We begin by comparing Windows XP performance of the EVGA e-GeForce 8600 GTS Superclocked against the GeForce 7900 GS, which was the mainstream GPU in the GeForce 7 Series.

The GeForce 7900 GS runs at lower clock speeds than the GeForce 8600 GTS, but features a 256-bit memory interface compared to the 128-bit memory interface of the GeForce 8600 GTS. Here is a comparison of the GPUs.

GeForce 8600 GTS vs. 7900 GS

Under OpenGL, Doom 3 and Quake 4 are used to gauge performance, as Enemy Territory: Quake Wars approaches launch armed with Megatexture Technology.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

In the results below, the advantage of a 256-bit memory interface is demonstrated in Doom 3 as the GeForce 7900 GS (blue bar) outperforms the GeForce 8600 GTS (green bar) when antialiasing (AA) was enabled. The increase was less significant when no AA was used at the super-high resolution of 2560x1600.

Doom 3 Performance

Below are results for performance in Quake 4, which are based on gameplay at a resolution of 1600x1200 with 2x AA enabled.

Quake 4 Performance

In Quake 4, both graphics cards provided a similar gameplay experience at the tested resolution.

Next Page: Direct3D Game Performance