Aquanox 2: Revelation
Aquanox 2: Revelation is the first game that is actually available in stores today that already employs DX9 pixel and vertex shaders. The DX 9 features were implemented through a patch, v2.159, which was released in April 2003. Even before that, several beta patches added DX 9 shaders. Note: The German version of this game has been available since the beginning of the year, while the US-version launched later.
We tested this game using the integrated frame counter and the cut-scene "Lopez' Treasure". The detail settings were lowered for this test.
Aquanox 2 was not playable on any of the integrated chipsets. However, Intel's i865G could keep up to pace with the nForce 2 surprisingly well. Once again, no result was returned for the i865G because to few frames were rendered.
Article continues belowWe can conclude that integrated graphics are unsuitable for newer games with DirectX 8 and/or DirectX 9 shaders and for many effects. While none of the integrated GPU's we used was able to execute shaders, the complexity of those games remains a huge barrier.