Let’s examine the results of each of the 3DMark03 tests.

The first test doesn’t employ any advanced functions the modern graphics card can offer. DirectX 7 is used here, and the best results belong to NVIDIA’s cards in both top-end and mainstream sectors.

The same goes for the PCI Express devices: the RADEON X850 XT Platinum Edition is the best, of course, but the GeForce 6800 GT is only 5-7fps behind, the absolute speeds being about 200-300fps. The GeForce 6600 GT is slightly ahead of the RADEON X700 XT.

The tables are turning when FSAA and anisotropic filtering are turned on, but the GeForce 6600 GT AGP still dominates the mainstream sector. In 1600x1200 its 128-bit memory bus cannot cope with the increased load, however, and it loses to the RADEON 9800 XT as well as to the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.

Among the PCI Express cards ATI’s ones look better than NVIDIA’s, but the GeForce 6600 GT is still a little faster than the RADEON X700 XT.