X2: The Threat	Source: Egosoft

A completely rewritten 3D engine based on DirectX8 encompasses many visual effects such as volumetric Nebulae (gas clouds) that have a real impact in the game (you can hide in them) and many new engine, shield, weapon and explosion effects. Objects cast real dynamic 3D shadows! Dynamic DP3 bump mapping allows a previously unseen level of detail.

X2 The Threat
1024x768	FPS	Ranking
Asus AX800XT	136.168
MSI RX800XT-VTD256E	131.529
ATi Radeon 9800XT	0
ATi Radeon 9800 Pro	108.428
ATi Radeon 9700 Pro	99.821
Gigabyte GV-RX70P256V	109.6
Asus EAX9600XT/TVD/128	81.996
Gigabyte GV-RX60X128V	84.254
Albatron GeForce 6800GT	131.552
Asus V9999 Gamer Edition	120.54
Gigabyte GV-NX66T128D	122.024
MSI NX6600GT-VTD128	119.156
MSI FX5950 Ultra-TVD256	123.28
MSI FX5900U-VTD256 Ultra	120.8
Albatron GeForce PC6600	88.4
Albatron Trinity PCX 5900	98.697
Albatron GeForceFX 5700 Ultra	96.134
MSI PCX5750-TD128	74.055
Albatron Trinity GeForce 6600GT AGP	119.752
Albatron Trinity GeForce 6600GT AGP (578/1073)	124.951
1600x1200	FPS	Ranking
Asus AX800XT	110.057
MSI RX800XT-VTD256E	106.529
ATi Radeon 9800XT	0
ATi Radeon 9800 Pro	68.95
ATi Radeon 9700 Pro	60.596
Gigabyte GV-RX70P256V	70.326
Asus EAX9600XT/TVD/128	42.836
Gigabyte GV-RX60X128V	46.344
Albatron GeForce 6800GT	103.505
Asus V9999 Gamer Edition	91.342
Gigabyte GV-NX66T128D	86.187
MSI NX6600GT-VTD128	82.108
MSI FX5950 Ultra-TVD256	83.137
MSI FX5900U-VTD256 Ultra	80.519
Albatron GeForce PC6600	50.885
Albatron Trinity PCX 5900	60.257
Albatron GeForceFX 5700 Ultra	51.178
MSI PCX5750-TD128	36.145
Albatron Trinity GeForce 6600GT AGP	83.78
Albatron Trinity GeForce 6600GT AGP (578/1073)	91.826

The framerates are pretty good when compared to the high end cards, wouldn't you say? Mainstream videocards sure do offer a lot more value these days. Overclocking provides a slight framerate increase, and as usual, there was no noticeable difference between PCI Express and AGP versions of the 6600GT.