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
MSI RX800XT-VTD256E	178.893
ATi Radeon X800 XL	146.816
Gigabyte GV-RX80L256V	146.784
PowerColor X700 Pro	128.952
PowerColor Bravo X700	98.304
MSI NX6800GT-T2D256E	149.745
Albatron Trinity PC6600	99.768
Albatron Trinity PC6600U	126.467
Asus Extreme N6600TOP/TD/128M/A	122.753
MSI NX6600GT-TD128 AGP	140.952
Gigabyte GV-3D1 (Single GPU Mode 500/1120)	150.862
Gigabyte GV-3D1 (SLI Mode 500/1120)	0
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E (Single)	147.94
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E (SLI Mode)	144.198
MSI NX6800-TD128E	133.33
MSI NX6800-TD128E (454/827)	147.817
MSI NX6800-TD128E (6800 SLI)	157.194
MSI NX6800-TD128E (6800 SLI 436/776)	168.507
1600x1200	FPS	Ranking
MSI RX800XT-VTD256E	131.653
ATi Radeon X800 XL	109.067
Gigabyte GV-RX80L256V	109.583
PowerColor X700 Pro	72.919
PowerColor Bravo X700	53.561
MSI NX6800GT-T2D256E	112.257
Albatron Trinity PC6600	52.586
Albatron Trinity PC6600U	72.223
Asus Extreme N6600TOP/TD/128M/A	77.069
MSI NX6600GT-TD128 AGP	86.314
Gigabyte GV-3D1 (Single GPU Mode 500/1120)	95.189
Gigabyte GV-3D1 (SLI Mode 500/1120)	123.842
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E (Single)	92.239
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E (SLI Mode)	121.336
MSI NX6800-TD128E	89.771
MSI NX6800-TD128E (454/827)	110.697
MSI NX6800-TD128E (6800 SLI)	126.419
MSI NX6800-TD128E (6800 SLI 436/776)	137.921

At high resolutions, SLI and overclocking makes the MSI NX6800-TD128E a winner again, though X2 is fond of ATI-based cards. As expected, overclocking a single card resulted in 6800GT-equivalent performance, while the SLI setups went head-to-head with the best of ATI. SLI overclocking showed a small but noticeable boost.