Gaming Benchmarks (Cont.)

Since we enjoy playing with the NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GT video card, it was only logic to include some extra games. Since F.E.A.R. has the possibility to be run as a benchmark, we just downloaded the multiplayer demo version and took it for a spin. And next to that we also opted for Prey, a newer title but also based on the enhanced 3D engine used by Doom 3. So again we meet an OpenGL based 3D engine against a DirectX supporting 3D engine. Yeah, you got that right; both have their strengths and extensive processing features.

Monolith F.E.A.R.

To finish of our gaming performance we couldn't just leave F.E.A.R. out of our real gaming experience results. F.E.A.R. is a shooter that captures the sensation of being in wild and desperate firefights like no other game before it, and it's an incredible, kinetic, almost exhausting experience from start to finish. More than that, though, is the fact that it's also one of the most atmospheric and creepy games ever made, as well as one of the most intense shooters that you'll play this year. It has been developed by Monolith, using their 3D gaming engine for rendering the scenery. To this end they created an entirely new physics system built upon technology from Havok and a renderer built around the concepts of materials, shaders and meshes.

Gaming Results - 1280x980 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 7900 GT			GeForce 7950 GT
	Min	Avg	Max	Min	Avg	Max
No AA/No AF	31 fps	50 fps	88 fps	37 fps	59 fps	115 fps
2x AA/4x AF	23 fps	39 fps	70 fps	28 fps	47 fps	84 fps
4x AA/8x AF	19 fps	31 fps	61 fps	22 fps	37 fps	70 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Just like Far Cry, F.E.A.R. is one of those games that have taken everyone by surprise. As with Far Cry, there are two things which make F.E.A.R. stand out from the crowd, a gimmicky but genuinely fun twist and amazing graphics. Performance wise the GeForce 7950 GT is clearly the winner when it comes to raw gaming power. The GeForce 7900 GT can't keep up from the start and gets behind even faster when AntiAliasing and Anisotropic Filtering is enabled. With stunning performance, excellent game play and outstanding image quality the GeForce 7950 GT shows that the game is on once again. NVIDIA has done what it planned to do and that was to refresh their GT version to be even better and show off stunning game play.

Human Head Prey

And last but not the least, Prey tells the story of Tommy, a Cherokee garage mechanic stuck on a reservation going nowhere. Abducted along with his people to a menacing mothership orbiting Earth, he sets out to save himself and his girlfriend and eventually his planet. In Prey, players enter a living spaceship which enslaves alien races and devours humans for lunch. A unique twist on the first person shooter genre, Prey features such innovations as the ability to walk on walls, manipulate gravity and perform a spirit walk by leaving your physical body behind. Designed by Human Head (under the direction of 3D Realms), Prey features full online support for up to eight players, utilizing the game's play innovations for unique multiplayer experiences.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 7900 GT	GeForce 7950 GT
No AA/No AF	92.3 fps	98.1 fps
2x AA/4x AF	74.4 fps	83.3 fps
4x AA/8x AF	57.8 fps	67.7 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

With Prey falling within the same range of Doom 3, due to being build upon the some 3D engine it comes as no surprise that the new NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GT outperforms the older version. The game play is outstanding with excellent image quality. The gaming experience is somehow similar to Doom 3, but it does deliver just that little extra. With Prey we have the ability to enabled both AntiAliasing and Anisotropic Filtering which adds some extra complexity and processing for the graphics processor. And by all means the GeForce 7950 GT does all that smoothly. When looking at the game play, this is certainly in favor of the refresh GeForce 7950 GT product.