Performance in First-Person 3D Shooters

Battlefield 2

Unfortunately, we could not turn on Super AA in Battlefield 2 . FSAA can only be enabled in this game if the Catalyst driver’s By App option is on, but the game itself does not support FSAA levels higher than 4x.

It is the CPU processing power that limits the performance of a dual-GPU platform here, so we can’t make any comparisons: the RADEON X1800 XT CrossFire has the same frame rate of over 100fps through all the tested resolutions. Note also that the single RADEON X1800 XT is ahead of the single GeForce 7800 GTX due to higher GPU and memory clock rates.

The Chronicles of Riddick

The GeForce 7800 GTX pair is the fastest in FSAA 4x mode as these graphics cards are more effective in OpenGL applications and feature UltraShadow II technology. The RADEON X1800 XT CrossFire is slower, yet this graphics subsystem yields a comfortable 60fps even in 1600x1200.

NVIDIA’s solution is better at doing the more resource-consuming 8x FSAA, but the gap diminishes in higher resolutions. It is doubtable in this case if you can play with comfort in resolutions over 1024x768 because the average performance of both the platforms may go down to below 60fps in 1280x1024.

The situation changes dramatically as soon as we turn on the maximum possible FSAA modes: SLI AA 16x and Super AA 14x. The latter is less resource-consuming (it doesn’t perform true super-sampling), so the RADEON X1800 XT CrossFire platform goes ahead and provides a comfortable frame rate in 1024x768 even. It means this mode may be of some practical value for gamers who want to have the best-looking picture on the screen.