There was no single winner in HotHardware’s September 2004 graphics-card comparison: the GeForce 6800 Ultra led in Doom 3, while ATI’s Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition (X800 XT PE) led in the Counter-Strike: Source beta Graphics Stress Test. The result depended on the game engine and benchmark path, so it is best read as a snapshot of two cards under specific period test conditions—not as a universal ranking.
Which card was faster in each game?
| Game and test | Result reported by HotHardware | What the result represents |
|---|---|---|
| Doom 3 custom timedemos across multiple maps, including a multiplayer match demo | GeForce 6800 Ultra led; HotHardware described NVIDIA’s advantage as clear. | Performance in the tested Doom 3 demos and settings. |
| Counter-Strike: Source beta built-in Graphics Stress Test | Radeon X800 XT PE led, with the margin varying by resolution and image-quality settings. | A graphics stress sequence, not a full released Half-Life 2 benchmark. |
In some Doom 3 settings, HotHardware placed the X800 XT PE near what it called “unplayable” performance ranges while the GeForce remained in its playable range. That is the review’s description of results on its test setup, not a general rule for other systems, drivers, or games.
How large was the Radeon’s Source stress-test lead?
HotHardware reported three specific Radeon advantages in the beta Graphics Stress Test:
- Medium resolution: 4–5% ahead of the GeForce 6800 Ultra.
- Medium resolution with 4x anti-aliasing (AA) and 8x anisotropic filtering (AF): 40% ahead.
- 1600×1200 with 4x AA and 8x AF: 47% ahead.
These are results for the named stress-test path and settings. They should not be generalized to all Counter-Strike: Source gameplay or treated as measurements of the full Half-Life 2 release.
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Why did the leaders change?
The cards were measured through different game engines and benchmark paths. HotHardware ran custom timedemos in Doom 3, then used Counter-Strike: Source beta’s built-in Graphics Stress Test. Those exercises did not impose identical workloads, and the review’s results show that performance could shift with the game and settings. They do not establish one card as faster in every game.
The Source stress test was intended to measure graphics performance more representatively than a recorded Counter-Strike gameplay demo, according to HotHardware, but it was still not a substitute for benchmarking the complete Half-Life 2 game. A separate 2004 GameSpot test illustrates why the distinction matters: its recorded Dust gameplay timedemo was CPU-limited on its test system, rather than video-card-limited. GameSpot’s finding belongs to its own setup and should not be mixed with HotHardware’s figures.
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What hardware and drivers were behind the comparison?
HotHardware published the comparison on September 2, 2004; Dave Altavilla authored the review. Both cards were tested on the same system, but with different vendor drivers:
- Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition at 3.4 GHz
- Abit IC7-MAX 3 motherboard with Intel i875P chipset
- 2 GB Kingston HyperX PC3500 memory
- Windows XP Professional SP1 and DirectX 9.0c
- Radeon X800 XT PE: ATI Catalyst 4.9 Beta drivers, with a Doom 3 hotfix
- GeForce 6800 Ultra: NVIDIA ForceWare 61.77 WHQL drivers
The beta ATI driver and Doom 3 hotfix are important context: this was a comparison using a particular early driver stack, not a timeless measure of either card’s capabilities.
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Did one card look better?
In selected Doom 3 captures at 1024×768 with 4x AA and 8x AF, HotHardware reported little to no perceptible image-quality difference between the cards. That is a subjective judgment based on a small sample of screenshots; it does not establish an overall visual-quality winner, and it is separate from the frame-rate results.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to interpret the comparison today
This is an archival comparison of two 2004 flagship cards on a Pentium 4 system running Windows XP SP1 and period drivers. Its useful conclusion is historical: the GeForce 6800 Ultra led HotHardware’s Doom 3 tests, while the X800 XT PE led the specific Counter-Strike: Source beta stress test. The figures do not establish current compatibility, modern gaming suitability, present-day driver behavior, or a ranking against newer hardware.
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