Gaming Benchmarks

As we saw the synthetic benchmark results, the next logical step is to dive into the real gaming performance of the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS edition video card. As reference we will use a reference Radeon X1950 PRO setup to check the performance differences. Each setup is going to run each game at different resolution settings using a variety of anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering 3D effects. So in effect we are stuffing both cards in the same system, using the same settings and spending some time playing games and performing tests on the following game titles, let's check what we got...

UbiSoft Far Cry

Who doesn't know the game Far Cry? You should at least have heard about it... It's the game that came out right before Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and so on and set some new standards in gaming experience. Without a doubt, Far Cry was the most advanced graphics seen in any PC game. Everything in this game looks amazing, and the level of verisimilitude is unprecedented. Far Cry isn't just a stunning technical accomplishment. It's quite possibly the best single-player first-person shooter experience for the PC since Half-Life. Since Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 came out Far Cry had to share the welt on de gaming market.

Well yeah we still like the hang of it with Far Cry, it just keeps amazing us this game with very nice visual graphics and stunning game play. Besides that it is an excellent game to checkout the performance of a graphics card. Both cards perform somehow on par, although when anti-aliasing comes into the picture the GeForce 8600 GTS version featuring the G84 GPU has to recognize his opponent for being faster and dropping less fast in produced frame rates. Far Cry is also a game where you can enable HDR. This comes in handy as it adds more complexity and processing towards the video accelerator. Upon enabling HDR with Far Cry the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS edition can't hold the line and performs noticeably less good. In the end all a bit natural due to having less power and being more limited.

Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
4x AA/8x AF	66.71 fps	48.43 fps
SM3.0/HDR	43.39 fps	43.05 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Gaming Results - 2560x1600 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
4x AA/8x AF	28.25 fps	18.84 fps
SM3.0/HDR	20.41 fps	20.67 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

The game is on and high resolutions, meaning High Definition is the new hype around the gaming community. That means we couldn't stay behind neither. And indeed NVIDIA has done quite some marketing around the HD gaming experience and in particularly linked with the GeForce 8800 series. Make no mistake the GeForce 8600 GTS does have all it takes for the enjoying the HD gaming experience but does come a bit short compared to the high-end GeForce 8800 series. However when looking at the results it does show that G84 can still keep up and has a small edge when HDR is enabled at high resolutions against the Radeon X1950 PRO accelerator. Nonetheless we were quite impressed by the stunning image clarity provided.

idSoftware Doom 3

Next on our list of favorite games is Doom 3 developed by id Software. Doom 3 is quite possibly the best-looking game ever, thanks to the brand-new 3D graphics engine used to generate its convincingly lifelike, densely atmospheric, and surprisingly expansive environments. At the same time, when you look past the spectacular appearance, you'll find a conventional, derivative shooter. Doom 3 is essentially a remake of the original Doom, though series fans will find reimagined versions of almost every monster from both previous versions in the new sequel.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
No AA/-- AF	108.7 fps	111.2 fps
2x AA/-- AF	95.6 fps	78.6 fps
4x AA/-- AF	70.4 fps	53.8 fps
8x AA/-- AF	N/A	34.2 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Another one that is already going a long way but still is considered a very good reference in terms of OpenGL gaming performance. We notice that the reported frame rates are in favor of the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS system, which delivers very high results to start from but as soon as the extra visual enhancements get enabled it is dropping much faster in performance and frame rates. On the other hand, the GeForce 8600 GTS shows that it has quite a lot of processing power being a bit more limited on pixel and shader processing than the Radeon X1950 PRO graphics card. In fact we would assume that having a 128-bit memory interface it somehow limiting the performance of the G84 chip and certainly when anti-aliasing comes into the picture which requires more buffering of textures.

Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
4x AA/-- AF	50.6 fps	38.7 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Gaming Results - 2560x1600 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
4x AA/-- AF	13.2 fps	17.3 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

When looking upon the HD gaming results, it shows a similar performance. The GeForce 8600 GTS edition from Sparkle is less fast at normal operation and with anti-aliasing at higher resolutions; however when we up the stakes toward the extreme level then the GeForce 8600 GTS comes out on top by a big margin. The GeForce 8600 GTS edition takes the lead on the Extreme HD resolution, and does do so by almost doubling the frame rates reported by the ATI based accelerator. And, if you are in favor of games based upon the 3D engine from id Software, meaning based upon the OpenGL technology then don't think twice and just go for a NVIDIA based graphics card. And a good choice would certainly be this GeForce 8600 GTS version from Sparkle, a version which shows once again superior images visualization and quality.