Real-World Benchmarks

Let's see how well the synthetic scores translate over to the real-world tests.

Doom 3

It has the most advanced graphics engine to date so that makes this test number one on the real benchmark list. DX9 eye-candy goodness galore. This game simply chews up older GPUs and sends them home crying. This game is known to favor the Nvidia cards so it is no shock to see the 6800 slightly ahead of the X800 in most tests but it was strange to see that the X800 bested the 6800 at 1024x768 with balanced settings.

Far Cry

Far Cry doesn't quite meet eye to eye with the Doom3 engine when it comes to eye candy but it can deliver some breath-taking wide open landscapes. Far Cry is another one of our DX9 benchmarks. BenchEmAll settings run this test at maximum detail. At 1024x768 the cards are very close but once you crank it up to 1600x1200 the 6800 simply flies by the X800 and with high quality settings it even flies by the X800 XT!

Source Stress Test

A newer test in our lineup is the Source Stress Test which can be run if you own either CS:Source or Half-Life2. This game is DX9 heavy like Far Cry and Doom3 nd delivers outstanding visuals even though it is not as complex as the Doom3 engine. Where the Doom3 slightly favors the 6800 GPU, the Source engine then favors the latest ATI GPUs. The X800 stays slightly ahead of the 6800 except in the high quality tests where the stock X800 smokes the stock 6800.

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