3DMark 2001 is the latest 3D video benchmark from the guys at MadOnion.com. This time out, DirectX 8 support is at a premium and 3DMark 2001 new graphics routines that push DirectX hardware features to the limit.

The first test disables FSAA and uses 32-bit textures and texture compression in both 1024x768 and 1280x1024 resolutions. As the chart clearly shows, the GeForce3 handily wiped the floor with both the GeForce2 Ultra and RADEON competition and achieved scores that were anywhere from 35-68% higher. This sort of differential is virtually unheard of, especially with two powerful video cards like the NVIDIA GeForce2 Ultra and the ATI RADEON.

Next on the list is a greater stress test, whereby the basic settings remain the same as the previous benchmark, but 4X FSAA (or equivalent) is enabled. The GeForce3's enhanced hardware FSAA helped it breeze through the test, but the competition was not nearly as lucky. The GeForce2 Ultra actually finished the 1024x768 benchmark (attaining less than half the GeForce3 score) but failed at the higher 1280x1024 setting. ATI fared the worst of all and the RADEON was unable to complete a single 4X FSAA test.