Test Rig Configuration

Considering that we have an AGP version of the PowerColor Radeon X1600 PRO, it means that we need to bundle it with some compatible components for our test system. We will once more reach back for our AGP based system build around the ASUS P4P800 Deluxe and Intel P4 Prescott processor. This is actually one of the best proofed systems with excellent support for AGP graphics cards. Let's check out the remainder of the hardware components...

• Intel Pentium P4 (Prescott) 3.0GHz CPU
• ASUS P4P800 Deluxe Mainboard
• Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2x 512MB Dual Channel Memory
• Maxtor Diamond Max 9 200GB IDE HDD (UDMA133)
• Plextor PX-130A DVD-ROM Drive
• PowerColor Radeon X1600 PRO 512MB AGP
• Hiper Type-R HPU-4B580 (580W) Power Supply
• Cooler Master ATC-200C Case
• Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000

That should do it, and will have enough power to take the PowerColor for a spin. This is a very common system that most can relate to as hardware components and performance. Indeed it is not state of the art but can still keep up with the daily tasks and games.

Synthetic Benchmarks

We start of the benchmark analysis by going through the different benchmark suites coming from Futuremark, and the discontinued AquaMark3 program. These will provide a good indication on the game play of today's games. First we will start with 3DMark03, followed by 3DMark05 and 3DMark06, then last but not least AquaMark3. We are using the standard drivers from ATI, which are the Catalyst 6.6. I will reboot each time for each of the four synthetic API's used and leave all processes running in the background.

GeForce 6800 GT	3DMark03 Score
350/1000MHz (Ref)	11345
Radeon X1600 PRO	3DMark03 Score
500/810MHz (Ref)	7112
600/900MHz (Overclock)	7339

We started the synthetic analysis by making a spin with 3DMark03 which is build around the DirectX 9.0 specifications, although still using quite some DirectX 8.1 features. To compare our results we have used a GeForce 6800 GT as reference and used the Radeon X1600 PRO at default and overclocked settings. The Radeon X1600 PRO clocks down some nice scores but is no match for the GeForce 6800 GT. Even when we overclock both core and memory of the Radeon X1600 PRO it can't keep up with the GeForce 6800 GT.

GeForce 6800 GT	3DMark05 Score
350/1000MHz (Ref)	4908
Radeon X1600 PRO	3DMark05 Score
500/810MHz (Ref)	4070
600/900MHz (Overclock)	4211

The following on our list is 3DMark05, it is the first benchmark to require a DirectX 9.0 compliant hardware with support for Pixel Shaders 2.0 or higher! Since the GeForce 6 series all NVIDIA cards feature Shader Model 3.0, which is better then the minimum requirements. You should also be aware that as of 3DMark05, the graphics processing capabilities are really making the difference on the benchmark scores. So it doesn't come as a surprise that the GeForce 6800 GT does a bit better in comparison to the Radeon X1600 PRO, which can be explained due to the extra processing capabilities.

GeForce 6800 GT	3DMark06 Score
350/1000MHz (Ref)	2376
Radeon X1600 PRO	3DMark06 Score
500/810MHz (Ref)	1796
600/900MHz (Overclock)	2028

And lastly we have 3DMark06 which was only released at the beginning of this year. The 3DMark06 tests include all new HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure next generation gaming performance today. Again we notice that the Radeon X1600 PRO is running behind. With some extra boost on the clock rates, the performance increase is quite noticeable. Although it can't match the GeForce 6800 GT, it does show that it supports all new DirectX 9.0 features quite easily.

GeForce 6800 GT	AquaMark3 Score
350/1000MHz (Ref)	57785
Radeon X1600 PRO	AquaMark3 Score
500/810MHz (Ref)	46073
600/900MHz (Overclock)	50202

To finish of the synthetic analysis, AquaMark3 was used to give a final impression on the difference between the GeForce 6800 GT and the new Radeon X1600 PRO series. The Radeon X1600 PRO AGP edition nails down a decent score for an AGP based system. We would like to point out that the GeForce 6800 GT has 16 pipes while the Radeon X1600 PRO has only 4 pipes. But what is the most important for the performance are the vertex and shader units. When comparing those, the GeForce 6800 GT has 6 vertex and 16 shaders units, against only 5 vertex and 12 shaders units for the RV530 chip, powering the PowerColor Radeon X1600 PRO AGP video card.