Aquanox Benchmarks

By Lars Weinand - Editor In Chief RIVA Station / Editor Tom´s Hardware Guide

More benchmarks:

1024x768-32: As we increase the resolution, we see the Ti500 now tied for the lead with the RADEON 8500. Slowly but surely, memory bandwidth and not raw processing power is becoming the deciding factor in this race. Consequently, the field now shows a clearer ranking, with the GeForce 2 Ultra outrunning the Ti and the Pro. The R7500 can also close the gap to the GF2 group, threatening the slower models. Unsurprisingly, the MX400 and Kyro II continue to drag behind - the game is completely unplayable. They are not alone though, as the R7200 now shares their fate. It, too, can no longer pass the 25fps mark.

1280x1024-32: Cranking the resolution up even higher leaves us with only 3 cards still able to handle this game: the GF3, the Ti500 and the RADEON 8500. Even on the Ti200 the frame counter dips below the 30fps mark, barely remaining above the scores of the GF2 Ultra. This is a direct result of the Ti200's low memory clock speed. On the MX400 and the Kyro II, the game is effectively reduced to a slide show.

FSAA 1024x768-32: The cards take another performance hit when anti aliasing is enabled. Even the likes of a Ti500 or a RADEON 8500 are barely able to offer playable framerates at this resolution.

Conclusion

While current video cards have no trouble with older games like Quake 3, running them at record speeds of around 150fps even at high resolutions, the new crop of DirectX 8 games can bring even these performance monsters to their knees. The CPU is only of secondary importance as the scores of the Athlon 1333 system show.

The scores shown here are average framerates. Performance may be even lower in the game, depending on the complexity of the scene, the number of enemies on screen, etc. Activating FSAA is the final blow, bringing the frame counter lower still. Yet the trend is pointing towards ever more complex 3D engines (due in large part to the Xbox). If you're planning on buying a GF2 or R7500 now, you may find yourself lowering the detail level or the resolution in the near future, just to make upcoming games playable. Even a GF3 Ti200 is brought to its limits rather quickly. Nonetheless, don't panic just yet - games that make extensive use of pixel or vertex shaders are still a bit further off on the horizon. In today's games, at least, you'd need a magnifying glass to even find any of these new effects (as in Comanche 4).

- The End -

Lars "Borsti" Weinand - Editor In Chief - RIVA Station 2002

Translation: Benjamin "Iggy" Kraft

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