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 Pro vs. NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT
Priced at $400 our next head to head comparison is between the 12-pip Radeon X800 Pro and the 16-pipe GeForce 6800GT.
In our first demo, the 6800GT pulls ahead in all of the resolutions:
Half Life 2 AT_canals_08.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 Pro |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT |
Performance Advantage |
|
1024 x 768 | 125.6 |
133.3 |
6.1% |
1280 x 1024 | 101 |
110.8 |
9.7% |
1600 x 1200 | 82.3 |
88 |
6.9% |
1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 106.8 |
113.2 |
6.0% |
1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 75.4 |
77.1 |
2.3% |
Winner | - |
- |
6800GT |
Our second demo shows a much closer competition, with the X800 Pro pulling ahead in the highest resolution AA test:
Half Life 2 AT_coast_05.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 Pro |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT |
Performance Advantage |
|
1024 x 768 | 133.1 |
131.3 |
1.4% |
1280 x 1024 | 124.8 |
123.8 |
0.8% |
1600 x 1200 | 110.7 |
109.1 |
1.5% |
1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 130.5 |
129.5 |
0.8% |
1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 113.4 |
107.7 |
5.3% |
Winner | - |
- |
X800 Pro |
The balance shifts over to NVIDIA once again, but the two perform very similarly here as well:
Half Life 2 AT_coast_12.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 Pro |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT |
Performance Advantage |
|
1024 x 768 | 119 |
123.3 |
3.6% |
1280 x 1024 | 105.1 |
107.8 |
2.6% |
1600 x 1200 | 86.2 |
90.5 |
5.0% |
1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 111.4 |
112.2 |
0.7% |
1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 84.5 |
86 |
1.8% |
Winner | - |
- |
6800GT |
The 6800GT takes it once again in our fourth demo:
Half Life 2 AT_prison_05.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 Pro |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT |
Performance Advantage |
|
1024 x 768 | 135.7 |
147.4 |
8.6% |
1280 x 1024 | 106 |
112 |
5.7% |
1600 x 1200 | 80.8 |
83.2 |
3.0% |
1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 111.3 |
118 |
6.0% |
1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 82.5 |
79.8 |
3.4% |
Winner | - |
- |
6800GT |
And in our final demo the X800 Pro comes away with the win.
Half Life 2 AT_c17_12.dem | |||
ATI Radeon X800 Pro |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT |
Performance Advantage |
|
1024 x 768 | 88.1 |
84.6 |
4.1% |
1280 x 1024 | 84.6 |
84 |
0.7% |
1600 x 1200 | 79.2 |
77 |
2.9% |
1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 84.8 |
82.8 |
2.4% |
1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | 77.1 |
72.6 |
6.2% |
Winner | - |
- |
X800 Pro |
Averaging all of the scores together tells us that the 6800GT and the X800 Pro basically perform identically to one another, regardless of resolution:
Summary | |||
Average Performance Advantage (6800GT over X800 Pro) |
|||
1024 x 768 | 2.6% |
||
1280 x 1024 | 3.3% |
||
1600 x 1200 | 2.1% |
||
1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 1.9% |
||
1280 x 1024 - 4X AA | -0.8% |
Head to Head: ATI Radeon X800 XT vs. NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra
Head to Head: ATI Radeon X700 XT vs. NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT
79 Comments
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alexlck - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
In map AT_coast_05.dem, GF6800U have no performance penalty with 4xAA@1024x768?HardwareD00d - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
hey, #27, I was gonna say that ;)jediknight - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Well, it's obvious from the benchmarks. They don't lie.ATI RULZ NVIDIA SUXORZ!!
(lol@#3)
bob661 - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Do you need HL2 to play CS: Source? Thanks.wien - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
#24 There is.. It's called Counter-Strike: Sourcebob661 - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Anyone know if there's multiplayer support in HL2? Thanks.L1FE - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Nice and thorough comparison. That 6600GT looks more and more enticing...Rekonn - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Great article, looking forward to reading the next one with slower cpus. Being cpu limited with an A64 4000+ is a little scary, I wonder what kind of fps an XP3200+ gets when paired with an AGP 6600GT. (still running an overclocked Barton 2500+)Jalf - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
I'm surprised at how well NV stacks up... And good to see the 6800 GT beat the X800 Pro. Not because I'm an NV fan, but simply because it makes it easier to choose. When the 6800 GT wins over the equivalent ATI card, even in an ATI-optimized game, then it's kinda easy to choose what to buy... :DIt's a lot harder with the other cards, where both companies scores some wins in different games.
Regs - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Yeah, I'm hoping a CPU round up will come after part two! I can afford a 400 dollar video card but not paired with a 700 dollar AMD CPU.I did notice a lot of stuttering in my gaming experience with a A64 3000 + 6800 GT/1024 MB pC3200. I was playing at 1280x1024 with 4x/8x max details. So likely I would have to cut out the 8x Aniso to have smooth gameplay. I don't know if that was what Anand was mentioning about with the "Shimmering" of textures with the Manhatten calculations.