Source Engine: Counterstrike Beta Hits The Street
by Derek Wilson on August 26, 2004 5:22 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
The Test
Our benchmarks will take a look at the graphics stress test at 3 different resolutions with and without AA/AF (where available). We decided it was time to add 2048x1536 to our tests formally. These latest drivers make it much easier to take advantage of the highest resolution available to the highest end cards these days. It's been a much easier experience on NVIDIA hardware (all we had to do was pick the resolution and it worked). On ATI hardware, we've had to fiddle with monitor settings and maximum refresh rate settings in order to finally get 2048x1536 @ 75Hz to become a reality. We don't run this resolution with AA; if you've got a monitor with a dot pitch to do it justice, you just won't need AA anymore. We do still run with 8xAF at playable resolutions on some of the newer cards (which is truly amazing).| Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor(s): | AMD Athlon 64 FX53 (oc to 2.6GHz) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512Mb OCZ 3200 Platinum Rev 2 (2:2:2:10) |
| Hard Drives | Seagate 120GB 7200 RPM (8MB Buffer) |
| Video AGP & IDE Bus Master Drivers | VIA Hyperion 4.51 |
| Video Card(s): | NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra Extreme NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 ATI Radeon X800 XT Platinum Ed. ATI Radeon X800 Pro ATI Radeon 9800 XT NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4400 |
| Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 4.8 NVIDIA ForceWare 61.77 |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Motherboards: | MSI MS-6702E (VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset) |
We do have to note that this isn't an apples to apples test. The NVIDIA 5950 and Ti 4400 couldn't run AA at all. The 5950 will not run in DX9 mode (though we are still looking for ways to force it on just for testing purposes). We suspect that AA is currently tied to DX9 functionality, but the beta makes note of a known bug that could be causing the problem. In addition to not being able to run with AA on, these cards would also not run with water reflections enabled. So far, this seems to be the only DX9 only feature we've seen in the engine. This may or may not change by the time HL2 ships. The effect is lost in the video stress test (there's just too much going on), but could prove very dramatic if Valve made proper use of it in the game.
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Connoisseur - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
I'm glad to see that they used the 4.8 catalyst drivers. I was wondering whether you guys can run Doom 3 benchies with the 4.8's as well. With my laptop (M6805 R9600), I saw an incredible performance gain (between 15-30%) in resolutions up to 1024x768 going from 4.7 to 4.8. I was wondering if this wasy typical.blckgrffn - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
Have you ever played a game at 20*15? If you have, you know it is awesome. Why would I plop $600 on my Sony 21" if I didn't want to use the higher resolutions? Battlefield looks really good :-) I fully support seeing these resolutions in the future, I was really happy when we finally saw the shift away from 1024*768 on review sites.deathwalker - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
#7..I can't necessarily disagree with you...I own a 6800gt (replaced my 9700pro)..my point was to mearly point out that you can't crown a graphics card line king based soley on its performance in one game. They could do these comparisons all day long and the results will flip flop back and forth depending on the tool you are using to measure performance.Bumrush99 - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
These numbers are screwed up. The HL2 video stress test IS NOT ACCURATE, nearly every review site has very different results. Don't use this review as your only source of information. On my 6800GT overclocked to ultra and my AMD 64 @ 2310 i'm getting way lower results. Funny thing is the first few times I ran the benchmark my results were in line with Anandtech's review...FuryVII - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
#5, I don't think it clearly shows that. For what its worth I have owned both nVidia and ATI (ATI Currently) and I have no problem buying the best card in price/performance ratio. I'd have to say that nVidia seems to be my choice for a new card. Also the gap in the benchmarks doesn't show ATI having that great of a lead. Its damned close.Also this was rather disappointing. Those resolutions are just ridiculous.
deathwalker - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
This test clearly demonstrates that Nvidia is "not" the performance leader when it comes to gaming. Mearly being on top of the heap in one game "Doom3" doesn't crown you the king. Especially when that game uses a graphis engine (opengl) that is clearly not the engine of choice over the long haul in graphics engines for future game developement...that being said..the new line of 6800 cards from Nvidia are products that they should be proud of.AtaStrumf - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
I wish you would include R9800Pro (very good buy right now), since it is not the same as 9800XT. Just look at xbit labs article and you will see a surprisingly big difference. Not all 9800Pros take kindly to OC-ig to 9800XT levels, and many people just don't bother!And those of you who want to see how other, lower end cards, perform under Source, may want to check it out as well.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/cou...
mlittl3 - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
#2The GF4 4400 is not last generation hardware. It is two generations old. We now have GF 6xxx and before that was GF FX 5xxx. If anyone is still using a GF4 to play current games, I think they know they will be running at resolutions at 800x600 with no AF or AA. No one needs a benchmark test to prove that. Besides anyone who can't afford a last generation or this generation video card, probably don't have an Athlon 64 FX in their rig. So looking at a GF 4 4400 with this processor will tell you nothing about how your GF4 with probably a 1st generation P4 or Athlon XP will run on this game.
I'm sure when the actual game comes out we will see exactly what we saw with Doom 3 at Anandtech. A huge CPU and GPU roundup with exhaustive tests. So you will get your chance to see the 9600 in action.
DefconFunk - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
This review was kind of dissapointing.I would have found it much mor useful if they'd included at least some ATI cards other than the top range. A 9600 would have been very much appreciated. Same with an FX5700. That way we could have some idea how the less financially able gamer (read: those of us with finicial obligations outside our computer) will be able to play CS:Source / HL2.
I did however appreciate the inclusion of the GF4 4400. Knowing how last gen products run on current games is important when thinking about purchasing either a new card or the new game in question.
mikecel79 - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link
Great article. Found one little mistake:"Kicking a box or rolling an oil down a hill are fun enough to distract players from the game at hand"
Shouldn't that be oil drum.