Associate report that paired with the four core processor core 2 Quad q6600 (2.4 GHz) with driver beta-version the video card radeon HD 3850 (RV670 pro) collect approximately 10 500 points in 3DMark'06. Let us recall that GeForce 8800 GT 512 mb in this test demonstrates result 11 426 points with faster processor core 2 Extreme QX6800 (2.93 GHz).
Advantage seem on the NVIDIA side . However, we will not forget, that GeForce 8800 GT 512 mb is high-end video card in this family, whereas Radeon HD 3850 have a big brother called radeon HD 3870, which is equipped with GDDR-4 memory , and it works at the much higher frequencies (825/2400 MHz). From other side, the price Of radeon HD 3850 will be in the range $199-249, here we will have also the video card geForce 8800 GT 512 mb. I.e., from the price positioning side the geForce 8800 GT looks more attractive .
We will not forget that the final drivers version can improve situation with the radeon HD 3850 speed .