DOOM 3 Performance

DOOM 3 is a game that needs no introduction, and continues in a long line of id Software Quake and DOOM first-person shooters. This latest installment is one serious 3D game test, including some of the highest-end graphics yet seen on the PC. It is also a different type of game benchmark, especially compared to Quake 3, and it has an almost total reliance on the 3D video card for high-end framerate results. This limits its use in certain system or CPU testing, but makes DOOM 3 a very good 3D video card benchmark.

DOOM 3 is more of an old school graphics benchmark these days, and this is obvious in some of the results. The ASUS EN8600GT 256MB does perform adequately in this test, posting scores almost on par with the GeForce 7600 GT 256MB and faster than the Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB. We didn't expect world-beating performance, especially for a mainstream card that is tuned for DirectX 10, but it will be interesting to see how the ASUS EN8600GT 256MB holds up when we go widescreen and jack the anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing detail settings.

DOOM 3 AA and AF Widescreen Performance

Relative to the other cards, the ASUS EN8600GT 256MB does offer some improvements, and now pushes ahead of the GeForce 7600 GT. But it's all not good news, as the ASUS card drops back a bit from the Radeon HD 2600 XT.

Quake 4 Performance

Quake 4 is a 3D first-person shooter from id Software and Raven, and while the actual storyline is standard fare and the game itself is based on the DOOM 3 engine, the graphics are exceptional and it is an improvement over previous games. The lighting and shadow effects are excellent, and the overall level design and architecture are a real treat. The overall load on the graphics card can be extreme, which is both a blessing and a curse, depending on the actual hardware you are testing. For this review, we've updated to the latest patch, and use a custom netdemo for testing.

The initial Quake 4 results are quite good, and the ASUS EN8600GT 256MB finishes ahead of the other cards in its class, falling behind only the GeForce 8600 GTS and GeForce 7900 GS.

Quake 4 AA and AF Widescreen Performance

The higher-rez/detail performance results are a bit strange, and while the ASUS EN8600GT 256MB more than holds it own at 1680x1050, the card falls back considerably at 1920x1200.