Performance Tests

System Used

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.5Ghz
Memory: 4GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 @ 1556Mhz (Thanks to Corsair)
Motherboard: Asus Blitz Extreme
Disk Drive: Pioneer DVD Writer
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATAII
Fans: 5X Yate Loon 120mm @ 1200RPM
Monitor: LG Flatron L2000CN-BF (1600X1200)
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Graphics Cards:
EVGA 8800GT Superclocked (650/1900)
Gigabyte HD2900XT 512MB (stock)
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB (stock)

Drivers:
ATI Catalyst 7.10
Nvidia 163.69 (8800GTS)
Nvidia 167.26 (8800GT)

*Notes:
- All games tested have been patched to their latest version
- The OS has had all the latest hotfixes and updates installed…minus one that destabilized the whole system. ;)
- All scores you see are the averages after 4 benchmark runs


DX9 Tests


3DMark06 Professional




The EVGA 8800GT starts things off with some stunning scores in 3DMark06. It soundly beats both of the cards we put it up against by healthy margins at the default settings which is quite amazing considering the price difference. We aren’t going to dwell much on synthetic benchmarks so let’s get on to some games shall we?


Half Life 2: Lost Coast

While this benchmark may be a little dated, it is still relevant considering the number of people who are still playing Half Life 2 and the all the other games using the Source Engine. In this benchmark we maxed the details and jacked up the AA and AF so put as much stress on the graphics card as possible.



Unfortunately, even with the settings as high as they were, this game is still very much processor-bound at 1280X1024 but the 8800GT still has the lead by a fair margin. When the resolution is upped a bit more to 1600X1200 the 8800GT pulls further ahead.


Supreme Commander

Tons of units, fast-paced and extremely hard on your whole system…what more is there to say about Supreme Commander? In for this test, the built-in benchmarking tool was used to determine the average frames per second. 20fps is the absolute minimum you want to see here as an average frame rate.



While the speed of the overclocked processor goes a long way to help here as well, it is obvious that even at higher resolutions with the in-game AA setting maxed, the 8800GT still reigns supreme (pun intended).


Company of Heroes

Company of Heroes from Canadian developer Relic has been widely held as one of the greatest RTS games of all time while also being one of the most stressful games on the graphics card. There are very few instances in this game that will not make your graphics card beg for mercy and as such it makes a great benchmarking tool.



It seems like here as well, there is just no competition for the 8800GT. Right about now I was wishing I had an 8800GTS 640MB or 8800GTX to benchmark this card against because it was throwing out some very high performance figures. In this test in particular I believe that the one month old drivers are working against the 8800GTS 320MB as it is slapped around like nobody’s business.


Prey

While this is one of the “older” games in these tests, it is still quite graphically intensive when AA and AF are enabled. In this case we are looking for a minimum of 30 frames per second in order to play the game though 60fps is preferable. For this benchmark, a custom timedemo was run.



So far the 8800GT has taken no prisoners and it goes on doing the same in this test. By nearing 95FPS at 1600x1200 resolution it is showing some of the highest scores we have seen in this benchmark.


Medieval 2: Total War

This is a game that we see all too rarely in benchmark results even though it places a massive strain on both the graphics card with thousands of units on-screen at once and the processor which as to calculate the AI for all those units. This game is perfectly playable at 20fps but anything below that and gameplay gets thrown out the window and you are left without much control over your army.

In this test, the Battle of Hastings opening scene was run while Fraps was used to take measurements. This scene runs a few minutes and uses zooms and camera pans that must be used throughout gameplay so it gives a good overall look at what performance you will experience.



I have seen ATI cards perform miracles with this game in the past but this does not hold true here at all. Really, what more is there to say? The numbers truly speak for themselves even though we see the HD2900XT and the 8800GTS making a slight comeback at higher resolutions for some reason.


World in Conflict

This is one stunning game. World in Conflict has provided me with some of my most memorable gaming experiences since the first Homeworld game was released and it has not stopped wowing me. This is a brand new benchmark for us and with all of the bangs and whistles turned on, this is a great benchmark for any graphics card out there.



Not only does this test show how well the EVGA 8800GT performs but it also highlights how the 320MB 8800GTS simply chokes itself with AA turned on. But how about that GT, eh folks?