X-bit labs

ATI's 0.11 Micron Chip on the Run: ATI RADEON X800 XL Review (page 11)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin

[ 03/21/2005 | 09:14 AM ]

Performance in Third Person 3D Shooters

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow is a pixel-shader-heavy game, so we might have predicted beforehand that the RADEON team would win. What’s more curious is the very small gap between the RADEON X800 XL and X800 XT – it’s only 5% in the highest resolution.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

The graphics of the new Prince of Persia are a real treat to your eyes. The game uses pixel shaders to create a number of special effects like motion blur, soft lighting etc. The textures have become more detailed, too. We test the cards in this game manually, with the FRAPS utility, so the results should be regarded as approximations.

At first the ATI RADEON X800 XL is ahead of the GeForce 6800, but behind the GeForce 6800 GT. However, as soon as 1280x1024 resolution this RADEON catches up with the 6800 GT. Unfortunately, the new Prince of Persia doesn’t correctly support full-screen antialiasing: if you enable it, some special effects just don’t work, greatly spoiling the impression from the game.