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
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI)	7002	3.51%
Radeon X1950 Pro 256 MB (PowerColor)	6198	16.94%
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI) OC	6154	17.78%
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI)	5743	26.21%
Radeon X1650 XT 256 MB (HIS)	4292	68.87%
GeForce 7600 GT 256 MB (XFX)	4192	72.90%
Radeon X1650 Pro 256 MB (HIS)	3369	115.14%
Radeon X1600 XT 256 MB (HIS)	3295	119.97%
GeForce 8500 GT 256 MB (MSI)	2927	147.63%
Radeon X1300 XT 256 MB GDDR3 (HIS)	2860	153.43%
GeForce 7600 GS 256 MB (XFX)	2763	162.32%
GeForce 6600 GT 128 MB (nVidia)	2213	227.52%
GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB (Zogis)	2046	254.25%
Radeon X1300 Pro 256 MB (ATI)	1920	277.50%
GeForce 6600 128 MB (Albatron)	1357	434.12%
GeForce 6200 128-bit 128 MB (Leadtek)	741	878.14%

3DMark06 Professional Edition 1.10 – 1600x1200	Score	Difference
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI) OC	4793
GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB (MSI)	4607	4.04%
Radeon X1950 Pro 256 MB (PowerColor)	4496	6.61%
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI) OC	4041	18.61%
GeForce 8600 GT 256 MB (MSI)	3707	29.30%
Radeon X1650 XT 256 MB (HIS)	2923	63.98%
GeForce 7600 GT 256 MB (XFX)	2765	73.35%
Radeon X1650 Pro 256 MB (HIS)	2117	126.41%
Radeon X1600 XT 256 MB (HIS)	2086	129.77%
GeForce 7600 GS 256 MB (XFX)	1796	166.87%
GeForce 8500 GT 256 MB (MSI)	1784	168.67%
Radeon X1300 XT 256 MB GDDR3 (HIS)	1781	169.12%
GeForce 7300 GT 256 MB (Zogis)	1281	274.16%
Radeon X1300 Pro 256 MB (ATI)	1100	335.73%