1920x1200 – High/Medium/Low
As we increase the resolution to 1920x1200 we find even fewer graphics cards that can handle Splinter Cell: Conviction using maxed out settings with 4xAA/16xAF enabled. While a single GeForce GTX 480 graphics card still remained faster than two, the Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire configuration merely managed to outperform the single board. It is safe to conclude then that SLI and Crossfire are still not supported, in spite of the latest patch note claiming otherwise.
At this resolution with these quality settings gamers are going to want a high-end graphics card such as the GeForce GTX 480/470 or Radeon HD 5870/5850. We cannot recommend other high-end configurations such as the Radeon HD 4870 X2, GeForce GTX 295, Radeon HD 5970 or Radeon HD 5770 Crossfire since the second GPU is going to be unutilized.
Those with mid-range graphics cards hoping to play at 1920x1200 (native resolution for many 24" LCD monitors) will be forced to use the medium visual settings with anti-aliasing disabled. Here the GeForce GTX 275 averaged 40fps, while the Radeon HD 5770 managed 41fps, putting them both on the edge of what we feel is a comfortable average frame rate for smooth performance.
The low quality preset allowed for smooth gameplay on all tested graphics cards, with the exception of the GeForce 9800 GT and 9600 GT, which are really showing their age with around 30fps on average. The next slowest graphics card was the Radeon HD 5670, though with an average of 48fps it will provide a far more enjoyable gaming experience.