X-bit labs

Sparkle SF-PX88GT256D3-HP Graphics Card: Is 256MB Enough? (page 10)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 02/28/2008 | 04:25 PM ]

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate

Like Battlefield 2142, this game does not support resolutions of 16:10 format. So, we use 1920x1440 (4:3 format) instead of 1920x1200 in this test.

The Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 256MB is good at 1280x1024 and 1600x1200. The Sparkle card is as fast as the ATI Radeon HD 3870 at the default clock rates and nearly matches the GeForce 8800 GT 512MB at the overclocked frequencies. The overclocking doesn’t help at the higher resolutions because the speed bottoms out below playable level.

Half-Life 2: Episode Two

The only resolution at which the Nvidia GeForce GT 256MB delivers comfortable performance is 1280x1024. People who buy such graphics cards usually have a 19” monitor with a native resolution of 1280x1024 or 1440x900 pixels, so that’s not a problem at all. When overclocked, the Sparkle delivers a playable average frame rate at 1600x1200, too, yet the minimum speed is rather low.