Specifications, the tests

Spécifications

Look out for 256 MB versions of the GeForce 8800 GT as some are equipped with 700 MHz of memory instead of the official 900 MHz.

The tests

We compared the 256 and 512 MB versions of the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 3850. Of course, other specifications were identical. We added the GeForce 8800 GTS 320 and 640 MB in order to also observe the difference in performances between these two cards even if they are at the end of their product lives.

In this test, we used ten games, four of which support DirectX 10. Anisotropic filtering and HDR were activated in all cases when available in the game. Finally, transparency/adaptive anti-aliasing were activated in multisampling mode.

Of course, all Windows Vista updates relative to performance were installed.

Configuration

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850
nForce 680i SLI EVGA
2 GB DDR2
Windows Vista
Forceware 169.04 (174.12 for Crysis)
Catalyst 7.10 beta (8.2 for Crysis).

Enemy Territory : Quake Wars

Enemy Territory : Quake Wars

While Quake Wars is based on the Doom 3 engine, it has undergone some evolution such as megatexturing which facilitates the work of artists; however, there is the additional cost in terms of decoding and access to megatextures. In the end, Quake Wars is a little more resource heavy than Doom 3 or Quake 4.

We saved a demo in a sequence versus 4 bots. Given that artificial intelligence was not calculated in the timedemo, results were less affected by the CPU than in actual game play or at least in this case versus our bot adversaries.

All parameters were set to a maximum in the game including 16x anisotropic filtering. The patch 1.2 was used.


In this first test, the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB showed a significant drop in performances which was even greater in 1920x1200.


Once anti-aliasing was activated, the situation became even worse for the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB. The GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB and Radeon HD 3850 256 MB also show lower performances although the latter does rather well in 1280x1024.

Half Life 2 Episode 2

Half Life 2 Episode 2

Still based on the Source Engine, Half Life 2 Episode 2 doesn’t really have anything new on the technological level. It simply optimizes and more relies on the engine’s capabilities, making the game more resource heavy than its previous versions. We carry out a demo with all game options set to a maximum including anisotropic filtering which is in 16x.


No impact on performances in these conditions.


With anti-aliasing only the GeForce 8800 GT has reduced performances in its 256 MB version. Scores are almost cut in half compared to the classic card.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

We carry out an identical movement and measure the framerate with fraps. The test was done in high quality, complete dynamic lighting, maximum details (anisotropic filtering 16x) and foliage shadows. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. uses an engine based on differed rendering, which is fundamentally incompatible with MSAA and makes the use of anti-aliasing impossible. A type of filtering of edges carried out with a shader can be activated but results are mixed. The 1.00004 patch is used.


S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is demanding in terms of memory and scores of the 3 cards are lower. The Radeon HD 3850 256 MB does the best while the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB fares the worst.

Rainbow Six : Vegas

Rainbow Six : Vegas

The first PC game based on the Unreal Engine 3.0, Rainbow Six : Vegas is still a very resource heavy game. We measure performances in the introductory scene. The HDR mode is activated as it is more or less obligatory because without it banding is very noticeable. Shadows are set to “low” as higher quality in this domain lowers performance too much in certain areas.


Without anti-aliasing the difference in the quantity of memory doesn’t have an influence in this game.


The game does not support anti-aliasing but Nvidia has implemented it to drivers as it has done with Oblivion. This is contrary to AMD who unfortunately didn’t make this effort. While in 1280x1024 everything goes well for the low memory GeForce 8800, it’s a different story in 1920x1200 with the 8800 GT 256 MB falling behind and the game not functioning with the 8800 GTS 320 MB.

Oblivion

Oblivion

We saved a specific movement in order for it to be always identical and the test reproducible. Of course, HDR was activated.


There is no impact on performances in this game on cards equipped with less memory.


Once FSAA 4x was activated there was a slight impact although it can be considered negligible.

Colin McRae DIRT

Colin McRae DIRT

To test Colin McRae's latest opus which is very resource heavy we carried out a well defined sequence in high quality mode. Note that the activation of anti-aliasing is highly recommended given the way menus are rendered and because post processing effects amplify aliasing. The patch 1.2 was used.


There was no impact on performances here with exception to the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB.


With anti-aliasing 4x, the impact is significant for all cards. Only the Radeon HD 3850 does well although only in 1280x1024. Given that the activation of anti-aliasing is highly recommended, it’s best not to use a card equipped with less than 512 MB for this game –especially if it’s a GeForce 8800.

Bioshock

Bioshock

The first game based on the Unreal Engine 3.0 to support DirectX 10, Bioshock has great graphics even in DirectX 9 mode while at the same time being less resource heavy than Rainbow Six : Vegas. We carry out a well defined sequence of movement with all options pushed to a maximum.


In DirectX 9 mode there is no real impact on performances.


Like with Rainbow Six : Vegas, Nvidia allows the activation of anti-aliasing for this game which doesn’t normally support it while AMD doesn’t offer this option. For some unknown reason, however, it was impossible to activate anti-aliasing on the GeForce 8800 and 8600 GTS. Either way, the impact was minimal.


In DirectX 10 mode, strangely enough GeForce 8800 GT performances plummet 25% in 1280x1024 while they are unaffected in 1920x1200.

Company of Heroes

Company of Heroes

Given that Company of Heroes received a DirectX 10 patch that adds a real plus on the graphics level, we decided to add it to our test protocol. All graphic settings were pushed to a maximum except for terrain details which remained on High (Ultra mode is reserved for DirectX 10). Textures were also limited to High, because the game indicates a lack of system memory for the GeForce in DirectX 9 mode with Ultra textures.

We run the integrated test on version 1.71.


There was no significant difference here even if the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB was a bit more affected.


Once anti-aliasing 4x is activated there is a noticeable reduction in GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB performances.


In DirectX 10, scores are clearly lower as the engine displays more advanced graphics and we changed the values on the X axis. The GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB has trouble here and its performances are cut in half.


With anti-aliasing in DirectX 10 mode, while the performance reduction is less with the Radeon HD 3850 and GeForce 8800 GTS, the GeForce 8800 GT 256 is left behind.

World in Conflict

World in Conflict

Very resource heavy and with nice graphics, it’s only natural World in Conflict joins our test suite. We carry out the internal test with the patch 1.0002. All game options are pushed to a maximum.


World in Conflict is demanding in terms of memory and the 3 cards showed reduced performances. While it was "only" 20% on average for the Radeon HD 3850 256 MB, the GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB’s score is almost cut in half while the GeForce 8800 GT 256’s is down two-thirds in 1920x1200.


With anti-aliasing 4x, the drop is even more pronounced. It’s useless to try and play in these conditions with a GeForce 8 equipped with less than 512 MB.


In DirectX 10 mode, the resources devoted to the game are higher. Without anti-aliasing we find ourselves in the same situation as in DirectX 9 with this filter.


As you may have guessed, once anti-aliasing is activated in DirectX 10 the cards equipped with less memory are not at ease.

Note that Radeon HD performances are increased with the latest drivers but we couldn’t use them in this game’s test. Either way, the reduction associated with the transition from 512 to 256 MB was similar.

Crysis

Crysis

A must in terms of gaming, Crysis was tested with its patch 1.1 (optimized for multi-GPUs) as well as with the latest drivers specific to this patch: Forceware 174.12 and Catalyst 8.2. We carried out the internal test in DirectX 9 Medium + high shaders quality (corresponds to HDR and without which the game is much less impressive and FSAA is non-functional) and in DirectX 10 High mode.


Only the GeForce 8800 GT in 1920x1200 shows a significant reduction in its score due to less memory.


With anti-aliasing, all cards are strongly limited in 1920x1200. The Radeon HD 3850 256 MB, however, does better than the others in 1280x1024, is less impacted and has equivalent performances.


In High and DirectX 10 mode, the Radeon HD 3850 256 MB only shows a slight reduction and therefore surpasses the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB and GTS 320 MB in 1920x1200.


As in every extreme situation the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB is left behind.

Performance recap

Recap

Although each game’s results are of interest (all the more true when this involves memory limitations), we calculated a performance index based on all scores with the same weight for each game. A score of 100 was attributed to the GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB in 1280x1024.


On average, while the GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB is indeed ahead of the Radeon HD 3850, once equipped with 256 MB, they are more or less in the same league, one being ahead in 1280x1024 and the other in 1920x1200. Overall, Radeon HD 3850 256 MB and GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB performances are only slightly affected.


With anti-aliasing 4x activated, the 256 MB GeForce 8’s advantage over the lower performance Radeon with antialiasing disappears. The GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB does a little better but is still equivalent to the Radeon HD 3850 256 MB.

Note that results in Rainbow Six : Vegas and Bioshock were not taken into account here because some cards are not capable of anti-aliasing in these games. You can consult a graph which otherwise takes these results into account here.


In DirectX 10, the Radeon HD 3850 systematically does the best amongst the 3 cards with the least amount of memory.


In DirectX 10 and FSAA 4x, the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB is totally overwhelmed.

Impact on performances in 1280x1024

Impact on performances in 1280x1024

We made a graph of the difference in performances between a 512 and 256 MB card (640 and 320 MB in the case of the GeForce 8800 GTS), in order that the impact due to memory can be seen more easily.

A 0% indicates that there was no performance reduction or that results may have been slightly better. Given the use of different memory chips and their varying characteristics such as latency, this is indeed possible but the advantage is quite small. We therefore attributed a 0% when this was the case in order that graphs are more coherent.

The absence of a bar or figures indicates that the game cannot be launched under these conditions regardless of the quantity of memory. Finally, a full bar represents that the game didn’t start only when there wasn’t enough memory.





In 1280x1024, except in a few cases the Radeon HD 3850 256 MB does rather well unlike the GeForce, particularly the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB.

Impact on performances in 1920x1200

Impact on performances in 1920x1200

We made a graph of the difference in performances between a 512 and 256 MB card (640 and 320 MB in the case of the GeForce 8800 GTS), in order that the impact due to memory can be seen more easily.

A 0% indicates that there was no performance reduction or that results may have been slightly better. Given the use of different memory chips and their varying characteristics such as latency, this is indeed possible but the advantage is quite small. We therefore attributed a 0% when this was the case in order that graphs are more coherent.

The absence of a bar or figures indicates that the game cannot be launched under these conditions regardless of the quantity of memory. Finally, a full bar represents that the game didn’t start only when there wasn’t enough memory.





In 1920x1200, the Radeon shows greater performance reductions; however these are much less than those of the GeForce.

Gains due to PCI Express 2.0

PCI Express 2.0

Although all the tests in this article were carried out on the PCI Express 1.1 platform, we were curious to know what benefit PCI Express 2.0 could bring to cards equipped with only 256 MB. We conducted several tests on an X38 platform with a Radeon HD 3850 256 MB. Results were then compared to those obtained on our standard test platform (nForce 680i).


Contrary to what is often thought, PCI Express 2.0 does indeed add an advantage especially with graphic cards equipped with little memory. Of course, this will never entirely make up for this deficiency.

Conclusion

Conclusion

We can draw some clear-cut conclusions from the tests in this article; however, before we do this we should mention a few essential elements concerning the quantity of memory needed in games. First of all, games are using more and more. Consequently, cards with larger sized memory have a bigger and bigger advantage assuring less of a risk in the medium term. Second, the figures given here are averages. This means that the quantity of memory is only a limitation in certain parts of game sequences found in our tests. In other words, when these drops in performance are the greatest, gameplay can be seriously affected or this can even imply that the game is unplayable.


Having said this and with the results we obtained, it’s obvious we strongly recommend avoiding the GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB. For some unknown reason GeForce 8s have the tendency to use more memory than the GeForce 7 and Radeons. Combined with game evolution that is more and more demanding in this domain, the fact that GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB is often in the back of the pack is a real problem. Add the presence of cards on the market equipped with lower performance memory than what is to be expected and it’s a good thing to stay away from these solutions.

As for AMD, the Radeon HD 3850 256 MB does rather well thanks to more efficient memory management as well as PCI Express 2.0 that gives it another little push. However, for about 20€ more the 512 MB version is largely preferable unless you plan on moving on to another graphic card shortly thereafter.