Lost Planet Performance
Since we are evaluating a DirectX 10 video card, the use of Windows Vista is a definite requirement, but we also need some updated DirectX 10 game benchmarks as well. One of the best is the Lost Planet performance test, which comes in both DirectX 9 and 10 flavors, which allow across-the-board comparisons against last-generation graphics cards. The benchmark is also extremely tough on the hardware, and the resultant scores can be quite hard on the mainstream graphics cards, showing unplayable framerates in many cases. Since this is a high-end DirectX 9/10 game benchmark, we've utilized widescreen resolutions from the start, choosing 1600x1000 and 1920x1200.
To say that Lost Planet is a demanding game benchmark would be the understatement of the year, as you can almost hear the system grinding as it completes the testing. The PNY GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB card offers up some more very nice benchmark scores, posting the top number at both resolutions. But the margin of victory was not as wide as in other game tests, and the Radeon HD 2900 XT puts up a surprisingly good struggle at both resolutions.
Lost Planet AA and AF Performance
Upgrading the already tough Lost Planet benchmark to 4X anti-aliasing and 16X anisotropic filtering yields another very brutal gaming environment, and all the card drop somewhat. This has less of an effect at the top-end of the scale, and the PNY GeForce 8800 GTS-512 maintains its framerates, and proves to the pick of the litter at the very demanding 1920x1200 resolution.
Supreme Commander Performance
Supreme Commander is a high-end real-time strategy game, similar to a next-gen Total Annihilation, which combines killer graphics with top-level AI. The in-game visuals are incredible, and when there are multiple armored mechs in the same area, it can take a real toll on even high-end system configurations. This makes it a great benchmark for our high-end graphic cards, and while the in-game benchmarking program offers several different performance ratings, but for this market segment, we prefer the overall FPS score.
The Supreme Commander benchmark results again show the PNY GeForce 8800 GTS posting very high scores, and easily outdistancing the competition.
Supreme Commander AA and AF Widescreen Performance
The addition of widescreen resolutions, and anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing detail settings, doesn't change the overall positions that much, and other than a slight across-the-board drop, the PNY GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB is still well out in front.
