Test results
We kick off the benchmarking run with Futuremark's 3DMark05.
The PowerColor X850 Pro takes the lead over a stock GeForce 6800GT, but with the overclocked 6800GT it's neck and neck. Take that R480 up to 615MHz, however, and it rules the roost.
The same is true when we turn up the Anti aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering. However, at the higher resolutions, there's less of a gap between the two cards, overclocked or at stock.
It's dark and has lots of monsters... it's Doom III.
At 800x600 we're in the realm of system-limited frame rates. Up the resolution to 1024x768 and our overclocked X850 Pro can roughly compare to a stock GeForce 6800GT. Crank it up to 1280x1024 and the PowerColor X850 Pro slips behind.
Up the IQ and we get a bit more a graphics limited set of benchmark results, but the victor remains the same.
Taking Gordon Freeman for a spin in the HEXUS Prison benchmark...
With no AA or AF the game is largely system-limited until we hit 1280x1024. The PowerColor X850 Pro runs roughly level with the overclocked GeForce 6800GT.
Up the image quality settings and ATI has the lead, our grandiosely overclocked X850 Pro sitting clearly atop the graph with its stock incarnation sat beneath it.
From this short set of benchmarks we can see that the leader from a performance perspective is going to depend on the game engine in use. You could say it depends whether you'll be getting into the game, or whether you know the way it's meant to be played.
