![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Wednesday, June 13, 2007
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Radeon HD 2900 XT vs. 320MB 8800 GTS
See how the 320 MB version of the GeForce 8800 GTS compares in games against the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. If video card value is what you seek, you will want to read this. We have also included some Lost Planet demo DX9 testing with interesting results.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
(DirectX 9)
Oblivion uses the multi-platform Gamebryo game engine. Oblivion features DirectX 9 shaders and Havok physics. The engine supports lush vegetation, soft shadows, and high dynamic range lighting (HDR). Oblivion also features SpeedTree for rendering trees.
For testing we have chosen to do a manual run-through riding horseback from outside the Imperial City to Chorrol to Bruma. This run-through allows us to push the hardware as much as the game can. While this is an outdoor run-through we do make sure to test indoor situations in our gameplay analysis as well. We have found that turning on the torch indoors with HDR lighting takes a big hit on performance in some situations. We make sure to test this scenario. You really have to look at the game as two different scenarios, Outdoors and Indoors.
In Oblivion we found the 320 MB GeForce 8800 GTS to match the 640 MB GeForce 8800 GTS’s gameplay experience. Framerates were slightly lower, but still within an acceptable range for smooth gameplay. The framerates are more on par with the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, but notice that the Radeon HD 2900 XT had to run with lower grass detail. The GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB and 640 MB handled grass performance faster than the Radeon HD 2900 XT in our experiences. This is odd because the Radeon HD 2900 XT has more memory bandwidth, and the grass, using alpha textures, is a memory bandwidth limited function. Despite knowing that, it is what it is, the 320 MB GeForce 8800 GTS is able to deliver a better gaming experience in Oblivion.
Image Quality
The difference between the lower 25% grass setting and half grass setting can clearly be seen in the screenshots above. As you zoom out farther in third person view the grass disappears quicker with less grass distance. At 50% grass the grass is all visible at full zoom out.