Recap
Although individual game results are interesting, we calculated a performance index based on all tests with the same weight for each game. A score of 100 was given to the Radeon HD 3870 in 1920x1200.
On average the Radeon HD 3870 X2 has 26.5% higher performances than the GeForce 8800 Ultra, the fastest card up until now. This score gives an advantage to the new arrival compared to the CrossFire system which obtained a ‘’0’’ in World in Conflict due to a bug which made the test impossible in DirectX 9.
With 4x antialiasing filtering activated, bugged ROPs in antialiasing with the Radeon HD 2000 and 3000 forced AMD to find an alternative solution that while it is very flexible limits performances. For this reason, the Radeon HD 3870 X2’s advantage in this area melts away and the card is only slightly ahead of the GeForce 8800 Ultra.
Note that results obtained in Rainbow Six : Vegas and Bioshock are not taken into account here because some cards aren’t capable of supporting antialiasing in these games. Otherwise, you can consult a graph that includes this information in the final grade
here.
In DirectX 10 and with antialiasing, there are bugs that penalize the Radeon HD 3870 X2 as much as the CrossFire configuration. On average, these two solutions are behind. Without antialiasing, results are better but the gap between them and the GeForce 8800 Ultra is small.
