3DMark06 simulates DirectX 9.0c (Shader 3.0) games and it also puts HDR (High Dynamic Range) into the equation to calculate its final score. So it simulates the most high-end games available today. Since we were comparing mid-range cards, we ran this program in two resolutions, one low (1024x768) and one high (1600x1200). The results you check below. All video cards listed below were running with the default clock rates defined by the chip manufacturer except the cards marked with “OC”, which are cards that are factory-overclocked.

3DMark06 Professional Edition 1.10 -1024x768	Score	Difference
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI) OC	7248	17.78%
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI)	7002	13.78%
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI) OC	6154
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI)	5743	7.16%
Radeon X1650 XT 256 MB (HIS)	4292	43.38%
GeForce 7600 GT 256 MB (XFX)	4192	46.80%
Radeon X1650 Pro 256 MB (HIS)	3369	82.67%
Radeon X1600 XT 256 MB (HIS)	3295	86.77%
GeForce 8500 GT 256 MB (MSI)	2927	110.25%
Radeon X1300 XT 256 MB GDDR3 (HIS)	2860	115.17%
GeForce 7600 GS 256 MB (XFX)	2763	122.73%
GeForce 6600 GT 128 MB (nVidia)	2213	178.08%
GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB (Zogis)	2046	200.78%
Radeon X1300 Pro 256 MB (ATI)	1920	220.52%
GeForce 6600 128 MB (Albatron)	1357	353.50%
GeForce 6200 128-bit 128 MB (Leadtek)	741	730.50%

3DMark06 Professional Edition 1.10 -1600x1200	Score	Difference
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI) OC	4793	18.61%
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI)	4607	14.01%
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI) OC	4041
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI)	3707	9.01%
Radeon X1650 XT 256 MB (HIS)	2923	38.25%
GeForce 7600 GT 256 MB (XFX)	2765	46.15%
Radeon X1650 Pro 256 MB (HIS)	2117	90.88%
Radeon X1600 XT 256 MB (HIS)	2086	93.72%
GeForce 7600 GS 256 MB (XFX)	1796	125.00%
GeForce 8500 GT 256 MB (MSI)	1784	126.51%
Radeon X1300 XT 256 MB GDDR3 (HIS)	1781	126.90%
GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB (Zogis)	1281	215.46%
Radeon X1300 Pro 256 MB (ATI)	1100	267.36%