NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT Round-up: PNY, MSI, ASUS
Futuremark 3DMark06
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 3DMark06 |
Before Vantage, there was Futuremark 3DMark06, which has been quite popular for some time now. This version of the benchmark includes not only Shader Model 2.0 tests but also Shader Model 3.0 and HDR tests as well. Some of the assets from 3DMark05 have been re-used, but the scenes are now rendered with much more geometric detail, and the shader complexity is vastly increased as well. Max shader length in 3DMark05 was 96 instructions, while 3DMark06 ups the number of instructions to 512. 3DMark06 also employs much more lighting, and there is extensive use of soft shadows. With 3DMark06, Futuremark has also updated how the final score is tabulated. In this latest version of the benchmark, SM 2.0 and HDR / SM3.0 tests are weighted, and the CPU score is factored into the final tally as well. |
These results are very similar to the 3DMark Vantage results. The main difference is that the margins separating the cards aren't quite as big. The ASUS EN9600GT SILENT suprised us a bit, though, considering it managed to outperform the PNY Verto 9600 GT despite the fact that both cards sport the same clock speeds.
