We test graphics cards using a range of ATI and nVidia chips within three price categories, and pick a winner in each.
By Rich Brown
July, 2005
nVidia blew the roof off the market for high-end graphics cards with the introduction of its dual-card Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology. To build an SLI system, however, you need a motherboard that supports the technology, plus a high-voltage power supply and two matching graphics cards—a pricey proposition. Fortunately, you can still get blazing frame rates from a single graphics card. Once you’ve decided how much you can afford, the toughest decision is whether to go with an ATI- or nVidia-based board.
After some exhaustive testing, and a year-long release schedule, we present performance results for eight PCI Express-based cards in ATI’s and nVidia’s 3D-graphics families. We looked at the high end, the low end, and everything in between. For our benchmark tests, we relied on engineering samples from ATI and nVidia for all but the e-GeForce 6200 TC, a 128MB card supplied by EVGA. By press time, we were also able to get our hands on three currently shipping cards—ATI’s 256MB Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition and 256MB Radeon X800 XL, and the 128MB EVGA card. We’ve provided additional information on these three cards. Though ATI sells its cards direct, both nVidia and ATI cards are branded by numerous manufacturers, each of which adds their own special features and software. Performance for each chipset, however, should be roughly the same no matter which company sells the card, assuming an equal amount of memory on the card.
We’ve placed each of the eight cards into three price categories. Based on the performance numbers and our reviews of shipping cards, we declare a winner in each category. Whether you want no-holds-barred performance or are merely looking to add a second monitor, all the info you need to make an informed buying decision is right here. Stay tuned for more full reviews in upcoming issues.
Come Hell or High Frame Rates
If you’re after the fastest possible 3D performance, either the ATI Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition (PE) or a card based on the nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra chipset will serve you well, although you’ll have to pony up five or more Benjamins to own one of them.
The X850 XT PE currently sits at the top of the 3D-card market. With its updated graphics chipset, the card displayed a notable performance edge over the 256MB GeForce 6800 Ultra. But the X850 XT PE is also larger than previous Radeon cards, and is the first Radeon entry to join nVidia in hogging an additional expansion slot because of its huge cooling fan. That was a major advantage ATI’s cards held over nVidia’s, and now it’s gone. The power requirements remain a realistic 350 watts, but you’re still going to have to displace a PCI card if your PC’s slots are all full.
The 256MB X850 XT PE outperformed the GeForce 6800 Ultra in our 3D-gaming test, delivering 100.9 frames per second (fps) on Half-Life 2 at 1,024x768 resolution, compared with the GeForce 6800 Ultra’s 91.6 fps.
After testing, ATI sent us a shipping version of the Radeon X850 XT PE, and it packs some powerful features. Gamers out to tweak every bit of performance possible from their cards will have a field day with ATI’s Catalyst Control Center. Not only does this front end give you immediate feedback on how changing your settings will affect performance and image quality, its Overdrive feature lets you gain a few extra frames per second through overclocking. (As always with overclocking, we advise an incremental approach, in the interest of preserving your hardware.)
The X850 XT PE also comes with a pair of DVI ports, allowing for dual-LCD gaming. Plus, you get an S-Video port for output to a television or DVD player.
[color=#FF0000]THE WINNER:[/color] ATI
Price/Performance Sweet Spot
If you’re unwilling to drop half a grand for silky-smooth frame rates and jaw-dropping 3D performance, you can still find a card that will keep you in the game for between $200 and $300. Cards based on nVidia’s GeForce 6600 GT are a prime example. For around $200, you can get a card capable of tackling the latest demanding 3D games at a decent frame rate. You’ll also have some leeway to play with advanced detail settings such as anti-aliasing. But if you can afford an additional $100, go for the Editors’ Choice-winning 256MB ATI Radeon X800 XL. The card is fast and quiet; wielding the best price/performance ratio of the eight cards we tested, it’s worth the extra outlay.
Our X800 XL’s graphics-rendering features mirror those of the top-end X850 XT PE. It also offers full support for DirectX 9 and Pixel Shader 2.0 (or, as ATI calls it, SmartShader HD). Together, these features allow for more-detailed and -sophisticated visual effects. The main difference is that the X800 XL’s GPU and memory run more slowly. Still, it turned in fast frame rates at extremely high detail settings. It even beat the supposedly higher-end GeForce 6800 Ultra on our 1,024x768-resolution Half-Life 2 test.
Unless you absolutely must have the fastest possible 3D frame rates, the 256MB ATI Radeon X800 XL is the graphics card that’s most deserving of your money.
[color=#FF0000]THE WINNER:[/color] ATI
Better than Integrated
Low-end cards aren’t going to enable you to run today’s—or even yesterday’s—demanding 3D games well. If all you want to do is add a second monitor or take some of the burden off your processor, however, they, priced at approximately $70, still provide an edge over a motherboard-integrated graphics chipset, which, in most cases, appropriates a portion of your PC’s main RAM for graphics-acceleration duties. Keep in mind that cards using ATI’s Hyper-Memory technology (or nVidia’s TurboCache equivalent) also share system memory, though not as much as an onboard 3D chip does.
EVGA’s 128MB e-GeForce 6200 TC (for TurboCache) graphics card is surprisingly full-featured. It has all the graphics perks you’d find on high-end GeForce 6600- and 6800-based cards, including support for DirectX 9 and Pixel Shader 3.0. What the EVGA card lacks, however, is 3D performance; it obviously can’t hold its own against more-expensive GeForce cards.
Games and other 3D applications aside, the e-GeForce 6200 TC offers a compelling suite of basic features for its low price. It supports dual displays using its VGA, DVI, and S-Video outputs, and it can handle resolutions up to 2,048x1,536 (at 85Hz) using the VGA port or 1,600x1,200 via the DVI connector.
We also tested the 128MB ATI Radeon X300 SE, which offers full support for DirectX 9 and Pixel Shader 2.0; it’s designed with a four-pipe rendering architecture so it can lay down a high number of textures in a single pass. With a core clock speed of 324MHz, the card is suitable for 2D- and some 3D-graphics applications, and, like the e-GeForce 6200 TC, it can drive two monitors, although one will have to run in analog mode. Because it uses HyperMemory technology, it relies on system memory rather than onboard memory, as does the 6200 TC, but it still provides a relative boost in performance over an integrated graphics chip. In our tests, it trumped the e-GeForce 6200 TC in Half-Life 2, delivering 15fps compared with 10.4fps.
[color=#FF0000]THE WINNER (AND ACROSS-THE-BOARD CHAMPION):[/color] ATI
Prices subject to change.
