XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB & 8800 GTX XXX Editions
XHD Resolutions: HL2 EP1
For our next batch of tests, we broke out the 30" Dell 3007 WFP and tested the card at XHD resolutions of 1920x1200 and 2560x1600.
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;) Half Life 2: Episode 1 |
Thanks to the dedication of hardcore PC gamers and a huge mod-community, the original Half-Life became one of the most successful first person shooters of all time. So, when Valve announced Half-Life 2 was close to completion, gamers the world over sat in eager anticipation. Upon its release, HL2 was universally lauded, and the sequel won an array of "Game of the Year" awards. Armed with the latest episodic update to HL2, Episode 1, we benchmarked the game with a long, custom-recorded timedemo that takes us through both outdoor and indoor environments. These tests were run at resolutions of 1920 x 1200 and 2560 x 1600 with 4X anti-aliasing and 16X anisotropic filtering enabled concurrently, and with color correction and HDR rendering enabled in the game engine as well. |
At 1920x1200, the performance trend in Episode 1 looks much like earlier results. The XFX cards were faster than their reference-clocked counterparts. Once the resolution was increased to 2560x1600, however, the 320MB GeForce 8800 GTS cards' performance dropped off considerably. At an ultra-high resolution like this, especially when high-levels of anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering are used, large frame buffers are a necessity.
