The Comanche 4 benchmark from Novalogic gives us an opportunity to use an actual flight sim for 3D video testing. This is a different game engine that we've ever used before, so don't be put off by the relatively low framerates. Just like the high fps of Quake 3, a card's relative position is the most important factor. These tests were run in 32-bit mode, with sound disabled.
Comanche 4 benchmark testing is another very close race, owing to the added CPU dependence of this game. Even so, the Radeon 9800 XT and Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB are right at the top of the chart. As we've noticed in previous benchmarking, the GeForce FX line seems to fall a bit behind ATI when the CPU dependence of a game is high.
The Comanche 4 AA and AF testing virtually confirms our above finding, and this is the first test so far that has both Radeon 9800-based cards ahead of the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra in pure anti-aliasing testing. With Comanche 4 detail levels increased the Radeon 9800 XT takes the entire board, and hits the top score in each test.
MadOnion's 3DMark 2001SE Pro is a popular DirectX 8 benchmark tool, and although it has been superceded by the 2003/DX9 version, it is still one that many gamers use to compare performance results. All 3DMark 2001SE Pro benchmark testing was performed in 32-bit mode, and used pure hardware DirectX support.
The Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB was the reigning champ of 3DMark 2001SE performance, and the Radeon 9800 XT simply extends this lead for ATI. The overall results favor ATI down to the Radeon 9800 Pro, and even the again Radeon 9700 Pro seems like a better target for the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra.
There are few changes in the 3DMark 2001SE Pro AA and AF test scores, and the Radeon 9800 XT once again produces the top score at each detail setting and resolution. This turns the tables on NVIDIA, as the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra proved to be an adequate AA/AF challenger for the Radeon 9800 Pro 256-MB.
