Gaming Benchmark (Cont.)

Since we are having fun playing with the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS video card, it was only logic to include some extra game titles. Since Half-Life 2 has the possibility to be run as a benchmark, we just installed the full version via our Steam license and took it for a spin. And next to that we also opted for Prey, a newer title but also based on the enhanced 3D engine used by Doom 3. So again we meet an OpenGL based 3D engine set against a DirectX supporting 3D engine. Yeah, you got that right; both have their strengths and extensive processing features. Either way, both technologies have one purpose, to bring you the best looking games you can think of...and more!

Valve Software Half-Life 2

As we also wanted to include another famous game we opted for Half-Life 2, a well know game amongst the gaming community. Half-Life 2 is an immersive first person shooter from the developers at Valve Software, the creators of the original Half-Life game. Building off of the riveting storyline and game play of the debut title, Half-Life 2 pushes the envelope even further and has once again raised the bar of the first person shooter genre. Using Valve's own built from the ground up Source engine, Half-Life 2 offers interactive physical environments, intense realism and impressive graphics, all bundled together with a masterfully crafted storyline. Players once again assume the role of scientist Gordon Freeman, but this time Gordon finds himself in a post apocalyptic environment.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
No AA/No AF	147.1 fps	143.6 fps
2x AA/4x AF	141.4 fps	129.3 fps
4x AA/8x AF	132.8 fps	N/A
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Who doesn't know Half-Life? Yeah what a question, of course everyone knows the game. And yes, although not being one of our favorite games, we actually changed our minds and also took Half-Life 2 for a spin with the Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS graphics card. At first we have to say that the performance was about on par with the Radeon X1950 PRO, but if when we enabled the visual goodies in the game it became quite obvious that does do well on ATI based hardware. This game is based on the Source engine from Valve and is quite shader intensive, which does show that the GeForce 8600 GTS is a bit too narrowed down to take on the Radeon X1950 series. But, that doesn't mean it is a bad card, not at all. Frankly the game looks better with the GeForce 8600 GTS rendering the visual sceneries and does offer very smooth game play.

Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
No AA/No AF	143.0 fps	126.9 fps
2x AA/4x AF	126.5 fps	101.7 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Gaming Results - 2560x1600 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
No AA/No AF	97.6 fps	72.1 fps
2x AA/4x AF	71.7 fps	38.3 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

As you are now getting used to we also increased the gaming resolution to pull down the frame rates reported by both video cards. Once again the GeForce 8600 GTS is doing great for a mid-range card but is no match for the high-end Radeon X1950 PRO accelerator. With Half-Life 2 the memory bus interface is quite important as Valve designed this game with the Radeon X1900 series in mind having an internal 512-bit bus, although only communicating at 256-bit with the memory chips. Since the GTS comes only with a 128-bit memory interface it doesn't need a lot of details to understand why the ATI hardware is in favor. It would have been great to see a 256-bit memory bus on the GeForce 8600 series, as that might have changed quite a lot on the performance results. Nonetheless we are talking about a mid-range card which should go against the Radeon HD 2600 XT having a similar 128-bit memory bus.

Human Head Prey

And last but not the least, Prey tells the story of Tommy, a Cherokee garage mechanic stuck on a reservation going nowhere. Abducted along with his people to a menacing mothership orbiting Earth, he sets out to save himself and his girlfriend and eventually his planet. In Prey, players enter a living spaceship which enslaves alien races and devours humans for lunch. A unique twist on the first person shooter genre, Prey features such innovations as the ability to walk on walls, manipulate gravity and perform a spirit walk by leaving your physical body behind. Designed by Human Head (under the direction of 3D Realms), Prey features full online support for up to eight players, utilizing the game's play innovations for unique multiplayer experiences.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
No AA/No AF	81.2 fps	68.8 fps
2x AA/4x AF	66.3 fps	51.1 fps
4x AA/8x AF	55.9 fps	45.6 fps
8x AA/16x AF	N/A	31.9 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

With Prey falling within the same range of Doom 3, due to being build upon the same 3D engine it comes as no surprise that the new Sparkle GeForce 8600 GTS edition performs a bit less than the Radeon X1950 PRO setup. The game play however is outstanding with excellent image quality, and we would like to point out that this is really one of the biggest advantages of the GeForce 8600 series. With the G84 chip comes visual clarity and improved image quality which is exactly the point of interest by many as somehow it wasn't the strongest point of NVIDIA. Well you can be sure that they heard that and did something about it. With the GeForce 8600 GTS you can experience this new world of visual improvements and the new DirectX 10 technology once the game titles become available.

Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon X1950 PRO	GeForce 8600 GTS
4x AA/8x AF	42.8 fps	33.4 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	12.3 fps	15.7 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

The gaming experience is somehow similar to Doom 3, but it does deliver just that little extra. With Prey we have the ability to enabled both anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering which adds some extra complexity and processing for the graphics processor. On top of that you can set those awesome HD resolutions and still enable all those extra features. Doing so brings both configurations a bit closer together in terms of performance. Although the GeForce 8600 GTS does a great job and does look better visually the frame rates are trailing behind the ATI setup. However it isn't by much and the game play experience is almost the same. looking a the Extreme HD gaming the GeForce 8600 GTS once again comes out on top...