Recap
Although individual game results are interesting, we calculated a performance index based on all tests with the same weight given to each game. A score of 100 was attributed to a GeForce 8800 GT in 1920x1200. You may recall that Crysis was only tested in 1920x1200 and therefore only affects the average results in this resolution.
On average, the GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 3870 display very close performances; however, in SLI the 8800 GTs have the advantage. Triple SLI has problems setting itself apart because it is often limited by the CPU even in 2560x1600.
With antialiasing 4x filtering activated, it’s the same situation for triple SLI. While the GeForce 8800 GTs in SLI have very good results in 1920x1200, performances plummet in 2560x1600 in numerous games which places them on average behind a single GeForce 8800 Ultra. As for the Radeon HD 3870, bugged ROPs forced AMD to find an alternative solution that while very flexible limits performances. For this reason, this card does not stand out under these conditions.
Note that results obtained in Rainbow Six: Vegas and Bioshock are not taken into account because the Radeon HD 3870 isn’t capable of supporting antialiasing in these games. Otherwise, you can consult a graph that includes this information in the final grade
here.
With DirectX 10 games, triple SLI adds an advantage especially in 2560x1600. Actually, this isn’t related to DirectX 10 but rather to more complex rendering. SLI and CrossFire also do quite well here.
In DirectX 10 and with FSAA 4x, it’s very similar except in 2560x1600 where the GeForce 8800 GTs in SLI (and even a single card) show very low performances. With only 512 MB, they are not at ease while the Radeon HD 3870s handle the situation rather well.
