX 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X700PRO 256MB, 425/860 MHz
    07. ATI RADEON X800XT PCI-E 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    08. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra PCX 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    09. ATI RADEON X800XT PE PCI-E 256MB, 520/1120 MHz
    10. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 500/760 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 540/800 MHz
    12. ATI RADEON X300 128MB 325/400 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    14. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5900 128MB, 350/550 MHz
    15. ATI RADEON X300SE 128MB 64bit 325/400 MHz
    16. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 128MB, 425/500 MHz

    Prospect rating (no previous data is published due to calculation method change):

    01. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra PCX 256MB, 400/1100 MHz
    02. ATI RADEON X800XT PE PCI-E 256MB, 520/1120 MHz
    03. ATI RADEON X800XT PCI-E 256MB, 500/1000 MHz
    04. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCX 256MB, 350/1000 MHz
    05. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT 128MB, 500/1000 MHz
    06. ATI RADEON X700XT 128MB, 475/1050 MHz
    07. ATI RADEON X700PRO 256MB, 425/860 MHz
    08. ATI RADEON X700 256MB (400/700 MHz
    09. NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB, 300/550 MHz
    10. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 540/800 MHz
    11. ATI RADEON X600XT 128MB, 500/760 MHz
    12. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5900 128MB, 350/550 MHz
    13. ATI RADEON X600 PRO 128MB, 400/600 MHz
    14. ATI RADEON X300 128MB 325/400 MHz
    15. NVIDIA GeForce PCX5750 128MB, 425/500 MHz
    16. ATI RADEON X300SE 128MB 64bit 325/400 MHz



Ingame quality



6. Games screenshot gallery

All test screenshots are compiled into a gallery where you can qualify the work of a chosen videocard. All shots were taken at the same 1024x768 resolution at the maximum quality. Screenshot gallery

7. Games artefacts gallery

Games quality section



We thank all the companies that provided us with graphics cards and other equipment for our 3Digest, including:






HIS (Peter Yueng personally)






Bench'emAll! (Alexander Kondratyuk AKA Render personally for helping us optimize our tests).




Vitaly Milov (black_nqr@yahoo.com)
Danil Gridasov (degust@ixbt.com)








and Andrey Vorobiev (anvakams@ixbt.com)




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May 15, 2009 · System Memory

Phenom II Processors and DDR3 Memory
What are the benefits of moving to DDR3?
February 16, 2009 · Processors: AMD

AMD Phenom II X3 720 / X4 810 / X4 920 Processors
Aimed at leadership in the budget segment.
June 3, 2009 · Processors: Intel

Intel Core i7 950 Processor
Original, but not surprising.
May 27, 2009 · Processors: Intel

Intel Core 2 with Various FSB / Memory Clock Rates
What memory clock rate can uncover Core 2 potential?
  Latest Reviews More   RSS  
July 6, 2009 · 3Digests

i3DSpeed, June 2009
NVIDIA ForceWare 186.18 WHQL and ATI CATALYST 9.6 drivers in tests.
June 26, 2009 · Coolers

Five Premium CPU Coolers In Tests
From ASUS, Noctua, Scythe, Thermalright and Thermaltake.
June 22, 2009 · Video cards: NVIDIA GPUs

NVIDIA GeForce GT2XX Reference
Specifications, architecture, technologies, etc.
June 22, 2009 · Video cards: ATI GPUs

AMD(ATI) RADEON R(V)7XX Reference
Specifications, architecture, technologies, etc.
June 18, 2009 · Sound Cards

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Cards
A hardware DSP and the PCI Express bus.
  Latest News More   RSS  
July 6, 2009

Daily Mailbox

June 26, 2009

Daily Mailbox

June 22, 2009

Daily Mailbox

June 19, 2009

Daily Mailbox

June 3, 2009

Daily Mailbox

May 29, 2009

Daily Mailbox

May 28, 2009

Daily Mailbox

Wowzio
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