![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Friday , January 02, 2009
- Author:
- Matthew Krysiak
- Editor:
- Brent Justice
- Google +1
XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition
If you thought it couldn’t get any better than XFX’s well known “XXX” edition of highly clocked video cards, then you haven’t met its “Black Edition” yet. XFX has a new line poised to take the performance crown sporting the latest GeForce GTX 260 specifications. Six games played and A2A as well.
FarCry 2
(DirectX 10)
We are using the full version of FarCry 2 , patched to version v1.01. We will be playing FarCry 2 in the DX10 API since it has proven to be faster than the DX9 API.
For our manual run-through we have chosen a path through the jungle since it is the most consistently graphically demanding areas in the game. However we have tested in other areas of FarCry 2 and with interactions with water, watching fire propagation, car chases, and massive battles. Our path consists of a six minute walk through jungles south east of Pala during the middle of the day.
In FarCry 2 all three video cards were playable at 1920x1200 with 16X AF and highest in-game settings. The anti-aliasing on the three video scales down from 8X AA on the XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition to 4X AA on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (216 core) to 2X AA on the ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB. It seems the added core frequency, shader frequency, and memory frequency on the Black Edition is providing a real-world advantage over the standard clocked GTX 260 (216 Core) in this game.
With these settings we were able to have a terrific gameplay experience in FarCry 2 with all three video cards. However the XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition does achieve a victory since it does provide a minor gameplay advantage over the reference GTX 260 and a larger advantage over the 4870. In FarCry 2 even at 1920x1200 enabling 8X AA will greatly reduce aliasing on all objects as well as the dense vegetation in the game. The result is a very smooth and clear looking game. Of course, as the resolution is decreased 8X AA is still playable on the Black Edition and performance only improves.
Image Quality
In the screenshot above we can see the difference between 2X AA on the ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB, 4X AA on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (216 core) and the 8X AA on the XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition on the wood door and shutters. The advantages are realized even more while in motion in the game. You will find that as you move forth in the game there is less shimmering happening as you look into the distance. This is important because FarCry 2 does have some fantastically wide open spaces and being able to look clearly into the distance with no aliasing can be an advantage for spotting characters in the game.