For this review we used brand new drivers delivered by AMD and Nvidia. The Catalyst we were given has the internal serial number 8.592 - The Catalyst 9.3 WHQL is tagged with 8.591. For the Nvidia cards we got the Geforce 185.63.
The test system was based on the following components:
• CPU: Intel Core i7-920 @ 3.500 MHz (175x20)
• Motherboard: Asus P6T (X58 chipset)
• RAM: 3 x 2.048 MiByte DDR3-1400 (7-7-7-20)
• PSU: Enermax Modu 82+ (625 Watt Nennleistung)
• Display: Dell Ultrasharp 3008WFP (30 inch LCD, 2.560x1.600 Pixel)
Geforce graphics cards (clock speeds: GPU/Shader/VRAM)
• Geforce GTX 285 (648/1.476/1.242 MHz, 1.024 MiByte)
• Geforce GTX 275 (633/1.404/1.134 MHz, 896 MiByte) • Geforce GTX 260-216 (576/1.242/999 MHz, 896 MiByte)
• Geforce 8800 GTX (576/1.350/900 MHz, 768 MiByte)
• Geforce 8800 GT (602/1.512/900 MHz, 512 MiByte)
Radeon graphics cards (clock speeds: GPU/VRAM)
• Radeon HD 4890/1G @ 950/2.200 MHz, 1.024 MiByte ("Average OC")
• Radeon HD 4890/1G (850/1.950 MHz, 1.024 MiByte) • Radeon HD 4870/1G @ HD 4890 (850/1.950 MHz) (
for RV790 vs. RV770 at the same frequencies) • Radeon HD 4870/1G (750/1.800 MHz, 1.024 MiByte)
• Radeon HD 4870/512M (750/1.800 MHz, 512 MiByte)
• Radeon HD 4850/512M (625/993 MHz, 512 MiByte)
Drivers
• Geforce 185.63 Beta (default settings with VSync off)
• Catalyst v8.592; 9.3 based (default settings with VSync off)
All FSAA setting have been applied in-game and anisotropic filtering is either activated in the game or forced via the driver.
Benchmark selection
GTA 4: New benchmark [Source: view picture gallery]
We tested the graphics cards in the following games:
• Call of Duty World at War v1.3
• Crysis Warhead v1.1
• Fallout 3 v1.0.4.6 + HD-Texture pack
• Far Cry 2 v1.02
• GTA 4 v1.030
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2 + Fakefactory Cinematic Mod v9.51
• Stalker: Clear Sky v1.0008
• Race Driver: Grid v1.2
The games have been tested with maximal detail settings and the following screen resolutions:
• 1.280 x 1.024, 4x MSAA/16:1 AF
• 1.680 x 1.050, 4x MSAA/16:1 AF
• 1.920 x 1.200, 8x MSAA/16:1 AF
• 2.560 x 1.600, 8x MSAA/16:1 AF
We reserved the right to leave out irrelevant seetings (like Crysis at 2,560 x 1,600) and FSAA isn't always active (in GTA 4 for example). See the individual benchmark charts for more details.
Comment this story! (8 Comments)
