Our standard test platform for video cards has been used for over a year now. A 3.4GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition CPU is still a good CPU. However, for purposes of this review I decided to include some extra information. After all, most gaming enthusiasts will use a AMD CPU. To that end, I decided to test the 7800GTX 512MB against two 7800GTs from EVGA, a 256MB 7800GTX from XFX, and a 6800GT from XFX. Unfortunately, I don't have a X1800XT to test, so this is more a taste of the performance benefits going to the 512MB card will entail from the cards most commonly sold today.
One thing to note is the performance difference between going from an Intel 3.4GHz EE to an AMD Athlon 64 4000+. The 512MB 7800GTX really shines when the 4000+ is used, as I believe the Intel platform is more CPU limited in many cases. 3DMark05 scores nearly a 2000 point difference between AMD and Intel platforms, nearing the magical 10000 mark. I can just imagine what would happen if I had used a FX-57 or 4800+ Dual-Core CPU. Noticeable performance increases are noted in F.E.A.R and the other games I used over the 7800GTX 256MB card.
- Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz Extreme Edition
- 1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 667MHz memory
- Dual 34GB WD Raptor SATA HDDs
- Asus 16X DVD-ROM
- ABIT NI8-SLI motherboard
- Thermaltake Purepower 480W PSU
- AudioMax 7.1 sound card
Test Platform 2
- AMD Athlon64 4000+ CPU
- 1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR400 memory
- Dual 69GB WD Raptor SATA HDDs
- ASUS 16X DVD-ROM
- ASUS A8N32-SLI motherboard
- Thermaltake Purepower 480W PSU
- Onboard Audio
Standard video card tests
- Doom 3 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- Quake4 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- Far Cry 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- F.E.A.R 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- Halo
- Aquamark 3
- Serious Sam The Second Encounter Little Trouble Demo
- Final Fantasy XI the Benchmark 2
- Gunmetal Benchmark 2
- 3DMark05
- 3DMark03
Athlon Tests
- Doom 3 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- Quake4 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- Far Cry 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- F.E.A.R 1024x768 32-bit 1280x1024 32-bit no AA no AF 4x AA 8x AF
- 3DMark05
- 3DMark03
