The intensity of the latest graphics squabble between nVidia and ATI, NV40/R420, seems to be entering a new chapter as 3DMark 03 scores are starting to circulate.
The much discussed and disputed benchmarking suite is re-entering the limelight as reports of stunning NV40 scores are beginning to appear.
It is strange how nVidia may hope to use 3DMark03, after the company claimed the software was not a reliable way of judging real-world graphics performance but the latest reports, suggesting scores of 12,535, may change all that. That particular score is rather impressive, considering that the best current score, using severe cooling and overclocking methods, just about passes the 10k barrier.
Both companies were busy at CeBit this year claiming that their new babies would pass 10k on 3DMark 03 but ATI seemed to be a bit more reserved, claiming that a 10k score would be a peak value rather than an average one.
The sources that claim nVidia's NV40 has reached the magnificent 12,535 score say that this was achieved using pre-production engineering samples of the chip but raise doubts as to the exact combination of drivers used in order to attain such dizzy heights.
Unfortunately nVidia's past record with that particular benchmark suite is not reliable enough for everyone to accept such figures without a pinch of salt and many experts suggest that 3DMark 03 is a sucker for nVidia's method of counting pipelines.
Even if most NV40s that reach retail cannot attain such a score it is becoming increasingly obvious that that particular chip may beat ATIs R420 but in order for that to become widely accepted we will have to see the whole industry accept 3DMark 03 as a reliable indicator of 3D graphics performance.
