Conclusion
We have learned some interesting tidbits of information from this little adventure.
The good news is that Resident Evil 5 is a gorgeous game, but is still very playable on a large range of hardware. While the game engine prefers at least a triple-core CPU and a GeForce 9600 GT or better for high-detail and high-resolution play, you can have playable performance at 1680x1050 at attractive medium settings with a lowly Radeon HD 4650 and a dual-core processor.
Perhaps the most interesting result of our investigation is the revelation that the DirectX 10 option does not offer any enhanced visuals whatsoever, even though it cripples Radeon cards and slows the GeForces a bit. Now that we know that DirectX 10 mode is associated with Nvidia's GeForce 3D Vision glasses, it makes sense that the setting doesn't work well on the Radeon cards and is something that only GeForce owners with the stereoscopic technology would ever want to use.
There's a lesson to be learned here: just because DirectX 10 sounds more advanced doesn't mean us gamers should automatically assume it will look better. Unless you have Nvidia's GeForce 3D Vision LCD glasses, there is no reason whatsoever to enable the DirectX 10 mode of the game and suffer the associated performance hit.
In any case, it's good to know the game looks poised to perform well on the average gaming system, and we look forward to playing it in all of its glory when the title is released later this week.
