Graphics Cards

ATI vs. Nvidia from top to bottom

A year after the last product-technology overhaul, we finally have a complete picture of the ATI vs. Nvidia graphics card landscape. Whether you want to spend top dollar or are merely looking to add a second monitor, we arm you with the info you need to make the best graphics card buying decision.

By Rich Brown (May 4, 2005) 		Reviews

High-end 3D cards
Doom 3, Far Cry, and Half-Life 2 benchmark results for the top four graphics cards from ATI and Nvidia.

Doom 3 custom demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
41.2 
56 
81.4 
Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT
37.3 
50.5 
73.4 
ATI Radeon X850 XT PE
34.9 
48.2 
68.7 
ATI Radeon X800 XL
27.5 
38.3 
55.1 

Far Cry custom demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
ATI Radeon X850 XT PE
64.2 
81.6 
91.9 
ATI Radeon X800 XL
51.8 
67.5 
84.7 
Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
47.2 
63.1 
83.5 
Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT
41.9 
57.2 
77.6 

Half-Life 2 custom demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
ATI Radeon X850 XT PE
60.1 
79.3 
100.9 
Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
60.1 
78.2 
91.6 
ATI Radeon X800 XL
53 
71.9 
97.1 
Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT
52.9 
69.8 
87.4 

Midrange 3D cards
Benchmark results for the two midrange graphics cards.

Doom 3 custom demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT
17.5 
25.9 
40.1 
ATI Radeon X700 XT
14.1 
20.8 
31 

Far Cry custom demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT
21 
35.6 
50.9 
ATI Radeon X700 XT
28.3 
36.4 

Half-Life 2 custom demo (in fps)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering  
Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT
27.7 
41.8 
68.8 
ATI Radeon X700 XT
25.6 
38.8 
57.9 

Low-end 3D cards
Benchmark scores for the four cards on the low end of ATI's and Nvidia's product families.

Doom 3 custom demo (in fps)  (Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
800x600 with no Antialiasing and no Anisotropic filtering *  
Nvidia GeForce 6200
3.5 
5.3 
8.7 
40.3 
ATI Radeon X300
3.0 
5.8 
8.4 
28.4 
ATI Radeon X300 SE
1.9 
7.3 
23.0 
Nvidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache
1.8 
3.0 
17.6 
Note: * 800x600 tests run at Medium Quality setting

Far Cry custom demo (in fps)  (Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,280x1,024 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
800x600 with no Antialiasing and no Anisotropic filtering *  
ATI Radeon X300
11.0 
15.4 
55.0 
Nvidia GeForce 6200
7.3 
12.0 
46.4 
ATI Radeon X300 SE
4.5 
6.2 
49.3 
Nvidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache
6.9 
32.7 
Note: * 800x600 tests run at High setting

Half-Life 2 custom demo (in fps)  (Longer bars indicate better performance)
 1,600x1,200 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
1,280x1,024 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
1,024x768 with 4X Antialiasing and 8X Anisotropic filtering  
800x600 with no Antialiasing and no Anisotropic filtering *  
ATI Radeon X300
8.6 
15.6 
23.1 
68.4 
Nvidia GeForce 6200
7.1 
9.8 
16.3 
54.0 
Nvidia GeForce 6200 TurboCache
3.1 
6.3 
10.4 
46.9 
ATI Radeon X300 SE
2.9 
7.1 
15.0 
62.3 
Note: * 800x600 tests run with Water Detail set to Reflect World

ATI driver used: Catalyst 5.2 (WHQL)
Nvidia driver used: ForceWare 71.84 (WHQL)

Find out more about how we test graphics cards.

Graphics card test bed
Intel 3.46GHz P4 Extreme Edition CPU; 1,024MB Kingston Technology HyperX DDR2 memory running at 533MHz; Intel D925XCV motherboard; Intel 925X chip set; Maxtor 250GB 7B250S0 SATA hard drive; Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2.

Read the CNET editor's take
<Unknown>

null
CNET editor's take
Check prices
<Unknown>

null
CNET editor's take
Check prices
<Unknown>

null
CNET editor's take
Check prices
Compare these products
  • Recently Viewed Products
  • My Lists
  • My Software Updates
  • Promo
  • Log In | Join CNET