Performance

ATI is raising the performance bar with their Radeon 9800 XT card, and we're matching it with our standard, high-end platform configuration. This translates into a Pentium 4-3.0C processor, an i875P AGP 8X motherboard and 2x256-MB of DDR400. This is a great base for video card comparisons, and its high-end horsepower is super for the newer 3D benchmarks, while providing a lot of headroom for these performance cards to really strut their stuff.

The video cards used in our comparison tests are cut from the same high-end cloth. These include the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra, the Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB, the Radeon 9800 Pro, and the Radeon 9700 Pro. This selection gives us a nice cross-section of the high-end video card spectrum, and not only provides a great test against NVIDIA's latest, but will also show how the Radeon 9800 XT stacks up against the other ATI cards. Our operating system is Windows XP Pro SP1 with DirectX 9a, and all video cards have been tested with AGP 8X and Fast Writes enabled.

Our game benchmark selection includes the standard tests such as Quake 3: Arena, 3DMark 2001SE Pro, UT 2003, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, as well as some newer DirectX 9 benchmarks such as 3DMark 2003, GunMetal and Aquamark 3. All benchmark testing has been performed using standard 32-bit settings, along with several anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering charts alongside the standard tests. For these tests, various 4X AA and 8X AF settings and resolutions have been used, which are representative of the detail settings for the high-end.

* Please note that unless otherwise stated, all performance graph results equate to the standard "higher is better" format.

Test System

General Settings:
Desktop Resolution: 1024x768
Color Depth: 32-bit
V-Sync: Disabled

Intel 875PE Test Platform
Processors: Pentium 4-3.0C
Memory: 2 x 256-MB Kingmax DDR400 DIMM
Motherboard: ASUS P4C800 Deluxe
Motherboard chip set: Intel 875P
NVIDIA reference drivers: 45.23
ATI reference drivers: Catalyst 3.6/3.7 (DX9)
Hard-Drive: Western Digital 40-GB 7200 RPM
CD/DVD: LG 16X DVD-ROM
Power Supply: Sparkle 400 Watt
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP1

Video Cards:
Radeon 9800 XT
GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro

Quake III Arena Test Specifics
Version: 1.30 (retail)
V-Sync: Disabled
Sound Disabled
High Quality Defaults

Return to Castle Wolfenstein Specifics:
Version 1.0
High Quality Defaults
Checkpoint MP demo

3DMark 2001SE Pro Specifics:
Version 1.0 patched

3DMark 2003 Specifics:
Version 1.0 patched

Aquamark Specifics:
Version 3

GunMetal Specifics:
Version 1.20S