Crytek FarCry 1.33	Source: Ubisoft

Real-time editing, bump mapping, static lights, network system, integrated physics system, shaders, shadows, and a dynamic music system are just some of the state of-the-art features that the CryENGINE offers. The game was set to Ultra quality and the Ubisoft's Regulator and Training demos were run.

CryTek FarCry 1.33:
UQ Regulator 1024x768:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	115.87
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	117.69
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	124.21
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	126.13
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	115.3
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	123.48
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	116.48
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	117.73
Albatron 8600GT-256	105.18
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	118.75
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	122.88
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	113.26
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	110.03
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	102.56
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	57.56
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	73.64
UQ Training 1024x768:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	131.43
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	130.58
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	137.25
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	137.81
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	127.59
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	136.92
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	130.69
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	131.94
Albatron 8600GT-256	112.64
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	129.18
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	134.36
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	124.41
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	119.26
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	108.29
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	70.27
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	88.74
UQ Regulator 1600x1200:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	108.28
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	94.26
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	122.19
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	119.11
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	112.11
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	109.53
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	70.3
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	71.38
Albatron 8600GT-256	58.37
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	117.08
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	112.5
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	97.63
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	66.06
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	56.36
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	29.96
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	48.73
UQ Training 1600x1200:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	120.36
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	106.7
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	136.02
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	131.12
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	124.26
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	121.42
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	84.36
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	85.68
Albatron 8600GT-256	64.42
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	129.1
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	120.3
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	103.38
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	71.5
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	60.04
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	32.18
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	52.53

At stock speeds the MSI NX8500GT-TD256E videocard doesn't do half bad at a resolution of 1024x768. If you're on a tight budget it will get you far enough so that you can at least play the latest videogames.

Ubisoft Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory 1.08	Source: Ubisoft

State of the art graphics and sound technology collide to produce the most breathtaking gaming experience on any console. Advanced physics modeling enables rag doll physics, particle effects, and Seamlessly dynamic environments.

Ubisoft Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory 1.08
1024x768 SM1:	Points	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	FPS
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	64.443943
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	199.735253
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	196.231297
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	195.397807
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	179.517733
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	118.20247
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	117.641941
Albatron 8600GT-256	98.14763215
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	178.469615
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	144.763566
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	118.241618
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	70.675839
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	60.732844
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	42.89765413
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	47.89651
1600x1200 SM1:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	87.584383
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	106.88449
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	159.620465
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	123.64561
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	125.935686
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	108.197255
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	58.229833
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	58.04113
Albatron 8600GT-256	44.77862179
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	118.73259
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	83.9432
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	66.05565
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	38.890503
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	32.680666
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	19.456132
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	24.41366631
1024x768 SM3:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	112.278394
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	82.984486
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	174.862607
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	139.046478
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	142.313627
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	145.612628
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	82.387783
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	83.591378
Albatron 8600GT-256	73.86451239
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	151.834762
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	112.126407
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	89.210489
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	53.555388
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	44.737425
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	24.87653132
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	29.13549874
1600x1200 SM3:	FPS	Ranking
Asus EAX1900XTX 2DHTV/512M/A	64.317715
Asus EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M/A	45.692169
MSI NX8800GTX-T2D768E	98.310611
Foxconn FV-N88SMCD2-ONOC	73.352521
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC	75.407716
GeForce 8600GTS SLI	77.931571
Foxconn 8600GTS-256	40.748037
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC	41.401805
Albatron 8600GT-256	35.47893217
MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE	85.479555
MSI NX7900GTX-T2D512E	59.896527
MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC	46.547863
Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH	27.516977
Biostar Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS	22.531252
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E	11.3256856
MSI NX8500GT-TD256E (676/1040)	13.7896513

Framerates with Shader Model 1 and at 1024x768 aren't great, but are playable. Turning up the resolution or enabling Shader Model 3.0 really stresses all videocards, the MSI NX8500GT-TD256E included.