Introduction

We all can remind us probably still good of the GeForce FX 5800 ultra. This show was planned by nVidia as a response to ATis Radeon 9700 Pro, was famous but more or less by another feature: your volume was partly so high that she had honestly earned the nickname “Fön”. Today, we write the late summer of 2004, we can observe a different trend: video cards must be always quiet. ATi has presented the new Radeon X 800 series and nVidia pulls up at least in the form of Inno3D and some other Board partners. Now, in cooperation with the specialists of cooler master, it presents a more or less passively cooled GeForce 6800. This is known as “Cool Viva” and can also emphasize the premium character with slightly higher clock rates compared to the standard model.

Technical data

At this point we want no further comment on the technical data of the GeForce 6800 series by nVidia and dedicate them only in a short table. If you would like to know more, our launch article on these pixel accelerators to the heart is placed.

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The Inno3D GeForce tested today 6800 cool Viva differs slightly from the standard-6800. So, this is not only passive cooling but also with slightly higher clock rates. The core clock is located at 350 MHz, meanwhile added 400 MHz, the storage and allows to a maximum range of 25.6 GB/s.

The card

Inno3D GeForce 6800 cool Viva

You can see something not all days. A virtually passively cooled graphics card from nVidia that conceals a very good performance under the imaginary hood, was in short supply until now. Inno3D dares a skillful push now the GeForce 6800 cool Viva and equips a GeForce 6800 with a massive radiator with heat pipe without further ADO. Although a fan measuring approximately six inches, the use of which is recommended according to cooler master adorns the cooler. With a noise from under 17 dB is however hardly this and in our test environment could not entirely be apart from use. As a bonus, there is the already mentioned, slightly higher clock rates.

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Comparing the PCBs of this video card with a normal GeForce 6800, no differences in the eye are likely to fall to the Viewer; No wonder there is no. Also the cool Viva Inno3D relies on a DVI and a DSub output and a video connection with TV-out capabilities. Continue with of the lot is the mandatory power connector to connect of the graphics card to the power supply of the PC. The power of the GeForce 6800 series but has been reduced compared to the FX series, is however still so high that you obviously not can waive this.

As already mentioned, Inno3D holds also when the PCB design, the GeForce 6800 to the specifications of nVidia. When the clock rates however not, because here one goes one step further in spite of the low-noise cooling. So added the NV40 equipped with 12 pipelines 350 instead of 325 MHz. On at the store you puts it one. Here we used still DDR1 RAM, this is however running 400 MHz in place which sets common 350. Inno3D here to memory from the House of Hynix with 2.2 ns access time.

The cooling body is from the cooperation with cooler master and apparently makes a solid impression. The two cooling elements are made of aluminum and the used heat-pipe is made from copper. Since our test model not pre-assembled came to us, we had to first consult the installation guide. This step explains how people should combine the items to a work for now. This polyglot – by the way, also taking into account of the German language. However, the heat sink base, the “podium”, making the connection between GPU and heatpipe is already preassembled and should not be removed. A disadvantage is the supplied fan at first glance. He has only a three-pin connector, on the video card soldered but only two. To have a free fan connector on the motherboard, it is so essential.

Total Assembly was however not very difficult, because the instructions well illustrated all the steps and you must set the day hardly craftsmanship. So even the much discussed two left hands dilettante should get 6800 cool Viva hardly any problems with the Inno3D GeForce. However, owners of some motherboards should watch: Inno3D assumes that is the AGP slot at a distance of 2.5 cm is not a member, since it otherwise to mounting problems coming.Especially when some Asus Motherboards, this should be the case.

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Next we found in the carton of the Inno3D GeForce 6800 cool Viva:

• Inno3D GeForce 6800 cool Viva with 128 MB of texture memory
• Manual (English) and installation guide (German)
• Cooler master heatpipe cooler
• DVI to DSub adapter
• S video to RCA adapter
• CD with current drivers
• Futuremark 3DMark 03
• Commandos 3 – destination Berlin
• InterVideo WinDVD 4 and WinDVD Creator

Test system

• Processor
  • AMD Athlon 64 FX-53
• Motherboard (timings via SPD)
  • ASUS SK8V (socket 940, VIA K8T800)
• Memory
  • 2 x 512 MB DDR400 Corsair 2-3-2-6 registered & ECC
• Graphics cards
  • ATi Radeon X 800 Pro
  • ATI Radeon X 800 XT “PE”
  • ATi Radeon 9800 XT
  • ATi Radeon 9800 Pro
  • nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
  • nVidia GeForce 6800 GT
  • Inno3D GeForce 6800 cool VIVA
  • nVidia GeForce 6800
  • nVidia GeForce FX 5950 ultra
  • nVidia GeForce FX 5900 XT
• Peripherals
  • Traxdata RW2500
  • Pioneer DVD-drive (slot-in)
  • Western Digital 80 GB P-ATA HDD (8 MB cache)
• Driver versions
  • nVidia ForceWare 61.77 (SM 3.0 Active)
  • ATi catalyst 4.8
  • VIA Hyperion 4.51 Pro
• Software
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2
  • Microsoft Windows Media Player 9
  • Microsoft Windows Movie Maker 2.0
  • Microsoft DirectX 9.0 c

We took out the settings in the drivers of graphics cards as follows: basically, we tried to achieve the maximum quality and introduced the IQ slider to the level of “Quality” at all of the GeForce 6800 series cards, so that the optimized Trilinear filtering is enabled, order not compared to the ATi cards behind. We left all other settings in the standard, which is enabled when installing the driver. That the current nVidia ForceWare driver supports already the shader model 3.0, is quite important, because FarCry offers this feature in the non-public version 1.2 already. At the ATi cards, we also left the IQ settings at the default settings. Both nVidia-as also ATi graphics cards a roughly comparable image quality should return to during the entire test.

Benchmarks

The following benchmarks were used during our test in the latest version:

• Synthetic benchmarks:
  • 3DMark 03 version 340
  • Aquamark 3
• Game benchmarks:
  • Far cry V 1.2
  • Unreal Tournament 2004
  • RtCW – enemy territory
  • Tomb Raider – Angel of darkness
  • Half-life 2 – video stress test (counter-strike: source)
  • Doom 3

Synthetic benchmarks

3DMark 03

Hard controversial, but still our readers interested most always still primarily 3DMark 03 Futuremark made by. This prompted us to do so, but still on the course to integrate this benchmark program, because the reader is King after all. All anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering settings have been made in the programme and not have the drivers enforced.

Despite the higher clock rates the GeForce 6800 can cool Viva from Inno3D perform miracles, issue but still clearly from a normal 6800 and comes a Radeon X 800 Pro by ATi considerably closer.

Aquamark 3

It continues with the Aquamark 3, which has largely been designed by the developers as an alternative to the 3DMark 03. And so a game engine is based also this benchmark was used also in AquaNox 2 – revelation. However, it was brought for the Aquamark 3 once again up to date and supports now even some DirectX 9 effects. In AquaNox 2 is scenes with a similarly high Poligonzahl as also very rarely found in the water. All the anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering settings have been made in the programme and enforced not by the driver.

The cool-Viva model compared to the namesake can break away in the Aquamark 3. In the 512 resolution, this show even a GeForce 6800 GT comes close, and can match in 1280 x 1024, almost with a Radeon X 800 Pro. Otherwise, everything remains here as well.

Game benchmarks

Far cry

It must be said much about the game of FarCry actually no longer. It is one of the most graphically impressive titles on the market and makes such as Doom 3 tough competition. Thanks to a very flexible and advanced engine, the developer through the patch to the version 1.2 could integrate some new features in the game. So, FarCry dominated nVidias, as well as the the shader model 2. 0 (b) to ATis cards from immediately the shader model 3.0 of the GeForce 6800 series. While the former nVidia cards helps achieve a more efficient processing of complex shaders by the so-called “branching”, ATi the shader model 2.0 (b) uses, as far as possible to achieve a more efficient calculation of the light sources. In addition, ATis R420 cards dominate the “geometry instancing”, which is actually part of SM 3.0 and leads to a better calculation of geometry data.

To take advantage of the cry engine, we activated the shader model 3.0 on all of the GeForce 6800 series nVidia cards as well as on all ATi X 800 cards the SM 2. 0 (b). The quality settings in the game we made to the respective maximum and took all settings relating to anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering in the game. The demo we use was recorded in the lighting and shader-intensive research level.

In far cry, benefited also the Inno3D GeForce 6800 cool Viva of the shader model 3.0 and can position thanks to their clock rates again once more as it normal 6800 can do that.

Unreal Tournament 2004

Further, it goes with Unreal Tournament 2004, a pretty current multiplayer shooter. This is largely based on the engine, with which even the predecessor is been programmed. However, it was enriched effects, so that now some particle effects are representable. To charge the graphics cards tested by us, we chose a flyby demo from the map “DM Inferno”. Anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering had to be enforced via the driver, since Unreal Tournament 2004 unfortunately no corresponding function.

In Unreal Tournament, the test candidate makes a very good impression and can overtake without anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering even an ATi Radeon X 800 Pro. Only in quality mode – traditionally not just NVIDIA strength – you have to give is consistently beaten this. Thanks to 25 MHz of more chips and 50 MHz more memory clock manages the GeForce 6800 cool Viva again the normal 6800 partly to distance.

RtCW – enemy territory

Almost an old iron within our benchmark show “RtCW – Enemy Territory” is the multimedia player part of an indexed shooters with WW2 topic, so to speak. With us, enemy territory is representative of a whole series of games that have been developed on the Quake 3 engine and are published in recent years on the market. The game details we presented to the maximum and tested with a demo, which has been created on the map “Radar”. Anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering had to be enforced by the driver.

The Inno3D GeForce is able to 6800 cool Viva consistently better results deliver than this a Radeon X 800 Pro in enemy territory. And Yes, also here a normal GeForce 6800 is distances.

Doom 3

Doom 3 has been available since 12 August 2004 on the German market only, but now is considered a milestone in the history of PC games. While the game is based on the supposedly losing OpenGL API, but persuades graphically more than through excessive use of high resolution textures and bump. In addition, impressive lighting and shadow effects provide the necessary mood of horror. All our measurements were carried out in the “high quality” mode, activated automatically eightfold anisotropic filtering. Was by developers id Software “Demo1″ and the Timedemo function integrated in the game included. There are more details on Doom 3 in one of our detailed article.

Doom 3 is NVIDIA territory and so also of today’s test candidate proves once again impressively, that this game is apparently been tailored GeForce cards on the body. You can even ATis Radeon X 800 XT Paroli offer using AA and AF and they just beat.

Tomb Raider – AoD

If the common PC gamers think of Tomb Raider, he probably inevitably comes to weary puzzles, busty action heroines and clipping errors. That “Tomb Raider – Angel of Darkness” is still based on a quite passable graphics engine, many forget this but all too often. They characterized by their great variability, which we ourselves here want to take advantage of. In addition, the game already supports some effects that require pixel shader and vertex shader 2.0. Together with the use of bump mapping and high-resolution textures, although the game is not to the pure eye candy like example FarCry, is evident but still. We used the program to measure ‘ bench ‘em’ all “, which allows us to use the built-in Timedemo function. We were the texture quality to 32-bit, enabled all PS 2.0 effects and hence modern graphics cards in distress should bring.

Also in Lara crofts newest adventure, everything remains and so the model can cool Viva once again keep the standard-6800 to distance from Inno3D.

Tomb Raider unfortunately strictly refused to serve in this setting, if you used a graphics card from nVidia with 128 MB of memory. When we had to get the game by some tricks to work, it produced unfortunately heavy noise, so that we have in addition a measurement.

Half-life 2 – video stress test

Half-life 2 in September of 2003 should appear actually. From this plan nothing was, however, because a hacker stole parts of source code, which now had to be revised. Until now it appears really to half-life 2, developer valve software issued however already a beta-version of the multiplayer part. This is a port of the successful game “Counter-strike” and the name “counter-strike: source”.

In this version one – has integrated a benchmark function to the delight of the worldwide hardware Tester – however has little to do with counter-strike. It rather offers an overview of the features offered by the source engine and tests the performance of the graphics card. Anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering were set in the game and enforced not by the driver. We used a GeForce FX card, the game forced upon us the DirectX 8.1 Renderpfad, which includes less detail and no pixel and vertex shader 2.0. Although there is a console command, which you can use to enforce DirectX 9.0 also on FX cards, however, turned this no effect, because the game really still on the 8.1 path which places but much less of a load on the graphics card. The values of 5950 are ultra and the 5900 XT to enjoy so with caution.

In half-life 2, we meet on the now-familiar image. Here can the break away cool Viva model thanks to slightly higher clock rates of the GeForce 6800 and approaches in quite on a Radeon X 800 Pro.

Performance rating