Black and White 2 v.1.2 Performance Update

Introduction

The highest performance graphics card contenders from ATI and NVIDIA are in their places on the top of the graphics hardware "hill" right now, and for the first time (in a while at least) there is no clear performance leader. With both the GeForce 7900 GTX and Radeon X1900 XTX available for around $500, and with both having similar performance capabilities, those gamers looking for the absolute best have to make a difficult choice. NVIDIA seems to hold an edge with their efficient new card design and focus on efficiency, but both of these cards are very well matched. Of course, when shopping for a card, we can't all base our choice on whether or not it's the fastest in the world, unfortunately, but we can thankfully find other cards available which will more than suit our needs given our particular situation.

We've mentioned this in the past, but it is important to consider the types of games you play, or are planning on playing, as well as your system capabilities when choosing a new graphics solution. A reason for this would be to avoid overspending on graphics hardware that can't be used to its fullest potential on a certain system. For instance, if you have a maximum screen resolution of 1280x1024 - like all 17" and 19" LCDs - there's very little need for 7900 SLI or X1900 CrossFire. Also, while games like Half-Life 2 and Counter Strike: Source have been around for a while, they are both still very popular; if you're primarily playing slightly older games, a card much less powerful than the 7900 or X1900 will run them at their highest settings without difficulty.

Luckily, there are a wide range of graphics cards out there to suit the average gamer's needs, and with a little research and consideration you're sure to find the right one. Of course, the games are what compel us to buy shiny new graphics hardware in the first place, and there are many great ones out now for us to choose from.

Today we're looking at the game Black and White 2, and specifically how it performs on the latest high-end cards from ATI and NVIDIA. This is one of the more graphically demanding games we test (in the same league as games like F.E.A.R.), so we are very interested to see how cards like the ones mentioned above handle this game at the highest settings. We are giving this game it's own article this time instead of lumping it in with other titles because of some performance improvements we've seen with the latest patch from Lionhead. Before we talk about performance, lets take a look at the game itself.