I have gone through the review benchmarks on Anands review. Because they are the most reliable and trusted site to take information from. If you dont agree, well you shouldnt be here!
Anyway I'll go thru the benchmarks of actual games, not synthetic.
Farcry
800XT runs away with no AA/AF. All other NV/ATI cards close.
In AA/AF
All cards close. Notable that the 6800GT beats the 800Pro!
Halo
800XT is the only card with any lead over the NV cards. All others close.
Homeworld
800XT is the only card with any lead over the NV cards. All others close.
Final Fantasy
Who cares? All very close though.
F1 Challenge
All too close. Even the XT. Notable that the 6800GT beats the 800XT at 1600x1200.
Eve
All close
Unreal Tournament 2004
All close
X2
All close
Jedi Knight
All NVs win by quite a large margin across the board. Notable that the 6800GT beats the 800XT.
Wolfenstein 3D
All NVs win by quite a large margin across the board. 800XT able to keep up with the NV cards. Notable the 6800GT beats the 800XT.
Neverwinter Nights
All close
If you go through and double check my conclusions you will notice that when I said "all close", that sometimes NV won the benchmark or ATI won the benchmark. I did not discriminate when results are in the 1-10fps range.. calling out a winner (be it NV or ATI) doesnt do much justice.
I was looking for "runaway" differences.. something like 15+ FPS. Of course, my own discretion was used in evaluation so you may not agree but I think that the majority will.
Conclusion
All cards besides the 800XT are pretty close. It depends on if you have brand loyalty, or if one brand or the other has been better for you. Shader model 3.0 might be a feature you want if you are going to get a new card. Maybe the media capabilitys of the NV cards. Either way, its close enough that forums could argue and moan for the next two years over which one "won".
I would give ATI the performance crown with the 800XT, but when the "lowly" 6800GT beats that uber card in ANY benchmarks I cant do that.
Personal conclusion and the card I'm buying for myself this summer
The $400 6800GT. Single slot, one molex, 300watt PSU recommendation, 16 pipes, VS/PS3.0.
I would personally think that in any nonbiased persons POV that this would be the card to clearly get. But of course, usually people amaze me. NV traditionally has better drivers, and also they have MUCH better legacy support for when these cards get old, they also have vastly superior multimonitor support. All which are very important to me. The most important game for me, other than the Doom 3 engine is the Unreal Engines. U2K4 seems best suited for the NV cards and that also means the GT is for me. With Epic being a partner with NV I would suspect the GT will be a great choice for UnrealEngine 3.0 performance. PS/VS3.0 I suspect will play a large part in the next Unreal engine.
I think this will become a war of price and driver support. Some reviews have said that NV has the better image quality. It will be interesting if suddenly ATI fanboys start to say IQ doesnt matter
Should make this note- The 6800 Ultra Extreme/6850 is not included yet in Anands article, so it could be possible that it will give NV the crown. Right now, the crown is too close to call.. as of now the Performance Crown will be a matter of future driver support. IQ and price of course being seperate issues.
Bottom line? The X800XT main advantage, speed, doesnt really allow any resolution that the competing Nvidia cards cannot.
Considering this fact, the inherant advantages of PS/VS3.0, with NV taking the IQ crown, as well as the new media chip all become ever more relevant. They have truley brought NV out above the competition.
Anyway I'll go thru the benchmarks of actual games, not synthetic.
Farcry
800XT runs away with no AA/AF. All other NV/ATI cards close.
In AA/AF
All cards close. Notable that the 6800GT beats the 800Pro!
Halo
800XT is the only card with any lead over the NV cards. All others close.
Homeworld
800XT is the only card with any lead over the NV cards. All others close.
Final Fantasy
Who cares? All very close though.
F1 Challenge
All too close. Even the XT. Notable that the 6800GT beats the 800XT at 1600x1200.
Eve
All close
Unreal Tournament 2004
All close
X2
All close
Jedi Knight
All NVs win by quite a large margin across the board. Notable that the 6800GT beats the 800XT.
Wolfenstein 3D
All NVs win by quite a large margin across the board. 800XT able to keep up with the NV cards. Notable the 6800GT beats the 800XT.
Neverwinter Nights
All close
If you go through and double check my conclusions you will notice that when I said "all close", that sometimes NV won the benchmark or ATI won the benchmark. I did not discriminate when results are in the 1-10fps range.. calling out a winner (be it NV or ATI) doesnt do much justice.
I was looking for "runaway" differences.. something like 15+ FPS. Of course, my own discretion was used in evaluation so you may not agree but I think that the majority will.
Conclusion
All cards besides the 800XT are pretty close. It depends on if you have brand loyalty, or if one brand or the other has been better for you. Shader model 3.0 might be a feature you want if you are going to get a new card. Maybe the media capabilitys of the NV cards. Either way, its close enough that forums could argue and moan for the next two years over which one "won".
I would give ATI the performance crown with the 800XT, but when the "lowly" 6800GT beats that uber card in ANY benchmarks I cant do that.
Personal conclusion and the card I'm buying for myself this summer
The $400 6800GT. Single slot, one molex, 300watt PSU recommendation, 16 pipes, VS/PS3.0.
I would personally think that in any nonbiased persons POV that this would be the card to clearly get. But of course, usually people amaze me. NV traditionally has better drivers, and also they have MUCH better legacy support for when these cards get old, they also have vastly superior multimonitor support. All which are very important to me. The most important game for me, other than the Doom 3 engine is the Unreal Engines. U2K4 seems best suited for the NV cards and that also means the GT is for me. With Epic being a partner with NV I would suspect the GT will be a great choice for UnrealEngine 3.0 performance. PS/VS3.0 I suspect will play a large part in the next Unreal engine.
I think this will become a war of price and driver support. Some reviews have said that NV has the better image quality. It will be interesting if suddenly ATI fanboys start to say IQ doesnt matter
Should make this note- The 6800 Ultra Extreme/6850 is not included yet in Anands article, so it could be possible that it will give NV the crown. Right now, the crown is too close to call.. as of now the Performance Crown will be a matter of future driver support. IQ and price of course being seperate issues.
Bottom line? The X800XT main advantage, speed, doesnt really allow any resolution that the competing Nvidia cards cannot.
Considering this fact, the inherant advantages of PS/VS3.0, with NV taking the IQ crown, as well as the new media chip all become ever more relevant. They have truley brought NV out above the competition.