The best image quality is provided at the resolution of 2560x1600, which is exclusive to 30" widescreen LCDs from Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung. Prices for these models range from $1,050 to $1,650.
Note that in some cases, the level of antialiasing being reported at the 2560x1600 resolution is a notch or two lower than what was reported at 1920x1200. An SLI configuration is recommended for optimal performance when using 4x antialiasing at the resolution of 2560x1600.
New to the benchmark results are Far Cry with HDR and F.E.A.R. with soft shadows. In both cases, the MSI NX8800GT was only two frames behind the GeForce 8800 GTX. The MSI NX8800GT outperformed the GeForce 8800 GTX in the World in Conflict demo when no AA was used.
Game Performance at 2560x1600
Two important findings while testing at the resolution of 2560x1600w were discovered. The stellar performance that the MSI NX8800GT was providing in Dark Messiah and Oblivion disappeared as graphics settings that approached the 512MB memory limit were reached.
In this circumstance, the average frame rate was cut in half with the use of high quality textures and 4x AA in Dark Messiah and dropped to single digits in Oblivion when HDR and 4x AA were combined. In these situations, the amount of graphics memory becomes an important consideration when choosing a graphics card.
