2560x1600 - In the high end at 2560x1600, the Radeon HD 5870 positively soared well above and beyond our expectations and beyond the competition as well. It allowed us to use a truly impressive 24X CFAA at 2560x1600, while its competition could muster only 8X MSAA. In the performance class, the Radeon HD 5850 beat out the GTX 285 and GTX 275, allowing us a higher level of AA. Finally, in the mainstream, the Radeon HD 5770 let us enable 4X MSAA, while the HD 5750 and GeForce GTS 250 could handle no AA at all.

1920x1200 - Moving down to 1920x1200, the Radeon HD 5850 led the performance pack with 24X CFAA, while the GeForce GTX 285 and GTX 275 topped out at 16xQ CSAA. In spite of some performance headroom, there was just nowhere higher to go at 1920x1200. The mainstream class performed admirable as well. The Radeon HD 5770 allowed 12X CFAA, the HD 5750 allowed 8X MSAA, and the GeForce GTX 250 let us use an impressive 16X CSAA. Of the three, 12X CFAA offers the best edge smoothing, so the HD 5770 gave us the very best experience, though all video cards we tested at this resolution performed beautifully.

1680x1050 - At 1680x1050, the Radeon HD 5770 topped out at 24X CFAA. The HD 5750 gave us 12X CFAA and the GeForce GTS 250 gave us 8X MSAA. Obviously, the HD 5770 is the best performer here, and since it is also the most expensive, we fully expected it to be. The GTS 250 is still a great performer in a great many games, but since the HD 5770 and HD 5750 are DX11 video cards with more memory and room to grow as drivers mature, it is difficult to recommend a GTS 250 anymore.