DOOM 3 is a game that needs no introduction, and continues in a long line of id Software Quake and DOOM first-person shooters. This latest installment is one serious 3D game test, including potentially the highest-end graphics yet seen on the PC. It is also a different type of game benchmark, especially compared to Quake 3, and it has an almost total reliance on the 3D video card for high-end framerate results. This limits its use in system or CPU testing, but makes DOOM 3 a killer 3D video card benchmark.
NVIDIA is the reigning king of DOOM 3 performance, and we quickly see why. The Verto GeForce 6800 Ultra posts a very impressive score, and easily outpaces the ATI Radeon X800 XT. In fact, the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT also moves past the top-end ATI card, solidifying the GeForce Series 6 advantage. DOOM 3 is also not a game for the faint-hearted, as evidenced by the relatively low scores posted by the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra and Radeon 9800XT.
Increasing detail levels to 4X AA and 8X AF only puts more strain on the video cards, and really gives us a DOOM 3 torture test. The GeForce Series 6 cards do drop a few frames per second, but are still able to easily trounce the ATI competition, while leaving the last-generation NVIDIA and ATI cards in the dust.
Halo: Combat Evolved is a hot, action adventure game that not only features luscious indoor and outdoor graphics and a killer story, but some very innovative gameplay as well. Our Halo test uses the default timedemo, while also enabling 2.0 shaders for all benchmark testing.
The Halo benchmark gives us our closest race so far, with both the Verto GeForce 6800 Ultra and Radeon X800 XT locked within approximately 1 fps of each other, while the GeForce 6800 GT falls slightly back of the higher-end cards.
The addition of higher anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering settings really doesn't change the overall rankings, but it does allow the Verto GeForce 6800 Ultra to build a slightly higher lead over the Radeon X800 XT.
