Nvidia GeForce GTX 280
Over-priced, over-specced and over here
9th July 2008 11:02 GMT
On the face of it, the performance of GTX 280 in 3DMark Vantage is unequivocal as it stomps the other graphics cards into the dust. However, there's a dispute rumbling on this very subject. 3DMark Vantage tests your PC for its ability to handle physics calculations, which is great if you have an Ageia PhysX chip but as none of us do, a game's physics load is typically handled by the CPU, and that's one reason why 3DMark Vantage has a CPU test.
3DMark Vantage Test Results
Longer bars are better
In its Forceware 177.39 drivers, Nvidia updated the code to move the physics load from the CPU to the GPU where possible as this helps overall game performance. However, it has raised questions marks over its effect on benchmark scores. Driver 177.35, the previous release, has been approved by benchmark creator Futuremark. Forceware 177.39 has not.
As things stand, it's unclear whether Nvidia is taking a valid approach by treating the CPU and GPU as a pool of computing power. This surely gives Nvidia an advantage in 3DMark as it owns PhysX and has the ability to shift the physics workload wherever it desires, breaking down the established boundaries between CPU and GPU roles. It defends its position thus:
"Nvidia did not cheat or violate the FutureMark rules."
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Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor (3GHz, 6MB, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775 Socket T)
Intel Core i7 I7-920 Quad Core Processor (2.66GHz, 4x256kB, 4.8GT/s QPI, LGA 1336 Socket B)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Dual Core Processor (3.1GHz, 2MB, 1000MHz FSB, Socket AM2)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor (2.40GHz, 4x2MB, 1066MHz FSB, Socket T)
AMD Phenom X4 9950 Quad-Core Processor (2.6GHz, 2MB, 2000MHz FSB, Socket AM2+)
