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Synthetic Benchmarks (Re-Cont.) Euhm, are we re-starting again? Nope, not really although we are again starting with some synthetic benchmarks but this time we are running Windows Vista and therefore running DirectX 10 technology to power the different games. We will look this time only at the latest suites from Futuremark and that means first off all 3DMark06, but also 3DMark Vantage which has been released only some months ago. Again we are putting the Gainward GeForce GTX 260 video card in our arena against the GeForce 9800 GX2 edition to find out which one is able to run away with the best benchmark scores. As you all know by now DirectX 10 is only supported by Windows Vista which is somehow forcing us all to move to that operating system to enjoy the latest gaming technology.
FutureMark 3DMark06 
So to start of our view and the Futuremark performance figures we will run the newest 3DMark06, which is the worldwide standard related to advanced 3D game performance benchmarking. A fundamental tool for every company in the PC industry as well as PC users and gamers. The 3DMark06 suite uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX 9.0c graphics tests, CPU tests and full fetched 3D feature tests. These 3DMark06 tests include all new high dynamic range and Shader Model 3.0 graphics tests, some Shader Model 2.0 rendering tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a quite wide collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure and validate next generation gaming performance today. | Benchmark Results - 1280x1024 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM | | GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB | 3DMark06 Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 13551 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 11214 | | GeForce GTX 260 896MB | 3DMark06 Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 12704 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 9258 | | Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better. | |
| Benchmark Results - 1600x1200 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM | | GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB | 3DMark06 Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 13020 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 9614 | | GeForce GTX 260 896MB | 3DMark06 Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 12026 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 7806 | | Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better. |
We all know that currently the DirectX 10 logics on Windows Vista is not ready yet to take on Windows XP and has certain drawback when looking at the performance. When comparing the two operating system we can say that Vista is still not ready to take the lead, and running slightly behind. To what it exactly relates to we don't know really though we believe it has more to do on how Vista is designed than the DirectX 10 technology. Now on to the real topic at hand, the GeForce 9800 GX2 is still the winner, just as we saw previously. The difference in performance between both cards remains the same, so on that aspect it doesn't really matter which operating system you are using. The GeForce GTX 260 from Gainward does an excellent job, and able to keep in close range, though being a bit less outspoken when it comes to shader logic and texture units. | Benchmark Results - 2560x1600 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM | | GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB | 3DMark06 Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 11558 | | 4x AA/8x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 8996 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | N/A | | GeForce GTX 260 896MB | 3DMark06 Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 9236 | | 4x AA/8x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 7105 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 5310 | | Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better. |
The same we can say when we up the stakes and go for the high definition display resolution running each of the different benchmarks and noting down the scores delivered. Once more the GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics card is leading, though this time the difference is some bigger than at the lower resolutions. These ultra widescreen resolutions do stress the graphics cards to a maximum and that is exactly what we wanted to achieve. Again we should really mention that this benchmark suite is not yet DirectX 10 ready and that means that it is not really taking advantage of this technology, but we can see that also the older engine is well supported. Looking at the Gainward card which is build around the GT200 core we can say it does quite well and it can keep up with more powerful GX2, and in such way it is an experience beyond our senses.
FutureMark 3DMark Vantage 
And there we are finally with the Futuremark suite that we have all been waiting for since the introduction of the DirectX 10 application program interface. 3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX 10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware. 3DMark Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX 10, the newest graphics API from Microsoft. One of the key new features in 3DMark Vantage are the various rendering option presets. And these pre-selected combinations of rendering option settings, like screen resolution, anti-aliasing and texture quality, represent different, successively more advanced levels of visual quality. | Benchmark Results - 1280x1024 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM | | GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB | 3DVantage Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 7648 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 6443 | | GeForce GTX 260 896MB | 3DVantage Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 7105 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 6154 | | Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better. | |
| Benchmark Results - 1600x1200 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM | | GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB | 3DVantage Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 6054 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 4401 | | GeForce GTX 260 896MB | 3DVantage Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 5568 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 4278 | | Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better. |
The all new version from Futuremark is 3DMark Vantage and we are quite impressed with the new benchmark suite that has been completely redone and fully based upon the DirectX 10 technology. The only negative point is really that we expected more about it, but maybe we just set a bit too high expectations? When looking upon the performance we have clearly see that these are no longer surpassing the 10k mark and that means quite some extra complexity and physics was added to fully utilize the hardware processing and rendering logic. The main point to retain though is that the Gainward GeForce GTX 260 is a great graphics card but is no match to the older GeForce 9800 GX2 edition. The results speak for themselves by showing clearly that the dual GPU solution is more efficient and able to deliver higher performance scores, but is far out from the single GPU based GeForce GTX 260 accelerator. | Benchmark Results - 2560x1600 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM | | GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB | 3DVantage Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | 3317 | | 4x AA/8x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | N/A | | 8x AA/16x AF | 600/2000MHz (Ref - Single) | N/A | | GeForce GTX 260 896MB | 3DVantage Score | | 0x AA/Optimal | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 3141 | | 4x AA/8x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | 2891 | | 8x AA/16x AF | 576/1998MHz (Ref - Single) | N/A | | Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better. |
Going again one step further we are increasing the display resolution to the maximum level and play out both cards against each other. And while the GeForce 9800 GX2 is coming out on top it does come with a drawback and that is clearly visible as no score was recorded due to maximum frame buffer errors. Indeed although the GeForce 9800 GX2 version has 1GB graphics memory, it really is actually twice 512MB which can be used by the corresponding G92 chip. That does mean though that for large rendering scenes and physics it is just not sufficient to run at the high definition resolution. This is really where the GeForce GTX 260 in return is able go one step further, which is entire linked to the 896MB graphics memory which can hold larger rendering scenes. This is exactly why 1GB graphics cards with a single GPU will become a standard in the near future, and we could even imagine more. 
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GLY GTX275 (OC) PCIe 0896MB - Rev 01
