X-bit labs

The Fastest Graphics Cards of Summer 2005: Ultimate Testing of 17 GPUs in 30 Games (page 14)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 09/09/2005 | 12:37 AM ]

Far Cry

The open vistas of the Pier map lead to the CPU rather than the graphics card becoming the main performance-limiting factor as you can see with all the top-end solutions. In the lower categories the GeForce 6600 GT triumphs over the RADEON X700 PRO again, while the GeForce 6600, on the contrary, is defeated by the RADEON X700.

The “eye candy” mode clearly shows which card is better for playing Far Cry. The RADEON X850 XT Platinum Edition takes top places in all resolutions while the GeForce 7800 GTX can only compete with the RADEON X850 XT, a less powerful model from ATI. SLI technology, however, helps NVIDIA strike back – the GeForce 6800 Ultra SLI performs superbly in high resolutions, being only inferior to the SLI configuration with two GeForce 7800 GTX cards. The GeForce 6600 GT is faster than the RADEON X700 PRO, but only by 1-3fps. Anyway, these mainstream cards don’t allow playing this game at the “eye candy” settings with comfort.

Enclosed spaces are typical for the Research map and this affects the standings of the participating cards: the senior RADEON cards and the GeForce 6800 Ultra have similar speeds. The RADEON X800 XL is slower than the GeForce 6800 GT but faster than the 12-pipelined GeForce 6800.

The GeForce 6600 GT is the best choice in the mainstream sector, while the RADEON X700 with its higher frequencies is preferable to the GeForce 6600 among the entry-level solutions.

Nothing changes in the “eye candy” mode. Moreover, all RADEON X850/X800 cards and all GeForce products, excepting the 12-pipelined GeForce 6800 and the 6600 series, ensure a rather high level of performance even in 1600x1200.