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Club-3D 7800GT 256MB: High end graphics are great but for a cheaper option, a step down is often almost as good for a lot less. We see if this is applicable to Club-3D's 7800GT offering. |
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| Date: |
January 25, 2006 |
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| Written By: |
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Doom 3 - Performance
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Min
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Max
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Avg
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Club-3D 7800GT 1680x1050 4xAA 8xAF
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42
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63
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59.54
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Ref 6800GT 1280x1024 4xAA 4xAF
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39
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63
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51.19
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When I first ran this game, having swapped over from the 6800GT, I noticed an immediate difference in the frame rates. The Club-3D 7800GT was giving an apparent solid 60FPS where as the 6800GT would drop frames when the action became heavy. It became apparent that turning up the settings was going to be very easy with this card. High settings and a very high resolution of 1680x1050, as well as 4x anti-aliasing and 8x anisotropic filtering just didn't faze the 7800GT. It still dropped a few times from the solid 60 of most of the test, but with the dark visuals of D3 and limited need for 'snap shot' shooting, it wasn't something that was detrimental gameplay.
Doom 3 - Image Quality
I've always liked Nvidia over ATI when it comes to Doom 3 and image quality, and the Club-3D 7800GT is no exception. While anti-aliasing isn't a big thing in Doom 3, it certainly helps to improve the quality at certain junctures of the game. The screenshot above is for me, the best I've seen so far.
Half Life 2 - Performance
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Min
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Max
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Avg
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Club-3D 7800GT 1440x900 4xAA 8xAF
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26
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71
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46.83
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Ref 6800GT 1024x768 4xAA 8xAF
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20
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84
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42.80
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Half Life 2: Lost Coast is a 10 minute gameplay demo to show off the effects of HDR on the game engine, and this can have some impact on frame rates. Of course you also need a card that will support HDR, which the 7800GT does. Gameplay is very smooth on the Lost Coast even at 1440x900, 4 anti-aliasing, 8x anisotropic filtering, although that is about the highest you will get. Any higher and the frame rates drop too often to maintain smooth play. This of course limits the non-widescreen monitor crowd to 1280x1024 which runs very well indeed.
Half Life 2 - Image Quality
I'm not all that impressed by the HDR in Lost Coast personally; no doubt it looks better than basic Half Life 2 imagery but I don't think that HDR has been shown off to it's best ability, especially when you compare it with Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Still, the Club-3D 7800GT does create a very nice image on the Lost Coast. Pay special attention to the wire fence which while the screenshot can't convey the smooth look of it all under actual gameplay, will hopefully give you some idea of just how defined everything looks playing the Lost Coast with the Club-3D 7800GT.
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