Benchmarks: High Details, No AA
Let’s start things off easy with no AA applied, but with everything else set at the maximum detail levels (except that the SSAO feature is turned off).
It looks like every card we tested is bumping up against the 60 FPS vsync limit, except the Radeon HD 4650 DDR2. Even this lowly card is delivering very playable performance with a minimum frame rate over 40 FPS.
At 1920x1200, all the cards except the Radeon HD 4650 DDR2 are still bumping up against the vsync limit. Even the Radeon HD 4650 remains playable with the minimum frame rate above 30 FPS, though. This bodes very well for gamers with an HTPC who might have a low-power graphics card, demonstrating that even 1080p is a viable target.
Finally, at the ultra-high 2560x1600 resolution, our Radeon HD 4650 DDR2 is rendered unplayable. While the GeForce 9600 GT is showing a little weakness, it’s also extremely usable at this resolution. All of the other cards are still delivering the maximum possible performance with this vsync-limited title.
This is extremely good news as all of this data tells us that even a budget rig should be able to handle Burnout Paradise at 1680x1050 with little or no fuss. Now, let’s add some AA and see if the landscape changes significantly.
