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 AnandTech's Custom Demo
Our custom ~1200 frame demo is more stressful than the RanchSmall test. It doesn't feature any fire and AI is disabled. The sequence is partly running through some trees and partly running through a field. We designed the test to try and mirror some of the aspects of gameplay the built in demos didn't cover well. Because we wanted to run without AI, we didn't engage in any firefights, but this does a good job of showing another side of Far Cry 2 performance.
Aside from playing through much of a game before we test, we also like to test a few different internal benchmarks to get a feel for the numbers. Obviously we can't run everything before we commit to testing, but we try and do what we can. When using built in benchmarking tools, we also tend to favor our own tests just to avoid the possibility that a graphics chip maker would optimize for our benchmark. We don't see that as a large problem in the industry today (though it has happened before), but it's better to be safe when you can to try and maintain objectivity. And thus this will be the test we favor going forward with Far Cry 2.
With the exception of our 2560x1600 test, the Radeon HD 4870 1GB leads all single GPU configurations including the GeForce GTX 280. At 2560x1600 the 280 pulls ahead by a little more than 5%, but the fact that the 4870 is much cheaper and puts up that hard of a fight in this test is quite impressive. On the other hand, except at the lowest resolution the Radeon HD 4870 512MB card trails the GeForce GTX 260. As we saw with the built in tests, the extra 512MB of RAM makes a huge difference in Far Cry 2 with RV770.
The Radeon HD 4850 leads the slightly more expensive GeForce 9800 GTX, while the 9800 GT carries the slight advantage over the Radeon 4830. The Radeon 4670 crushes it's direct competitor (the 9600 GSO) and matches the performance of the more expensive 9600 GT at playable resoluitons. As with our other tests, while the now sub $80 4670 is capable of low res play with Ultra High quality DX10, spending less money means that you will need to drop the settings down to Very High or High quality (though you really shouldn't need to go lower than that).
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 4850.
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!!