Half Life 2 GPU Roundup Part 1 - DirectX 9 Shootout
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 17, 2004 11:22 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Head to Head: ATI Radeon X800 XT vs. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
For our first head to head comparison we have ATI's top of the line X800 XT against NVIDIA's flagship GeForce 6800 Ultra.
At lower resolutions the performance is close in our first demo, but as we crank up the resolution and turn on AA, the X800 XT pulls ahead:
| Half Life 2 AT_canals_08.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 XT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 142.4 |
136 |
4.7% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 125.6 |
119.3 |
5.3% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 108.2 |
98.6 |
9.7% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 126.5 |
124.4 |
1.7% |
| 1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 103.2 |
92.8 |
11.2% |
| 1600 x 1200 - 4X AA | 81 |
68.7 |
17.9% |
| Winner | - |
- |
X800 XT |
We see the same story in our second benchmark:
| Half Life 2 AT_coast_05.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 XT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 134.2 |
132.6 |
1.2% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 130.4 |
126.4 |
3.2% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 125.7 |
118.7 |
5.9% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 130.1 |
132.6 |
1.9% |
| 1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 126.7 |
119.1 |
6.4% |
| 1600 x 1200 - 4X AA | 114.7 |
95.3 |
20.4% |
| Winner | - |
- |
X800 XT |
...and our third:
| Half Life 2 AT_coast_12.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 XT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 128.8 |
125 |
3.0% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 120.5 |
114.3 |
5.4% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 105.7 |
100 |
5.7% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 121.7 |
116.7 |
4.3% |
| 1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 105.7 |
97.7 |
8.2% |
| 1600 x 1200 - 4X AA | 86.6 |
73.7 |
17.5% |
| Winner | - |
- |
X800 XT |
The X800 XT continues to maintain a significant lead at higher resolutions with AA enaabled:
| Half Life 2 AT_prison_05.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 XT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 150.1 |
148.4 |
1.1% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 136.8 |
129.6 |
5.6% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 109.3 |
97.2 |
12.4% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 143.5 |
132.1 |
8.6% |
| 1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 111.5 |
95.1 |
17.2% |
| 1600 x 1200 - 4X AA | 84.9 |
69.9 |
21.5% |
| Winner | - |
- |
X800 XT |
In our final test the X800 XT only really separates itself from the 6800 Ultra at 1280 x 1024 and 1600 x 1200 with AA enabled.
| Half Life 2 AT_c17_12.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 XT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 88.1 |
84.6 |
4.1% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 86.3 |
84 |
2.7% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 84.1 |
80.1 |
5.0% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 87.2 |
84.3 |
3.4% |
| 1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 84.3 |
77.4 |
8.9% |
| 1600 x 1200 - 4X AA | 80.3 |
65.6 |
22.4% |
| Winner | - |
- |
X800 XT |
What the X800 XT holds over the 6800 Ultra is a 10 - 20% performance advantage in high resolution AA performance, but at lower resolutions and with AA disabled the performance is very similar between the two.
| Summary | |||
Average Performance Advantage (X800 XT over 6800 Ultra) |
|||
| 1024 x 768 | 2.8% |
||
| 1280 x 1024 | 4.4% |
||
| 1600 x 1200 | 7.8% |
||
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 4.0% |
||
| 1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 10.4% |
||
| 1600 x 1200 - 4X AA | 19.9% |
||
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Kovie - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Mis-type, meant to say 6600GT being gouged.Kovie - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
"Recently a number of users have asked that we compare the $300 GeForce 6800 to the $200 GeForce 6600GT to see if the added cost is truly worth it."Actually we asked to compare the currently $245 6600GT (newegg) against the currently $250 6800 (outpost). Once the 6800GT stops being gouged and goes down to its supposed price then it will be a better buy. Right now the $5 difference between them and the ability to potentially unlock the extra pipes on the 6800 make it a better buy.
Le Québécois - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
For my part I'm more curious about Slower CPU, to see how much it affect the FPS.mikecel79 - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Where's the ATI 9600 and 9500 series cards in this? The are DX9 cards also.LocutusX - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
So... I wonder how all the poor souls who went with GF59xx's are feeling now... ;)But yes, both manufacturers' "current-gen" parts are doing very well.
ciwell - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
I find the 6800 vs the 6600GT results to be intriguing as the 6600GT stacks up very nicely. I wonder how the comparison is in other games though.Akira1224 - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
I know the flames are going to start soon. I would like to say great job to both Nvidia and ATI. Both cards are spectacular this round and we should all be impressed with the tech being shown in this roundup. To anyone who is gonna start with the ATI RULZ NVIDIA SUXORZ or vice versa lets all just save it. The performance is so close either way you can't lose. For the record I have a 6800GT.Jalf - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Well, I can give you the results with my hardware. :)I'm running an ancient Geforce 2 GTS (32mb) and Athlon TBird 1400 MHz.
I haven't noted down actual FPS values, but in 800x600, with medium-ish settings, it runs perfectly smoothly. That's impressive, if you ask me. :P
So I doubt you'll have a problem. :)
ksherman - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
i wonder how old, old hardware will be... mabye theyll go as far back as the 8500 and Ti400's.... (cuz thats what i have ;)