ATi & Nvidia Video Card Roundup #2

	Radeon 9500/9700	GeForce FX Series	GeForce 4 Ti Series
0xAA	Radeon 9500 – 31.4 fps Radeon 9700 – 42.6 fps	FX5200 – 19.6 fps FX5600 – 24.9 fps FX5900Ultra – 46.9 fps	Ti4800SE – 36.816 fps
2xAA	Radeon 9500 – 28.5 fps Radeon 9700 – 38.0 fps	FX5200 – 11.8 fps FX5600 – 22.03 fps FX5900Ultra – 43.413 fps	Ti4800SE – 27.872 fps
4xAA	Radeon 9500 – 22.4 fps Radeon 9700 – 30.8 fps	FX5200 – 7.3 fps FX5600 – 16.856 fps FX5900Ultra – 38.382 fps	Ti4800SE – 18.25 fps
6xAA	Radeon 9500 – 14.2 fps Radeon 9700 – 21.8 fps
8xAA		FX5600 – 8.75 fps FX5900U – 23.564 fps

Click the thumbnails for the whole image.

All in all, I feel that ATI’s anti-aliasing is superior to NVIDIA’s because of both performance and quality. ATI manages to produce a better anti-aliasing image with a lower anti-aliasing level. In the case of the Radeon 9700, we see that 2xAA looks and performs like 4xAA on the FX5900 Ultra. The Radeon 9700 has the potential of being a “doorman’s FX5900 Ultra”, but does it hold true? We will explore this in more detail shortly.

A reader wrote to me regarding the last video card round-up stating that though ATI’s anti-aliasing looks better than NVIDIA’s in a still image, NVIDIA’s anti-aliasing produced less anti-aliasing artifacts when in motion. I put this to the test to see if I can see a difference between the two and honestly I couldn’t really see a difference. Perhaps my eyes aren’t discerning enough to pick out differences while the screen is moving. Perhaps it’d be an interesting exercise at a later date to compare movement using a tool that captures to video.

2xAA Radeon 9700 vs. 4xAA FX5900 Ultra

When analyzing the anti-aliasing images and the performance numbers, we see something curious when comparing the FX5900 Ultra to the Radeon 9700. At 1024×768, it would appear that the Radeon 9700 at 2x anti-aliasing looks and performs similar to the FX5900 Ultra at 4x anti-aliasing. It’s almost like getting a $400 card for $200. But let’s try 1600×1200 just to make sure.

1024×768	Radeon 9700	FX5900 Ultra
AA Level	2x	4x
AA Sample
Freelancer	56.0 fps	49.2 fps
Morrowind	32.3 fps	27.3 fps
UT2K3	127.3 fps	118.7 fps
X2 Demo	38.0 fps	38.4 fps
Price	~ $200 USD	~ $400 USD

The story changes at 1600×1200. At 1600×1200, we see that the Radeon’s 2xAA is nothing near the 4xAA quality on the NVIDIA. It would seem that NVIDIA’s 4x anti-aliasing looks better at higher resolutions and performs at similar levels.

1600×1200	Radeon 9700	FX5900 Ultra
AA Level	2x	4x
AA Sample
Freelancer	47.4 fps	40.1 fps
Morrowind	33.2 fps	26.3 fps
UT2K3	66.2 fps	97.6 fps
X2 Demo	23.8 fps	25.1 fps
Price	~ $200 USD	~ $400 USD

So what can we conclude here? I think it’s safe to say that if you’re looking to play games at a lower resolution, a Radeon 9700 will probably be the best investment as the anti-aliasing quality and performance is superior (not to mention the cheaper price tag). However, if you’re playing at higher resolutions, the NVIDIA has the advantage in both image and performance. Consumers in the market for video cards will have to decide if the extra $200 USD on the FX5900 Ultra is worth the improved anti-aliasing performance at 1600×1200.