I had a sneaking suspicion beforehand that the X800XL would prove to be a good card and the numbers shown in the Doom 3 tests confirm this. You can play at 1280x1024, 4xAA and 8xAF, all at High settings on the Enpro level. I would personally suggest dropping to 2xAA and 4xAF at High settings however as the Enpro level can be quite forgiving in comparison with other levels and as you can see in the graph, there are a few worrying dips. The X850XT PE obviously does better, but when you factor in the cost of the two cards you can't help but be surprised that the Club-3D Radeon X800XL can do as well as it does.

Also of note, because everything is so dark in Doom 3 you can get away with relatively little or even no AntiAliasing/Anisotropic filtering. This also means you can increase the resolution up to 1600x1200 and maintain a good gameplay experience. Bottom line, if you want some AntiAliasing/Anisotropic filtering you'll have to run at 1280x1024, but if you can do without them, 1600x1200 is playable on the Club-3D Radeon X800XL.

0xAA/0xAF left, 4xAA/8xAF right

As we've stated before, graphical enhancements in Doom 3 are not something you need to shoot for, although the Club-3D Radeon X800XL is capable of such. You can however get playable rates on the Enpro level at 1600x1200 without AntiAliasing and Anisotropic filtering, which in comparison with the 1280x1024 image looks a lot more defined and at higher frame rates.

At first glance, the dips in the graph down to the 20's make it seem like 1600x1200 is a bad resolution for Half Life 2 on the X800XL, however the D3_C17_12 map where you take on the striders does have a considerable amount going on and does stress your graphics card a lot. The dips take place usually when you first launch a rocket, and with everyone around you doing the same you can add a lot of smoke trails to the scene as well. 1280x1024, 4x AntiAliasing, 8x Anisotropic filtering is a little too much for this particular level (although many of the other levels will be a lot more playable at the same settings) with much of the test showing lower numbers in the graph.

Unlike Doom 3, Half Life 2 usually has a much brighter environment, and the tendency towards slower movement does mean that AntiAliasing makes a nice difference to the image quality. I would personally favour 1280x1024, 2x AntiAliasing and 4x Anisotropic filtering for single player and same resolution, no graphic enhancements for online play. As with Doom 3, the Club-3D Radeon X800XL proves itself in Half Life 2 to be a great card.

0xAA/0xAF left, 2xAA/4xAF middle, 4xAA/8xAF right

I personally found the imagery to be a little on the soft side but this isn't to say it is bad, far from it. The image is the usual ATI excellent, and the clarity of depth you can get is good, especially noticeable when comparing the images by looking at the wire fence on the back wall.