Review: Todd "Toddsmack2k" Roberts
Editor/Design: Allan "Zardon" Campbell

 

 

Specs and Setup

Something new I would like to touch on is the Overdrive pane in the ATI control panel now. ATI has sought to give the users a bit more features in their drivers nowadays. Within the standard control panel in the 4.1 Catalyst drivers is a feature called Overdrive. In the Overdrive tab there is a temperature sensor and an overclocking feature. These features are only available for the 9600XT and the 9800XT as of right now. For now I will talk about the temperature sensor and later in the review I will go more in detail about the overclocking feature itself.

Here are the standard 3d and adapter control tabs in Catalyst 4.1 drivers.

 

On the left we see the average idle temps for the ABIT 9800XT. Then on the right side is the average results temperature wise after a looping of 3dmark. The temperature range was 62-66 degrees Celsius no matter how long or hard I pushed the card at stock clocks I expected the card to run a bit hotter but it didn’t and I am not going to complain about the card running cooler.

This process will be refined more according to ATI as they are ever improving the Temp reader and the Overdrive Process. Hopefully which will mean higher Overdrive overclocks and all newer cores having these features enabled.

Review System

Hardware:
B.B. ATI 9700 Pro (for comparison purposes)
AMD 3200 64 bit processor @ 2.0Ghz
Gigabyte GA-K8NNXP MB Nforce 3 150 chipset
1 x 512 PC 3200 400 Mhz memory
Western Digital 80GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
LiteON 16X DVD drive
Sony 24x12x24 CDRW
Antec 430w True Power PSU
Viewsonic Perfect Flat A70f 17” monitor

Software:
Windows XP Professional
Service Pack 1a
DirectX 9.0b
ATI Catalyst 4.1 WHQL
Nvidia Nforce 3.13 chipset drivers
Aquamark3
ShaderMark 2.0
Unreal Tournament 2003
Halo
Need for Speed Underground
Powerstrip version 3.47
FRAPS Version 2.0.0 Build 1787

The test system was built from scratch. The hard drive was then formatted (NFTS), followed by installation of Windows XP Professional. Next the Nforce chipset drivers were installed and the only updates that were put on were SP1a and DX 9b. After a quick reboot the ATI Catalyst 4.1 drivers were installed along with powerstrip and FRAPS. Finally all benchmarking software was installed and a defragmentation of the hard drive was performed.

For all benchmarking tests the sliders in the ATI control panel were set to Best Image quality.

DriverHeaven Benchmarking Practice

Each benchmark was performed 3 times and the average results for each resolution or change is shown as the results per benchmark. After changing any Anisotropic Filtering or Anti Aliasing settings the test system was rebooted.

On another note all reviews from here after will not use 3dMark01 or 3dmark03, this is due to issues regarding "optimised" drivers from certain companies which pollute accurate readings. We are here to provide our members with the best review possible using nothing but the facts and the most level playing field possible.

 

Select 1. Introduction 2. Specs/Setup 3. Aquamark 3 4. Unreal Tournament 2003 5. Halo 6. Call Of Duty 7. Need For Speed Underground 8. Shadermark 2 9. Overclocking 10. Conclusion

Next: Aquamark 3