The Graphics Chips Compared
by
Tino Kreiss
| Manufacturer and Chip | Code Name | Memory | HDR-R | Vertex Shader/Pixel Shader | GPU Frequency | Memory Frequency |
| Geforce 8800 GTS | G80 | 320 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 500 MHz | 1600 MHz |
| MSI Geforce 8600 GTS Diamond Plus | G84 | 512 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0, 1450 MHz | 675 MHz | 2016 MHz |
| Colorful Geforce 8600 GT HD | G84 | 256 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0, 1276 MHz | 580 MHz | 1600 MHz |
| Geforce 8500 GT TC | G86 | 256/512 MB DRR2 | yes | 4.0 | 459 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Geforce 8400 GS TC | G86 | 256/512 MB DDR2 | yes | 4.0 | 459 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Manufacturer and Chip | Code Name | Memory | HDR-R | Vertex Shader/Pixel Shader | GPU Frequency | Memory Frequency |
| MSI Radeon HD2900 XT CF | R600 | 512 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 743 MHz | 1656 MHz |
| MSI Radeon HD2900 XT | R600 | 512 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 743 MHz | 1656 MHz |
| HIS Radeon HD2600 XT IceQ Turbo | RV630 | 512 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 830 MHz | 1860 MHz |
| HIS Radeon HD2600 XT Zalman | RV630 | 512 MB GDDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 800 MHz | 1400 MHz |
| MSI Radeon HD2600 Pro CF | RV630 | 256 MB DDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 600 MHz | 1400 MHz |
| MSI Radeon HD2600 Pro | RV630 | 256 MB DDR3 | yes | 4.0 | 600 MHz | 1400 MHz |
| HIS Radeon HD2600 Pro IceQ | RV630 | 512 MB DDR2 | yes | 4.0 | 650 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| Radeon HD2400 XT HM | RV610 | 128/512 MB DDR2 | yes | 4.0 | 700 MHz | 800 MHz |
| Radeon HD2400 Pro HM | RV610 | 256/512 MB DDR2 | yes | 4.0 | 525 MHz | 800 MHz |
Test Configuration
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800, 2.93 GHz |
| FSB | 1066 MHz |
| Motherboard | Intel D975XBX2 |
| Chipset | Intel 975X |
| Memory | 2x1 GByte, Vitesta DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 533 MHz |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 2 x 120 GByte S-ATA, 8 MByte Cache |
| DVD | Gigabyte GO-D1600C |
| LAN | Intel 1000 Pro |
| Audio | Intel High Definition Audio |
| Power Supply | Seasonic M12 600 Watt |
| Graphics | Catalyst 7.9
Forceware 97.92: 8400 GS |
| Operating System | Windows XP Pro SP2 |
| DirectX | 9.0c |
| Chipset Driver | Intel 8.1.1.1010 |
2
Comments
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First ! e vai!
"The HIS card only comes with DVI connectors, which makes dual-link a sensible choice for the 1920 resolution."
Uh. No, it really doesn't.
The HDMI(1.2 and below) type A connector is equivalent to
a single-link DVI-D connector; the adaptor is purely
mechanical. Dual-link DVI is equivalent to the HDMI type
B connector, which is largely unused (although I have
hopes, because HDMI 1.3 type B can do 680MPix/s).
1920x1080p/60 fits quite nicely through the bandwidth
limit (165MHz) of an HDMI 1.2 type A connector, and
equally well through a single-link DVI connector -
as you can tell by the multitude of single-link DVI
24" 1920x1200@60Hz monitors on the market.
Dual-link DVI would give you 48bpp colour support at
1920x1080, but that's irrelevant if only a single link
is being used, via an HDMI adaptor. Also, the DVI
connector is perfectly capable of transmitting the
audio component of HDMI (the audio component uses the
same signal wires as the video), if it can be routed
to the card. Whether the content permits the audio to
be routed without HDCP is beyond my expertise.
Also, at the risk of testing my mathematical abilities:
"In Windows XP, the performance delta between the two cards in cumulative frame rate is now less than 20fps (Geforce 8800GTS 1878.9 fps, Radeon HD 2900 XT 1809.6 fps)."
That sounds like "less than 70fps" to me (not that it
makes much difference, obviously - they *are* close.)