Test System Setup

Processor(s): Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3150MHz (350MHz FSB with 1:1 memory)

Motherboard(s): ASUS P5B Deluxe (Supplied by ASUS)

Memory: 2 X 1GB G.Skill HZ PC8000 @ 350MHz 4-4-4-12 (Supplied by Bronet)

Hard Disk(s): Hitachi 80GB 7200RPM SATA 2

Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP2

Drivers: nVidia ForceWare 96.97 (Testing Driver) and ATI Catalyst 6.10

We tested 3DMark05 using 1024 x 768 (default), 1600 x 1200 and 1920 x 1200. 3DMark06 was tested with 1280 x 1024 (default), 1600 x 1200 and 1920 x 1200. Games that natively support 1920 x 1200 (which is everything but F.E.A.R.) were tested at 1280 x 1024, 1600 x 1200 and 1920 x 1200. F.E.A.R. which is the only game not supporting it natively was tested at 1280 x 1024 and 1600 x 1200.

When it comes to inclusion of cards, it was pretty clear what had to be added. First off from nVidia we couldn't add anything but the 7950GX2 which is such a menacing force.

ATI? Well, the Radeon X1950XTX. It is at the top of the ATI food chain - meaty cooler, big amounts of GDDR-4 memory and some pretty good performance. There is nothing else until R600 that is going to stand out from ATI.

Let's get this show on the road and see what type of performance nVidia is able to deliver from their latest GPU!

3DMark05

Version and / or Patch Used: Build 120

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark05/

Buy It Here

3DMark05 is now the second latest version in the popular 3DMark "Gamers Benchmark" series. It includes a complete set of DX9 benchmarks which tests Shader Model 2.0 and above.

For more information on the 3DMark05 benchmark, we recommend you read our preview here.

Our first benchmark shows us that the 8800GTS is clearly faster then the X1950XTX and is even faster then the dual core wielding 7950GX2.