Half Life 2 GPU Roundup Part 1 - DirectX 9 Shootout
by Anand Lal Shimpi on November 17, 2004 11:22 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Head to Head: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 vs. NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT
Recently a number of users have asked that we compare the $300 GeForce 6800 to the $200 GeForce 6600GT to see if the added cost is truly worth it. Let's find out if it is under Half Life 2:
In our first benchmark the GeForce 6800 manages to only pull ahead in the AA test:
| Half Life 2 AT_canals_08.dem | |||
NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 113.5 |
114.8 |
1.1% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 78.1 |
78.6 |
0.6% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 57.7 |
57.8 |
0.2% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 72.7 |
77.6 |
6.7% |
| Winner | - |
- |
GeForce 6800 |
Continuing on we have a tie in the at_coast_05 benchmark:
| Half Life 2 AT_coast_05.dem | |||
NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 129.6 |
127.1 |
2.0% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 107.9 |
105.2 |
2.6% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 78.5 |
80.2 |
2.1% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 107.2 |
107.9 |
0.6% |
| Winner | - |
- |
Tie |
We've got another tie in our third benchmark:
| Half Life 2 AT_coast_12.dem | |||
NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 113.6 |
108.1 |
4.8% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 88.2 |
87.4 |
0.9% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 64.4 |
65.4 |
1.6% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 87.1 |
87.8 |
0.8% |
| Winner | - |
- |
Tie |
In the Prison demo the 6800 once again outperforms the 6600GT only in our AA test, the rest of the tests are a virtual tie:
| Half Life 2 AT_prison_05.dem | |||
NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 116.1 |
115.8 |
0.3% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 77.2 |
77.9 |
0.9% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 55.7 |
57.5 |
3.2% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 74.6 |
82.5 |
10.6% |
| Winner | - |
- |
GeForce 6800 |
The 6800 and 6600GT close out our benchmark suite with another virtual tie.
| Half Life 2 AT_c17_12.dem | |||
NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT |
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 |
Performance Advantage |
|
| 1024 x 768 | 82.9 |
82.4 |
0.6% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 76.4 |
75.1 |
1.7% |
| 1600 x 1200 | 61.6 |
62.8 |
1.9% |
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 70 |
72.2 |
3.1% |
| Winner | - |
- |
Tie |
For Half Life 2, it does not seem that the extra price of the GeForce 6800 is worth it - the 6600GT does a fine job on its own and performs just as well for much less.
| Summary | |||
Average Performance Advantage (6800 over 6600GT) |
|||
| 1024 x 768 | -1.0% |
||
| 1280 x 1024 | 0.0% |
||
| 1600 x 1200 | 0.3% |
||
| 1024 x 768 - 4X AA | 3.8% |
||
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alexlck - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
In map AT_coast_05.dem, GF6800U have no performance penalty with 4xAA@1024x768?HardwareD00d - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
hey, #27, I was gonna say that ;)jediknight - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Well, it's obvious from the benchmarks. They don't lie.ATI RULZ NVIDIA SUXORZ!!
(lol@#3)
bob661 - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Do you need HL2 to play CS: Source? Thanks.wien - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
#24 There is.. It's called Counter-Strike: Sourcebob661 - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Anyone know if there's multiplayer support in HL2? Thanks.L1FE - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Nice and thorough comparison. That 6600GT looks more and more enticing...Rekonn - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Great article, looking forward to reading the next one with slower cpus. Being cpu limited with an A64 4000+ is a little scary, I wonder what kind of fps an XP3200+ gets when paired with an AGP 6600GT. (still running an overclocked Barton 2500+)Jalf - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
I'm surprised at how well NV stacks up... And good to see the 6800 GT beat the X800 Pro. Not because I'm an NV fan, but simply because it makes it easier to choose. When the 6800 GT wins over the equivalent ATI card, even in an ATI-optimized game, then it's kinda easy to choose what to buy... :DIt's a lot harder with the other cards, where both companies scores some wins in different games.
Regs - Wednesday, November 17, 2004 - link
Yeah, I'm hoping a CPU round up will come after part two! I can afford a 400 dollar video card but not paired with a 700 dollar AMD CPU.I did notice a lot of stuttering in my gaming experience with a A64 3000 + 6800 GT/1024 MB pC3200. I was playing at 1280x1024 with 4x/8x max details. So likely I would have to cut out the 8x Aniso to have smooth gameplay. I don't know if that was what Anand was mentioning about with the "Shimmering" of textures with the Manhatten calculations.