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| Sapphire RADEON X1900 XTX Arguably the fastest out there.. | ||
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(Review by MS, February 20, 2006) |
| ATI X1600 XT |
3DMark'06
3DMark 2006 is often described as a merely souped up version of 3DMark'05, and as long as the actual "screenplay" is considered, this is probably true. However, particularly the Shader Model 3.0 / High Definition Range render tests go far beyond just increasing the level of detail. Aside from the obvious eye candy provided by the HDR rendering, the face rendering of the crew in Canyon Flight using Strauss shader models is probably the most impressive enhancement. Without going into gory detail, here is a quick overview of the transition from the 3DMark '05 to the '06 version
| Feature | 3DMark'05 | 3DMark'06 |
| Shader Model | 2.0 | 2.0 and 3.0 |
| HDR Rendering | No | Yes |
| Dynamic Shadows | 2 LiSPSM Shadow Maps | 5 Uniform Shadow Maps |
| Smooth Shadows | Yes (4 sample) | Yes (16 sample & 4 sample) |
| Graphics Test | 3 (All SM2.0) | 4 (Two SM2.0 & 2 HDR/SM3.0) |
| CPU Test | 2 (Software Vertex Shaders) | Complex AI and Physics |
| SM3.0 Feature Test | No | Yes |
| Number of Tests | 16 | 19 |
| Level of Detail | High | Very High |
| Texture Size | High | Very High |
| Materials | Simple | Complex |
| Shader Complexity | Hight (Max 96 Instructions) | Very High (Max 512 (Instructions) |
| Amount of Lights | High | Very High |
| Subscores | 1 (CPU Score) | 3 (SM2.0, HDR/SM3.0 and CPU Score) |
| Video RAM Usage | ~ 128 MB | ~ 256 MB* |
| Playable Game | No | Yes |
| Target GPU | 2nd Generation SM2.0 or Better | 2nd Generation SM3.0 or Better |
| Target CPU | Single Core** | Dual/Multicore & Single Core |
One thing to keep in mind and this is somewhat trivial but the requirement for SM3.0 HDR rendering capabilities in two of the four graphics tests will preclude any graphics card without these capabilities from running the tests. This includes ATI's non X1000 series cards, in other words, not even the X850 series cards will run the new version of Canyon Flight and Deep Freeze.
| Sapphire RADEON X1900XTX |
Next Page: => 3DMark'06 Results =>
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