X-bit labs

Nvidia GeForce 7900 GT Review (page 16)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin

[ 04/24/2006 | 12:53 PM ]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

This game was not tested in FSAA modes since HDR support is disabled even on ATI’s graphics cards then and the visuals quality degenerates greatly. It is also impossible to turn on the Bloom effect alongside with HDR. CrossFire technology support for TES IV is missing in the current version of the Catalyst driver. To enable it, you have to rename the file Oblivion.exe into AFR-FriendlyD3D.exe or you’ll get no performance boost. The game having no integrated benchmarking options, we had to measure the speed with the FRAPS utility. We tested each card two times to give you a fuller picture: in an open environment and in the Imperial City dungeon.

The Radeon X1800 XL is a little faster than the GeForce 7900 GT in low resolutions, but then slows down beginning from 1280x1024 resolution. We guess the main reason is its rather slow memory clocked at 500 (1000) MHz.

As for playability, the new card from Nvidia allows using 1024x768 at the max graphics quality settings. In a SLI configuration, it makes all the standard resolutions, including 1600x1200, playable, at least in closed environments and dungeons. Let’s see how it does in the open.

Unfortunately, the open spaces of TES: Oblivion are much harder for the graphics subsystem to process. Here, the GeForce 7900 GT SLI cannot give you more than 52fps in 1024x768. The single cards can do no better than 35-40fps. This doesn’t seem to be enough for comfortable play considering that Oblivion is technically a shooter with first-person view.