Quake 3 remains the de facto 3D game benchmark here at SE, and due to its highly repeatable results, it is still one of the best methods of comparing different video cards. In this test suite we match up the Optimus 8500 eXP against the ATI and NVIDIA cards using version 1.30 and the included demo Four. Quake 3 benchmarks were run with the default Normal (16-bit) and High Quality settings, as well as ramping up the detail levels to maximum in our special MAX setting.
As with all game benchmarks, we're really not testing Quake 3 performance here, but using the benchmark as a consistent measuring stick between different video cards. So keep an eye on the relative performance of the tested cards, in addition to the basic framerate scores.
Using the Normal detail setting, we see the Optimus 8500 eXP take the lead at 800x600, but as we move to higher resolutions, the card's relative position falls a bit. These are still very good scores, but from an overall perspective, tend to match up quite well against the GeForce4 Ti 4200 cards.
Once we move up to the High Quality setting, the Optimus 8500 eXP continues to place well, about on par with the GeForce4 Ti 4200 128-MB board, and still a few FPS ahead of the standard Radeon 8500 128-MB card. Both the GeForce4 Ti 4400 and 4600 prove to much for any a higher-clocked Radeon 8500, especially at 1600x1200.
Using Quake 3 MAX doesn't really change the above trends, but we do start noticing that the higher memory speed of the GeForce4 Ti 4200 64-MB card does lengthen the gap from previous Quake 3 testing, although the Optimus 8500 eXP still keeps pace with the 128-MB version.
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