Benchmark Results: Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is one of those console ports that has always seemed to favor Nvidia hardware. Here we see all of our cards present playable performance at 1680x1050 and, for the most part, 1920x1200. The only time there’s any real differentiation is when resolution jumps to 2560x1600.
At that point, the CrossFire’d Radeon HD 5870s don’t miss a beat, and the two GeForce GTX 285s maintain 60+ frame per second performance. The single 5870 edges out the GeForce GTX 285, but just barely.
What happened to the GTX 295? This is one of those cases where 896MB of memory per GPU just isn’t enough. The card runs out of GDDR3 and won’t do 2560x1600 at the detail settings we used to test. This is an important lesson. Just because the GTX 295 is tops in Nvidia’s lineup doesn’t mean it’s always the right tool for the job. When it comes to the highest resolutions and detail settings, you want at least 1GB per GPU, and 100MB can make a difference.
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I'm. So. Excited.
Can't wait
So it looks like 1 is enough for me.. Dont plan on getting a 30 inch monitor any time soon.
Looks like the NDA lifted at 11:00PM, as there's a load of reviews now just out. Once again it shows that AMD can produce a seriously killer card...
Crysis 2 on an x2 of this is exactly what I'm waiting for.
This is incredible at the price point.
Err... I thought I was going to see more for the price. Regardless, I think ATI missed the mark here. I am interested in playing games on my HDTV since me and my monitor don't care about these higher resolutions. Fail cakes... Nivida is undoubtedly going to rape ATI in performance with the 300 series. This is good news for mainstream prices however.... you can ptobably upgrade to a current DX10 board soon for a very good price, and then buy a 5850 for $100 in a year from now. Result? Don't but a 5000 series card yet until the price comes down? Heh, I bet the cards will be $100 less in December if the 300 series launches.
This is not to say I am an Nvidia fan, just undoubtedly you would do well for yourself to hold off for a bit if you want to buy a 5000 series... as the price will come down for a good price/performance ratio soon enough.
wait, wait, before I look can it play cry... HOLY SHIT?!
why didn't they thest it against a GTX 295 rather than 280??? its far superior...
why didn't they thest it against a GTX 295 rather than 280??? its far superior...
Ran it against a GTX 295 and a 285 and 285s in SLI
I refuse to buy until the 2GB versions come out, not to mention newegg letting you buy more than 1 at a time, paper launch ftl.
Thanks for the timely review. I have to say though, some of the technical details are beyond me. It'd be useful if you explained terms such as "VLIW architecture" or "tessellation engine"
oh my bad... didn't see the rest of the pages
O M F G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just wish the darn thing wasn't so big, but man, what a card! Now I'm thinking about a bigger case
Oops, who am I kidding ? I just ordered 2 5870's. One Sapphire, and one HIS, seeing as how they limit you to one per customer.
I think most of this review has to do with how many games are optimized for nVidia. The Crytek Engine 2.0 and Source Engine are well known for heavily favoring nVidia architecture yet compose the bulk of the benchmarks. I think the fact ATI can do best in these engines when they have a detect ATI instant nerf its performance speaks measures for the actual card.
I WANT MY MOOOMMYYYYYY !!!!!!!
Another thing is that the 5800x2 isn't out yet, now think of two of those bad boys in Crossfire.
Not bad for Crysis benchmark. I really want 5870 for my christmas present, but damn I also need to buy a new PSU.
In addition, I am impressed that the 5870 has a better power consumption and better gaming performance compare to DX10 cards. If the card is affordable I'd definite buy one.
Thanks for the timely review. I have to say though, some of the technical details are beyond me. It'd be useful if you explained terms such as "VLIW architecture" or "tessellation engine"
Jasper,
TBH, the architectural details are secondary to how the card performs. However, if you'd like a better idea of what tessellation can do for you, check out the picture of the Alien on page six!