Gaming Benchmarks

As we saw the synthetic benchmark results, the next logical step is to dive into the real gaming performance of the Gainward BLISS 8400 GS edition video card. As reference we will use a default Radeon HD 2400 PRO setup to check the performance differences. Each setup is going to run each game at different resolution settings using a variety of anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering 3D effects. So in effect we are stuffing both cards in the same system, using the same settings and spending some time playing games and performing tests on the following game titles, let's check what we got...

UbiSoft Far Cry

Who doesn't know the game Far Cry? You should at least have heard about it... It's the game that came out right before Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and so on and set some new standards in gaming experience. Without a doubt, Far Cry was the most advanced graphics seen in any PC game. Everything in this game looks amazing, and the level of verisimilitude is unprecedented. Far Cry isn't just a stunning technical accomplishment. It's quite possibly the best single-player first-person shooter experience for the PC since Half-Life. Since Half-Life 2 and Doom 3 came out Far Cry had to share the welt on de gaming market.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6700 2.66GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon HD 2400 PRO	BLISS 8400 GS
No AA/No AF	30.28 fps	32.86 fps
2x AA/4x AF	14.26 fps	21.37 fps
SM3.0/HDR	19.97 fps	15.59 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Well yeah we still like the hang of it with Far Cry, it just keeps amazing us this game with very nice visual graphics and stunning game play. Besides that it is an excellent game to checkout the performance of a graphics card. Similarly to the previous game, we can see that the GeForce 8400 GS is doing well and up to speed related to the Radeon HD 2400 PRO by delivering better gaming performance. Once again the frame rates do drop a bit when the anti-aliasing is enabled, due to the greater textures to be processed and the memory bandwidth requirements. In that aspect the GeForce 8400 GS has to do it with only a 64-bit memory interface. The main difference we do need top point out is that the BLISS 8400 GS is doing better than its counterpart, at least until we enable the HDR feature.

Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6700 2.66GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon HD 2400 PRO	BLISS 8400 GS
No AA/No AF	22.08 fps	23.37 fps
2x AA/4x AF	10.40 fps	14.23 fps
SM3.0/HDR	14.02 fps	10.76 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Again we did some testing for the higher resolution, and we can see a similar behavior for both video cards. The only difference is that the results are much closer with the BLISS 8400 GS still remaining in front. What we do notice more obviously with the higher resolution is the drop in performance when anti-aliasing is enabled, where the Radeon HD 2400 PRO is falling much faster behind. So if you want to play some games and still able to enjoy the anti-aliasing feature the best option is certainly the GeForce 8400 technology. If you want to also enjoy the widescreen experience then you can also run at 1680x1050 resolutions which will report similar gaming results.

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 player's action really can shape the future of the universe. Newcomers will enjoy the additions to the already graphically impressive, almost living X³ Universe, while veterans can expect new construction options and an improved physics model.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6700 2.66GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon HD 2400 PRO	BLISS 8400 GS
No AA/No AF	26.4 fps	27.9 fps
2x AA/4x AF	16.3 fps	14.9 fps
4x AA/8x AF	14.5 fps	11.8 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

No difference really with X³: Reunion, a DirectX based game which does favor the ATI technology. This doesn't come as a surprise as it is known from our previous benchmarks runs to perform better with NVIDIA hardware than toward the ATI technology. So the BLISS 8400 GS edition shows superior results, however when anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering comes into the pictures the tables are turning around. A bit normal as the GeForce 8400 GS only features 16 shader units against 40 on the Radeon HD 2400 PRO video card. However, when putting things in perspective the GeForce 8400 GS is able to handle the game and showing slightly better graphical image quality.

Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6700 2.66GHz - 2GB RAM
	Radeon HD 2400 PRO	BLISS 8400 GS
No AA/No AF	19.1 fps	15.4 fps
2x AA/4x AF	11.7 fps	10.6 fps
4x AA/8x AF	10.6 fps	8.2 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Once again we raised the bard and turned up the resolution on our gaming system. What we saw previously is now also completely turned in favor of the ATI hardware. Again we can draw the attention towards the difference in stream processors where the Radeon HD 2400 series are clearly in favor. But checking the results the BLISS 8400 GS can somehow keep up and is just trailing being by some frames. And yes you might say who is going to play at that resolution when you get so low scores? Entirely correct, but occasional gamer on a tight budget might still be interested on the performance difference. But of course if you will enjoy gaming at those frame rates we doubt very much as well.