Test Setup


Test Systems
CPU Intel Pentium4 3GHz
Motherboard Intel D865GBF
RAM 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 DDR400 RAM
Network Integrated
Video NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
Video Drivers Detonator FX 44.03
OS Windows XP Professional SP1
DirectX Runtime 9.0b

Benchmarks
SPECViewperf 7.1 All tests
3DMark2001SE Selected Benchmarks used
Build 3.3.0
Selected Benchmarks used
Trilinear Texture Filtering Selected, no Anisotropic Filtering

Games Benchmarks - DirectX
Splinter Cell
European Full Retail Version
V1.2 Patch
Projector Shadows
Beyond3D "The Caspian Oil Refinery" Demo
Dungeon Siege
Version 1.1
ExtremeTech Benchmark Modification used
Full Game Detail Settings
Unreal Tournament 2003
UT2003 Build 2225
Full Detail Settings
Beyond3D Custom Benchmark

All games benchmarks using 32bit colour and 32bit textures (where applicable)

Games Benchmarks - OpenGL
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Version 1.33
3DCenter's 'Checkpoint' Demo used
Full Game Detail Settings
Trilinear Filtering
Serious Sam: Second Encounter
Version 1.05
ExtremeGFX Add On used
Anisotropic Filtering Disabled, Trilinear Filtering Only
"The Pit" Custom Firing Squad Demo

All games benchmarks using 32bit colour and 32bit textures (where applicable)

Further Tests
PowerVR FableMark
PowerVR VillageMark
GL Reme
XBit PixelShader 2.0 precision test
pcchen's Pixel Shader Benchmark
MDolenc's Fillrate Tester

For the purposes of this article we'll compare the 5900 Ultra against its earlier sibling, the 5800 Ultra. The two chips seem largely similar in configuration, but with a few key differences, so it will be interesting to see how the 5800 performs in relation to the 5800.