Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory performance
Splinter Cell allows the 8600-based cards to move ahead of the 7600GT in all three tests, with the Radeon HD 2600 XT also pipping it at the two higher settings though, seemingly, hit by driver issues at 1280x1024 with 4x AA.
The 7900GS is the only card to average over 60FPS at any resolution - and did that in two out of three tests. So it's the only card we consider gives an acceptable playing experience for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory at these settings.
Benchmark summary
Throughout testing, the 7900GS proves to be the fastest card by a fair margin. The two 8600 cards sometimes fail even to beat their predecessor, the 7600GT. That's disappointing, to say the least, given their higher prices.The jury is still out on the Radeon HD 2600 XT until we receive drivers that should reveal the card's true performance.
