X-bit labs

Two vs. Three: Zotac GeForce 9800 GX2 Against 3-Way CrossFire ATI Radeon HD 3870 (page 13)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 04/04/2008 | 12:18 PM ]

Performance in Strategies

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

The new add-on to Company of Heroes is tested in DirectX 10 mode only since it provides the highest quality of the visuals.

Alas, this is one of those cases when both parties are on the losing side. The 3-way CrossFireX system provides no advantage in comparison with the single Radeon HD 3870 X2 whereas the Zotac GeForce 9800 GX2 has a very low minimum of speed. As a result, the Radeon HD 3870 X2 remains the best choice as it offers full playing comfort at 1280x1024 and even fast enough for playing at 1600x1200/1680x1050.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

The game having a frame rate limiter, you should consider the minimum speed of the cards in the first place.

The Zotac GeForce 9800 GX2 and the 3-way CrossFireX are both good at resolutions up to 1920x1200 inclusive. Their maximum speed is below 24fps at 2560x1600 but the game seems to be playable anyway.

World in Conflict

ATI’s 3-way configuration works correctly, making up for the failure of the single Radeon HD 3870 X2, but that’s not enough to provide comfortable playing conditions. The Zotac GeForce 9800 GX2 performs somewhat better, but it is barely ahead of the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB.

The average frame rate varying from 12 to 20fps, the mentioned solutions cannot be used for running World in Conflict at the highest settings.