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Oh hell. Can I return my 9800 Pro? SM 3.0 Farcry results!

M

Mrbob

Member
Anyone want to buy a 9800 Pro?? :p Just kidding. I'm very happy with it.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=31104

farcry_sm30.png


SM 3.0 INCREASE in performance. I guess there goes the argument that SM 3.0 would hamper performance.

Daaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmnnn!

Farcry sux though so hopefully ATI offers a SM3.0 enabled r420 refresh this fall/early next year!
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Hahahaha.

Yeah, I know, I know. It is tough to trust any beta driver results when it comes to Nvidia hardware.
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Interesting...


http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=2102

We are here today to test out the new patch on six different levels in FarCry and see if the new methods, which CryTek were able to include in their new path, offer any kind of advantage. As the game play experience is meant to be the same no matter what card we're using, we'll clear the air before we start, and say that there will be no new eye candy available through the SM3.0 path. The game should be rendered exactly the same way it was under SM2.0, and we will take a look at IQ as we go through our tests just to make sure that we keep on track. This is a very important point to take away as it means that regardless of whether you buy an ATI X800 or an NVIDIA 6800, the game will still look and play the same.
Click to expand...

Image quality of both SM2.0 paths are on par with eachother, and the SM3.0 path on NVIDIA hardware shows negligable differences. The very slight variations are most likely just small fluctuations between the mathematical output of a single pass and a multipass lighting shader. The difference is honestly so tiny that you can't call either rendering lower quality from a visual standpoint. We will still try to learn what exactly causes the differences we noticed from CryTek.

The main point that the performance numbers make is not that SM3.0 has a speed advantage over SM2.0 (as even the opposite may be true), but that single pass per-pixel lighting models can significantly reduce the impact of adding an ever increasing number of lights to a scene.

It remains to be seen whether or not SM3.0 offer a significant reduction in complexity for developers attempting to implement this advanced functionality in their engines, as that will be where the battle surrounding SM3.0 will be won or lost.
Click to expand...
 
B

Bregor

Member
Actually there was a bug in FarCry that hurt the image quality and speed of the 6800. (There was a work-around to fix it, but most people aren't aware of it.) It may be that part of the speed gains are due to fixing that bug, rather than being entirely due to SM 3.0.
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Yeah, those numbers are pretty good. However on my 9800PRO I average nearly 50FPS playing on 1024 X 768 with 6XAA/16AF enabled. Will the 1.2 patch boost speeds on all cards???

I like to bag on Farcry, because I really didn't like the demo at first. But I've played through the demo multiple times, basically to tweak performance on my 9800PRO, and I find myself starting to enjoy the game. Somewhat.
 
C

CrimsonSkies

Member
I'm definitely getting a 6800 Ultra over ATI's offering. Just looks better to me. Once they release a PCI-Express card I'm on it.
 
B

BigGreenMat

Member
These numbers sure do make the 6800 Ultra look far superior. My one question is how in the hell did the card suddenly make 30fps jumps from when it was initially released? I remember all the reviews from before putting the X800 Pro right next to the 6800 ultra or even past it. While the X800 XT was even further past. Were these just big time driver issues? I am just really confounded as to how Nvidia is gaining 50% speed increases in some cases or more.
 
M

Mrbob

Member
Firing Squad has done some benches too.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/far_cry_sm30/

Their custom benchmark doesn't show exactly the same type of performance increase as the Nvidia supplied benches. But there is a performance increase.

So it looks like PS 3.0 is shown to not be a detriment. However Farcry alone isn't enough to warrant having to have a PS 3.0 card. Especially since the two big boys don't support PS 3.0 (Doom III, Half Life 2). Well, Half Life 2 is supposed to support PS 3.0 in an upcoming patch sometime after release. However, we all know that patch won't be out until ATI has a PS 3.0 enabled card out on the market.

Having said that, unless ATI offers a PS3.0 in their upcoming refresh of the R420 cards, I'm hopping back ship to Nvidia. The 6800GT looks tempting, but I'm not shelling out $400 for a video card. I figure by early next year it will be under 300 and I can sell off my 9800PRO then and go with the GT.

hese numbers sure do make the 6800 Ultra look far superior. My one question is how in the hell did the card suddenly make 30fps jumps from when it was initially released? I remember all the reviews from before putting the X800 Pro right next to the 6800 ultra or even past it. While the X800 XT was even further past. Were these just big time driver issues? I am just really confounded as to how Nvidia is gaining 50% speed increases in some cases or more.
Click to expand...

Well, we should probably wait for some more real world benches first. Like the Firing Squad bench. It shows an improvement but it isn't as huge as the custom demos nvidia supplied. These benches that are showing such a huge improvement are:

1) Custom benches supplied be Nvidia

2) You need DX9.0C with Release Candidate 2 of Windows XP

3) Used with beta drivers

The big one for me is number one. I'm not sure how much I trust custom benches supplied by nvidia.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
BigGreenMat said:
These numbers sure do make the 6800 Ultra look far superior. My one question is how in the hell did the card suddenly make 30fps jumps from when it was initially released? I remember all the reviews from before putting the X800 Pro right next to the 6800 ultra or even past it. While the X800 XT was even further past. Were these just big time driver issues? I am just really confounded as to how Nvidia is gaining 50% speed increases in some cases or more.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be because Crytek are only now getting around to releasing the SM3.0 patch for Far Cry?

Also, I had expected such results for Far Cry...Crytek were obviously quite dedicated to SM3.0/Nvidia optimisations. I wonder if other devs are so commited right now..
 
B

Bregor

Member
I think that the bottom line is that this generation is nearly even, with the 6800 and X800 both being excellent cards. Purchasing either of them would be a good decision.
 
B

Bregor

Member
All of the 6800 cards (but especially the 6800 ultra and 6800 ultra extreme) are in short supply still. ATI also is having trouble getting large numbers of the X800 XT out. The only next gen card that is widely available currently is the X800 Pro.
 
E

epmode

Member
yes. i have this brand new pc, but i'm without a videocard (currently using a geforce2mx.)

thought i'd pick up an x800xt, considering that it was showing up all over the online stores, but after a whole month, it still isn't out for the general public. what the hell is the point of releasing these leet cards if no one's able to buy them?
 
T

tenchir

Member
Hahahaha, it's pretty funny that the reason why the 6800 got such a big boost is because it's not doing any AA at all.

It was a small stupid mistake, how would they to know that applying AA by control panel wouldn't enabled AA? That they have to applied it in game. Anyway, here's a bench mark between 2.0 and 3.0.

http://www.nordichardware.se/Artiklar/?page=2&skrivelse=252

Bana:-------SM 2.0:----SM 3.0:----Prestandaskillnad
Volcano:----82.9--------86.9---------+4.8 %
Training:----58----------58-------------0 %
Regulator:--55.3--------58.1----------+5.1 %
Research:--86.3--------96.7----------+12.1 %
Fort:--------56.5---------57.1----------+1.1 %
Genomsnitt:-67.8-------71.4----------+4.6 %
 
O

Outdoor Miner

Member
How can you not notice if AA is being applied? It's night and day to me and any other naked eye. Unless the reviewer just walks away while the demo is playing which i can understand, he should have been able to recognize it.
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Yeah, AA is easy to spot at 1024x768. If they were all at 1600x1200 they might have an excuse, but that's not the case.
 
H

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
Once again the AA/AF difference shows itself. The Geforce 6800 comes on top with it off, but takes a huge blow with it on.
 
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