Gaming Benchmarks (Cont.)

We are on a roll, that is the least you can say as we are just continuing with more games. This time we are looking at some very recent releases which are very popular and do offer to show some great visual effects. Both of these games have been released almost the same day, well not exactly but only a few days in between which is rather strange for two top titles. So first we will be looking at Crysis which is build on the full renewed Crytek gaming engine with some very realistic effects and functionality. Next to that we also take one of the new multiplayer games, being Unreal Tournament 3 which was as well on our list of games to have. Also this game has a fully new 3D engine, which is actually the third version of the Unreal engine which has a very great track record.

Electronic Arts Crysis

And yes of course we couldn't miss out on Crysis, which is the successor of Far Cry using the redone Crytek CryEngine 2 real-time gaming engine. The artificial intelligence in Crysis also aims to be realistic and believable. Enemy soldiers constantly employ tactical maneuvers, they work as squads, hide and ambush amongst the scenery, and adapt to changing environments and conditions. Crysis is an alien invasion game set in the year 2020. An archeological team on a remote Pacific island is captured by an invasion force of North Koreans, and your US special forces team is dispatched to investigate and rescue these scientists. Clad in high-tech nanosuits capable of boosting your strength, speed, and armor, as well as cloaking you temporarily to the enemy, you're parachuted into a tropical paradise that's crawling with intelligent enemies and something else that's tearing both the North Koreans and US forces to shreds.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8800 Ultra	BLISS 9800 GX2
No AA/No AF	59.62 fps	50.67 fps
2x AA/4x AF	53.45 fps	49.05 fps
4x AA/8x AF	51.34 fps	48.24 fps
8x AA/16x AF	42.65 fps	46.40 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8800 Ultra	BLISS 9800 GX2
No AA/No AF	45.72 fps	49.63 fps
2x AA/4x AF	39.53 fps	46.95 fps
4x AA/8x AF	36.32 fps	44.87 fps
8x AA/16x AF	27.82 fps	32.13 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Of course, we couldn't deny it any longer but the game we all have really been waiting for since a long time is the successor of Far Cry, or better known as Crysis. And with Crysis comes as well the new 3D engine of Crytek which will certainly be the engine used for many games to come. This game is really putting the graphics card to work and can also be seen from the frame rates during game play. With the GeForce 9800 GX2 version taking the lead, which is somehow natural as having a bit more shader processors and a faster memory interface. Though looking at the results delivered by the GeForce 8800 Ultra with its 768MB memory it's quite a close battle. Well you can't really call it a battle but still it does show that the G92 graphics core is a logic choice, and certainly a great choice for putting two of these together in a single graphics card solution.

Gaming Results - 2560x1600 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8800 Ultra	BLISS 9800 GX2
No AA/No AF	34.51 fps	44.36 fps
2x AA/4x AF	29.09 fps	40.42 fps
4x AA/8x AF	25.88 fps	32.49 fps
8x AA/16x AF	19.18 fps	N/A
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

Moving on to the higher resolutions, we find ourselves again with the widescreen high definition which is considered as the current ultimate gaming experience. That certainly means that the graphics accelerator has to be able to render these bigger sceneries without becoming unplayable due to the drop in frame rates. Well we must say with Crysis this is not as simple as that, because even the GeForce 9800 GX2 card is slowing a decrease in frame rates. The Gainward version does come out on top and somehow the 1GB memory can be considered a benefit with Crysis as the rendering of the sceneries and frames does require quite some memory and the more the better rule applies in this case. Both cards perform very well, though the Ultra edition is not up to performance as the new GeForce 9800 GX2 version.

Epic Games Unreal Tournament 3

At the same time the titles which are coming from Epic Games are always head on and surely Unreal games are always highly anticipated. The Necris invasion has begun, and your clan was one of the first to be slaughtered. Head to the front lines and join this epic battle to defend humanity while taking your revenge. Unreal Tournament 3 marks the return of the premiere tournament style first person shooter. Unreal Tournament 3 unleashes the full power of Unreal engine 3, taking the graphics, game play, and challenge to a whole new level. Players are engaged in intense and hyper real battles with other human players online or against incredibly realistic Unreal artificial intelligence. Over two dozen weapons and vehicles have been upgraded and enhanced for maximum killing potential. Similar to the previous entries of the series, the game is primarily an online multiplayer title offering several game modes.

Gaming Results - 1280x1024 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8800 Ultra	BLISS 9800 GX2
No AA/No AF	159.9 fps	150.4 fps
2x AA/4x AF	158.7 fps	149.9 fps
4x AA/8x AF	157.6 fps	149.2 fps
8x AA/16x AF	156.5 fps	148.6 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Gaming Results - 1600x1200 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8800 Ultra	BLISS 9800 GX2
No AA/No AF	133.9 fps	148.2 fps
2x AA/4x AF	130.6 fps	147.5 fps
4x AA/8x AF	129.7 fps	146.9 fps
8x AA/16x AF	128.2 fps	146.1 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

There we have it, the first game that isn't at a first view in favor of the GeForce 9800 GX2 technology and does have to take it as it comes when the older GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics card is taking the lead. And no you don't have to panic when you were already convinced and ready to run out the door and get a GX2 edition, cause as soon as the screen resolution is tuned up we see that the dual GPU solution from Gainward is again nailing down the highest frame rates. This is also the strong point of the GeForce 9800 GX2 which is primarily designed for the high definition gaming, which widescreen resolutions as high as you can go. And on that aspect the older Ultra version can actually follow and does have to recognize it is no longer the faster graphics card on the market.

Gaming Results - 2560x1600 - E6700 3.00GHz - 2GB RAM
	GeForce 8800 Ultra	BLISS 9800 GX2
No AA/No AF	70.1 fps	101.0 fps
2x AA/4x AF	68.8 fps	98.1 fps
4x AA/8x AF	67.5 fps	96.3 fps
8x AA/16x AF	66.2 fps	94.6 fps
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

The performance difference becomes even more obvious when we turn the resolution up to the highest feasible with our Dell LCD widescreen display, which shows that the GeForce 9800 GX2 from Gainward is adds about 30% more performance compared to the older Ultra edition. We can't really deny it any longer but we are really sold by the new GX2 implementation which is a great improvement from NVIDIA from a design and performance perspective. And you can always say is it really worth the money? Well that is for each of you to make up your mind, but if you are keen on getting the best performance and gaming experience than we would conclude the GeForce 9800 GX2 is the only logical choice. In the end you get a single graphics card solution that combines the power of two high performance graphics processors and still able to keep to a firmly sleek design.