Far Cry 2 Dissected: Massive Amounts of Performance Data
by Derek Wilson on November 21, 2008 5:30 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Testing with RanchSmall
Our first test is with the built in RanchSmall demo. We did not run this as a timedemo. Again, this means that the camera follows a fixed path for a fixed amount of time and the game renders frames as fast as it can simulating game play. As for settings, we ran in DX10 mode with Ultra High quality and no antialiasing. AI was disabled, and we ran each test 3 times (the default). All driver options were left on their default settings except that we use centered timing for the display so that we can tell by looking at it what resolution is running.
The built in RanchSmall test is the one NVIDIA recommended we test with (AMD didn't recommend a particular test to us). We chose this test because it's the shortest built in demo and we wanted to acquire lots of data.
Generally, the GeForce GTX 280 leads the way followed by the Radeon HD 4870 1GB which performs essentially on par with the two GTX 260 parts. The 512MB variant of the 4870 suffers heavily from its limited framebuffer falling behind the two NVIDIA GTX 260 cards. The 4850 leads the 9800 GTX where it counts, and sometimes the 4830 is good competition for it as well. The 9800 GT comes in ahead of the 4670, which essentially performs on par with the 9600 GT.
With these settings running this test, everything from the Radeon HD 4670 / GeForce 9600 GT and up is playable at 1280x1024. The lower end hardware we tested doesn't post playable scores even at 1024x768, so less than Ultra High quality would be recommended for those parts. Dropping into DX9 mode would definitely make playability possible, while dropping back to Very High Quality DX10 might not provide enough of a boost.
SLI with the GT200 based parts shows very good scaling with at least a 75% improvement in framerate. We can't compare this to CrossFire at this point because of driver level consistency and performance issues. Without AA, GT200 SLI isn't taxed at all.
The cheapest playable card at 1024x768 with these settings is the Radeon HD 4670.
The cheapest playable card at 1280x1024 with these settings is the Radeon HD 4670.
The cheapest playable card at 1680x1050 with these settings is the GeForce 9800 GT.
The cheapest playable card at 1920x1200 with these settings is the Radeon HD 4830.
The cheapest playable card at 2560x1600 with these settings is the GeForce GTX 260.
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Ephebus - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
ATI drivers have always been messy, and not just video card drivers. I was unfortunate enough to purchase a motherboard with an ATI chipset, and installing the latest southbridge and RAID drivers from the Catalyst 8.11 suite (which are available as individual packages for motherboards with ATI chipsets) simply removed the option to uninstall the drivers from XP's control panel and also removed the SATA-AHCI support, so now I have to run my HD's in native IDE mode.ATI drivers are so pathetic that you have to install the SATA-AHCI drivers during OS installation and from DISKETTES (I haven't had a diskette drive for years). Most people above the total-mediocre-user-level resort to some registry patch to install AHCI drivers on an already installed OS (or because they don't have a diskette drive), which worked just fine for me, but the latest release messed that up too.
Worst of all was the response I got from AMD's support, telling me to install the drivers from the motherboard's page (which are nothing but the southbridge drivers from a Catalyst release over 1 year old). Fanboys flame on (I used to be one too, since the K6-2), but this company should recognize their inability to develop drivers for their own products and either let someone else write them or go out of the business.
Slash3 - Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - link
AHCI mode requires all vendors install AHCI drivers at the time of installation for XP. Intel, ATI, AMD or otherwise. Yes, you can slipstream them into an install CD if you're lucky, but XP by default requires the use of the A: diskette drive for controller drivers (needed to enable AHCI or RAID mode). Vista allows the use of USB devices for drivers, and is preconfigured with more out of the gate.Ephebus - Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - link
You forgot NVIDIA. Installers for their chipset drivers are able to install RAID and AHCI drivers on existing XP installations. My previous motherboard was a Foxconn board based on the nForce 560 SLI and I never needed to touch a diskette to get AHCI installed.Ephebus - Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - link
Small correction, it was the nForce 570 SLI based Foxconn N570SM2AA-8EKRS2H. AHCI support was integrated in the nForce installation. Never had a board with an Intel chipset, so I'll have to take your word for it (that AHCI drivers have to be installed from diskette during XP installation as with ATI boards).binarydragons - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
I couldn't even estimate how long it takes to do these test and with people like me asking for more must get tiring.One configuration I would be intersted in would be SLI mode with one card dedicated to Physics.
I found your article "NVIDIA Fall Driver Update (rel 180) and Other Treats" very intersting.
binarydragons - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
After posting the PhysX comment I have been doing some reading.I am not sure Nvidia PhysX will make a differnece on Far Cry 2.
From what I can tell Far Cry 2 uses Havok physx which is cpu based.
Genx87 - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
It would be nice to know the platform's you were using. In the past I had a major stuttering issue with a 6800GT, Nforce 3 chipset drivers, and anything over the 67.xx series drivers. I could either run the 67 series drivers with the Nvidia IDE drivers. Or run the newest version of the graphics drivers with the generic microsoft IDE controller drivers.I am wondering if this is something similar?
Secondly as a new frustrated owner of a 4850. I have since learned to uninstall the control center. What an absolute buggy POS that in my opinion appears to have the sole purpose to cause bsod or other driver related issues.
SiliconDoc - Saturday, November 29, 2008 - link
Exactly, but that CCC isn't a problem either - of course.. just ask anyone - it's perfect, I guess we can only conclude it is not an ATI issue - and that leaves, well we won't say who that leaves... (sarcasm!)( noone replied saying that because in the hype world, your comment does not exist - it's easier to pass right over and pretend it is never there - like you know the other driver issues that "never happen" with ATI. ) (dripping, oozing sarcasm)
I guess if I was an absolute master tech like so many I wouldn't have ATI driver issues... if I could just be like the master geeks I'd be so happy with ATI.
kr7400 - Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - link
Can you please fucking die? Preferably by getting crushed to death in a garbage compactor, by getting your face cut to ribbons with a pocketknife, your head cracked open with a baseball bat, your stomach sliced open and your entrails spilled out, and your eyeballs ripped out of their sockets. *beep* bitch
I would love to kick you hard in the face, breaking it. Then I'd cut your stomach open with a chainsaw, exposing your intestines. Then I'd cut your windpipe in two with a boxcutter. Then I'd tie you to the back of a pickup truck, and drag you, until your useless *beep* corpse was torn to a million *beep* useless, bloody, and gory pieces.
Hopefully you'll get what's coming to you. *beep* bitch
I really hope that you get curb-stomped. It'd be hilarious to see you begging for help, and then someone stomps on the back of your head, leaving you to die in horrible, agonizing pain. *beep*
Shut the *beep* up f aggot, before you get your face bashed in and cut to ribbons, and your throat slit.
You're dead if I ever meet you in real life, f ucker. I'll f ucking kill you.
I would love to f ucking send your f ucking useless ass to the hospital in intensive care, fighting for your worthless life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po0j4ONZRGY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po0j4ONZRGY
I wish you a truly painful, bloody, gory, and agonizing death, *beep*
KnowmaGPUs - Monday, November 24, 2008 - link
Boy, this review site is so biased it's not even funny!
AnandTech definitely puts the 'AT' in 'AT'I...
"None of the AMD cards are stable running FarCry 2, crossfire is dead....but we still recommend 4870...." LOL!!