Introduction — continued
These scores seem to confirm the numbers Valve released yesterday. With the DirectX 9 codepath, the NV3x chips aren't running the game at acceptable frame rates. The mid-range Radeon 9600 Pro beats out the $500 GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. The NV3x codepath seems to help the FX 5900 Ultra appreciably, but not the FX 5600.
The Half-Life 2 benchmark outputs lots of useful data, and I haven't had time to process it all. However, the graphs below will give you a sense of how the cards performed over time. I've broken things out into mid-range and high-end cards in order to keep things from getting too cluttered. I've also omitted the Radeon DX8.1 data for the same reason (and because dropping to DX8.1 doesn't offer many performance benefits on R3x0 chips).
Conclusions
I won't say too much, but this is certainly an interesting preview of Half-Life 2 performance. I believe there were enough question marks and factors out of our control that I'd prefer to wait until we can do our own testing to draw many conclusions here. I can't wait to see how NVIDIA's new Detonator drivers affect these scores, as well as how the rest of the game development world reacts to recent events.
-
133 comments —
Last by Skyline57GTR at 5:59 PM on 08/20/04 - Email the author(s): Scott Wasson
- Sign up to receive notices when we publish new articles
- Or go back to TR's front page
-
Nvidia brings Optimus switchable graphics to notebooks
Switchable graphics is the best way to squeeze decent gaming performance and great battery life from the same notebook, but it's never been able to deliver graphics power on demand seamlessly. Nvidia's Optimus switchable tech promises to do better, and we've tested a system to find out whether it... Read more...
3 comments —
Last by pogsnet at 9:00 AM on 02/09/10 -
GF100 graphics architecture unveiled
Nvidia has decided to tell all about its upcoming GF100 graphics chip. Join us as we consider what makes this GPU's architecture distinctive and handicap its performance prospects. Read more...
145 comments —
Last by wibeasley at 1:47 PM on 02/01/10 -
AMD's Radeon HD 5670 graphics card
Today, AMD has taken DirectX 11 graphics to $99, thanks to a bite-sized version of the silicon from its high-end Radeon HD 5000-series cards. But does the new Radeon HD 5670 offer the same mix of performance and power-efficiency as its big brothers? Read more...
161 comments —
Last by MadManOriginal at 6:45 AM on 01/20/10 -
GPU acceleration comes to Flash video
At long last, playback of Flash videos on YouTube, Hulu, and elsewhere can be GPU-accelerated. Join us as we take three different low-power systems for a spin to see how they handle the Flash 10.1 beta. Read more...
64 comments —
Last by sigher at 1:56 AM on 01/01/10 -
Inside Fermi's graphics architecture
Nvidia has already revealed much about the compute-focused features of its upcoming Fermi GPU architecture. Now, insider info and careful speculation take us deep into the graphics capabilities of Nvidia's next GPU. Read more...
98 comments —
Last by moritzgedig at 4:20 AM on 01/07/10 -
AMD's Radeon HD 5970 graphics card
CrossFire on a stick goes to the next level in the Radeon HD 5970, the new fastest graphics card on the planet. This one is extreme in more ways than one, though. Read on to see what we mean. Read more...
177 comments —
Last by Damage at 3:57 PM on 11/24/09 -
Hands on with Lucid's Hydra GPU load balancer
We recently got the chance to test Lucid's Hydra GPU load balancer first hand. We came away with some of the first public performance numbers, along with our impressions of this magical toy that allows Radeons and GeForces to work together. Read more...
86 comments —
Last by Arag0n at 10:13 PM on 01/08/10 -
AMD's Radeon HD 5770 and 5750 graphics cards
In just a few short weeks, AMD's DirectX 11-class Radeon technology has migrated from the high-end 5800 series to the mid-range 5700 series. Now you can pick up a DX11 graphics card for $159 or less. Is this the right upgrade for you? We're on it. Read more...
111 comments —
Last by JoJoBoy at 12:24 AM on 10/30/09
