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The Games of Christmas '08: GPU Performance Part 1

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SKYMTL

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X3: Terran Conflict: GPU Performance

X3: Terran Conflict: GPU Performance


After playing through the game trying to find a suitable zone for benchmarking purposes, we finally gave up and began using the stand-alone benchmarking tool from Egosoft. Believe it or not, after over 20 hours playing X3: Terran Conflict, it seems the benchmarking tool combines the worst and best case scenarios of the game quite accurately. The minimum framerates you see here are the averages for the 4 sections of the benchmark.

1680 X 1050

GAME-PERF-80.JPG


GAME-PERF-81.JPG


2560 X 1600

GAME-PERF-82.JPG


GAME-PERF-83.JPG

It seems like Nvidia’s driver team still needs to do a bit of work with this game’s overall performance on their cards. That being said, the GTX 200-series stages a 9th inning rally to pull slightly ahead of their ATI counterparts. The HD 4870 X2 leads the pack in every test but it was interesting to see the HD 4850 loose some ground to the 9800 GTX+ when AA was turned on at 1680 X 1050.
 
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SKYMTL

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Crysis: Warhead

Crysis: Warhead


Yes this year seems to be the Year of the Sequel and this goes for the Crysis series as well with the addition of the Warhead game. In the original Crysis you took control of Nomad to wade through the Korean and alien forces but this time you play the role of Sergeant Michael "Psycho" Sykes to explore the other side of the infamous island. You get the usual mix of baddies and the same lush jungle and seaside setting which is why Crytek and EA bill this as a stand-alone expansion rather than the next chapter in the Crysis trilogy. Hence why it is priced well below the usual $50 new PC games go for here in Canada.

24049408d3d72efe.jpg

Image Courtesy of EA Games

Warhead keeps the firsty person perspective of the original Crysis while not adding much in the way of new gameplay options or scenarios we haven’t seen two dozen times before. On the other hand, it does include Crysis Wars which is an augmented multiplayer game using the Crysis backdrop that comes with its own separate disk and installer.

24049408d3d8055f.jpg

Image Courtesy of EA Games

The CryEngine 2 makes a comeback in Crysis Warhead but we are actually graced with a modified version of it which increases performance while slightly moving image quality up another notch. This has resulted in some interesting changes in the graphics options but performance one the whole hasn’t changed enough to let budget gamers play at anything above the lowest quality settings.

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Image Courtesy of EA Games

It will be interesting to see what the rest of this trilogy turns out to be but it seems that graphics-wise, the original Crysis and Warhead will be known for being ahead of their time. Trust me, the performance results on the next page show this very well.
 
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SKYMTL

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Crysis: Warhead DX9 GPU Performance

Crysis: Warhead DX9 GPU Performance


To benchmark Warhead, we recorded a 5 minute timedemo on the Ice level which included ranged and hand to hand combat.

1680 X 1050

GAME-PERF-46.JPG


GAME-PERF-47.JPG


2560 X 1600

GAME-PERF-48.JPG


GAME-PERF-49.JPG

Even though Crytek billed Warhead as incorporating optimizations that the original game didn’t have, the results from both Nvidia and ATI are decidedly lackluster. Playable framerates are hard to come by but the HD 4870 X2 does an admirable job of delivering some pretty amazing performance all-around. The GTX 280 didn’t wow us either considering its performance cost it dearly in the cost per FPS category. What did catch my eye was the HD 4870 1GB which was able to not only deliver some impressive averages but really dominated in the minimum FPS department.

As for the HD 4850 vs 9800 GTX+ battle, neither was able to provide enough performance in any test but if you want to split hairs, the HD 4850 was the “clear” winner.
 
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SKYMTL

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Crysis: Warhead DX10 GPU Performance

Crysis: Warhead DX10 GPU Performance


1680 X 1050

GAME-PERF-50.JPG


GAME-PERF-51.JPG


2560 X 1600

GAME-PERF-52.JPG


GAME-PERF-53.JPG

Unfortunately for the ATI cards, their success in the DX9 version of Warhead couldn’t be repeated in DX10 and Nvidia cards take the lead. Their only saving grace is the performance of the HD 4870 1GB in the final test and the overall ass-kickery displayed by the HD 4870 X2.

Nvidia cards don’t perform too well here either since they all struggle to attain playable framerates but they do stay ahead of their ATI competition. It would be nice to finally play Crysis at higher resolutions and detail settings but unfortunately, that just isn’t going to happen quite yet…
 
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SKYMTL

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Conclusion

Conclusion


Now comes the part of this article I have been dreading since properly concluding an expansive article such as this one is a lesson in futility. With the wide selection of GPUs available coupled with some great competition in certain price brackets, choosing a GPU has never been so difficult. At the same time, this Christmas season has some truly hot games which are begging to be played at their highest possible settings. Couple that with a truly volatile pricing structure which has made my head spin, and it is understandable that consumers would like a helping hand when it comes to choosing their next big purchase.

So, now that we have seen all the benchmarks, which card is the best bet for you this holiday season? Start writing the hate mail because the answer to this is: there is no “best” card. Why? Because even though one manufacturer may perform well in one game, the same can’t be said across the board. Take for example the performance of the HD 4870 512MB Need for Speed Undercover; it is simply amazing. However, on the flip side of the coin that same HD 4870 didn't perform up to expectations in Call of Duty: World at War. There is a lot of back and forth throughout the games tested here which is why you should really take a look at this article as a set of individual reviews instead of expecting an overall winner to be declared.

Even though I will shy away from naming a “best of the best” card for every situation, some mention has to be made of certain cards which stood out for either their value and performance or lack thereof. First and foremost comes the Übermensch HD 4870 X2 that will cost you an arm, a leg and a testicle but provides blisteringly fast performance…as long as ATI’s driver team could work their magic. Unfortunately, it couldn’t keep up in all instances since work still needs to be done on Crossfire implementation in some games but when it worked like it was supposed to, nothing could touch it. We will stay with the high end since if there was one overriding disappointment in this whole article it was the performance of the GTX 280. Overall, its performance was within spitting distance (think 10%) of a GTX 260 216 sporting minor overclocks while retailing for significantly more. It seems like Nvidia backed their high-end card into a corner while trying to compete with the HD 4870 512MB and 1GB cards since with the new GTX 260 around, the thought of $500+ spent on a GTX 280 is less than appealing.

As we come down into the sub-$400 price category, things become even less clearly defined. If one of the standouts has to be our GTX 260 with 216 SPs since it provides great performance right across the board. Indeed, I would even recommend an overclocked GTX 260 216 over a GTX 280 considering how close the two cards are performance-wise. Since you will probably ask; the HD 4870 1GB really doesn’t hold much sway for me considering more often than not it can barely keep a lead over its 512MB brother yet it costs quite a bit more. Its price premium is completely unjustified unless you are playing at ultra high resolutions with every imaginable IQ bang and whistle enabled. However, you still have to take into account that the extra memory does have its uses and for all we know, 1GB could become the standard in the not so distant future. Only time will tell.

Interestingly, with the inclusion of the HD 4870 1GB into the lineup at the $350 to $400 mark and the discontinuation of the standard GTX 260, the HD 4870 512MB sits all on its own in the $250 to $300 price bracket. Basically if you are looking for a $275 card and don’t have the cash to bump up to a GTX 260 216, you should be happy with your single option because let me tell you; it is a perfect choice.

The 9800 GTX+ has stolen much of the HD 4850’s initial performance thunder over the non “+” model but that doesn’t stop the ATI card from performing admirably in many of the games. Pricing for the HD 4850 is also quite attractive which had a positive impact on its price per FPS numbers and another reason why people will be drawn to it. To be honest, this race around the $200 price mark is far too close to call considering the two cards trade blows like a pair of prize fighters without either being able to deliver a knockout punch.

To sum this all up I really have to say that even though the card you pick will come down to the games you are most interested in playing this holiday season, there are still some safe bets while others will have you spending money for minuscule performance increases. Just remember: buy according to budget instead of expecting the impossible from a higher-end product.

Stay tuned for Part two of this article which will show the performance of cards in the sub-$220 price categories. Until then; happy gaming.


Special thanks to ATI, Nvidia, EVGA, BFG, Sapphire and Palit for all their help. Without them, this article would not have been possible.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...istmas-08-gpu-performance-comment-thread.html
 
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