Gaming Benchmarks (Cont.)

Let's continue with the next games we have selected, being X³: Reunion and Quake 4. Both games which are very popular amongst gamers and that will give a good idea on the performance delivered by the Gainward BLISS 7950 GT Golden Sample graphics accelerator. Again we have one game using the DirectX and the other using the OpenGL technology. This has some impact on the performance and gaming experience with these games. The goal of each technology is to provide stunning gaming experience with awesome looking visual graphics and physics. So, load em up, and start your 3D engines....

EgoSoft X³: Reunion

Following up on our gaming overview, we use one of the newer games which goes by the name, X³: Reunion. This is a sequel to the award winning X²: The Threat game. Quite some extensive development has gone into the X³ engine, making use of DirectX 9.0 technology, to create dramatic visual effects and stunningly realistic starships. Coupled with the massively enhanced artificial life system, X³: Reunion will present players with an ever changing, evolving universe; where a players action really can shape the future of the universe.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 7950 GT	BLISS 7950 GT GS
No AA/No AF	70.928 fps	75.343 fps
2x AA/4x AF	65.529 fps	68.594 fps
4x AA/8x AF	59.622 fps	61.423 fps

Looking first at the game X³: Reunion, the results are in favor of the Gainward Golden Sample accelerator. The BLISS 7950 GT Golden Sample shows clearly to be in the winning position and marks higher frame rate scores consistently. When we go enabling the AntiAliasing functionality, the reference GeForce 7950 GT can keep up a bit better and falls less behind. The GeForce 7950 GT accelerator shows its real potential by stunning game play results and performance figures. If we look at the technology behind the game, namely a 3D engine based upon the DirectX 9.0 specifications it is clear that the G71 chip is fully up to speed and ready to play. And although both cards are powered by the same graphics processor, the advantage is obvious the higher clock speeds of the Gainward edition. Yeah indeed, Gainward did release an excellent performer once again!

Raven Software Quake 4

As we want to have a good mix of games, we just had to give Quake 4 a spot in the gaming analysis. Quake 4 is based upon id Software's revolutionary Doom 3 technology. Furthermore, Quake 4 wasn't actually developed by id Software itself but instead it outsourced the game development to the capable minds at Raven Software, who have turned in a fantastic looking game with a great single-player campaign. The multiplayer, however, is underwhelming. Quake was among the first PC shooters to let you take your multiplayer matches onto the Internet, and over the years, the series has become synonymous with great technology and exciting multiplayer.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6300 2.80GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 7950 GT	BLISS 7950 GT GS
No AA	173.4 fps	177.8 fps
2x AA	154.3 fps	158.2 fps
4x AA	115.7 fps	120.6 fps

When looking at the Quake 4 gaming results we can see that these follow the same logic as we have encountered with Doom 3. Since both games are using the same 3D engine developed by id Software it doesn't come as a surprise. Both games use the OpenGL technology to bring the action alive. The frame rates are showing the same trend between both cards, but clearly showing the Gainward version as being superior. Once we up the stakes by enabling the AntiAliasing feature, the BLISS 7950 GT Golden Sample does retain that advantage. Again the stunning game play keeps amazing us, and with that said Quake 4 looks impressive with these GeForce 7950 GT accelerators. We noticed a slightly smoother gaming experience when our system is powered with the Golden Sample edition...