Test Setup

For the purposes of testing the GeForce 7800 GTX we'll compare it against NVIDIA's previous high end board, the GeForce 6800 Ultra, to see how the architectural changes improves the performance. We also have two of both the 7800 GTX and 6800 Ultra's and so we'll also be comparing the SLI performance relative to one another.

Test Systems
CPU AMD Athlon 64 FX-55
Motherboard ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe (nForce4 SLI)
Chipset Drivers NVIDIA nForce4 Standalone Kit 6.53
RAM 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 DDR400 RAM (OCZ Platinum Rev 2)
Network Integrated
PSU 600W Enermax Noisetaker
Video NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB
Video Drivers Forceware 77.62
OS Windows XP Professional SP2
DirectX Runtime DirectX9.0c

Benchmarks
Fill-Rate Benchmark Various Tests used
1024x768x32
D3D RightMark Multi-Texture Test
256x256 Texture Size
VS1.1, Fixed Function Pixel Pipeline
Bilinear Filtering
1024x768 Resolution
Geometry Test
High Geometry Profile
Difuse + Specular Lighting Profile
Windowed
Pixel Shader tests
Arithmetic Operation
1024x768 Resolution
ShaderMark V2.1
1024x768 Resolution
Default Settings
GL_Reme 1024x768 Resolution

Games Benchmarks - DirectX
Unreal Tournament 2004 Firingsquad Custom Demo used
Full Detail Settings
3323 Patch
Application Anisotropic Filtering
Control Panel FSAA
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Lighthouse Timedemo
European Full Retail Version
V1.01 Patch
Settings as per benchmark guide
Application Anisotropic Filtering
Application FSAA
Far Cry Custom Firingsquad demo
V1.31
"Very High" Graphics Settings
Highest Applicable Shader Model
Application Anisotropic Filtering
Application FSAA

Half Life 2

 Internal Beyond3D Demo Recording
High Graphics Setting
Water Reflect All
"+r_fastzreject 1"
"-dxlevel 90"
Application Anisotropic Filtering
Application FSAA
All games benchmarks using 32bit colour and 32bit textures (where applicable)

Games Benchmarks - OpenGL
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Internal Beyond3D Demo Recording
Doom 3 Engine Version 1.2
High Quality Settings
Application Anisotropic Filtering
Application FSAA
Doom 3 Internal Beyond3D "Turkey Baster" Demo Recording
Version 1.2
Ultra Quality Settings
Application Anisotropic Filtering
Application FSAA
All games benchmarks using 32bit colour and 32bit textures (where applicable)