.

Testing

     Now the fun begins... For testing we'll be using 4 of my favorite games; Half-Life 2, Doom 3, Painkiller, and Call Of Duty. Benchmarking games is the easiest and probably the best way to compare video cards in the real world. As for actual benchmarking programs, we will be using 3DMark01, 03, 05, and 06. Not a one of those programs are worth a darn when comparing ATi to nVidia, but they are useful when comparing ATi to ATi or nVidia to nVidia. The two brands of video cards are just too different to compare with 3DMark as there has been questionable code writing and sponsorships in the past that may or may not cause the benchmark to favor one brand over the other. For that reason, please pay more attention to the game benchmark results than the 3DMark results. Now let's get to it, starting with the games.

     Overall, the X1900 XTX crushes our old X850XT, however there are some mixed results in a couple games. The X850XT scored higher at 1024 x 768 at 32bit in Doom 3 and in the old game Quake 3. However, the X1900 XTX crushed the X850XT at 1600 x 1200 at 32bit in both games. Clearly, the X1900 XTX is the better and faster card, but I found it odd that the X850XT did better in those games at a lower resolution. Let's put all this information in graph form so it's easier to understand.

Conclusion

     It's easy to see that the X1900 XTX dominates at 1600 x 1200. It's also on top when it comes to 3DMark. However, at the lower resolutions you get mixed results. If it wasn't for the Half Life 2 results, I would be a bit disappointed. Regardless, you have to look at the high resolution results since the graphics card market continuously moves in the direction of higher resolutions and greater detail. Right now, the X1900 series is the best ATi has to offer, so if you want the best and the fastest card from ATi, you simply must go with this one.

     A word of warning out to AMD owners. It is a fact that AMD pretty much dominates Intel right now in gaming performance. Therefore, expect much higher frame rates and scores on top end AMD systems than what is shown here.

The Good:
 - Ultimate performance right out of the box! 
 - Exceptional quality.
 - Quick and simple upgrade.
 - Nice software pack.
 - Exceptional cooling.

The Bad:
 - Loud cooling system.
 - Expensive