Direct X Performance Using Shogo And The THG2214 Demo
Since the introduction of Direct X a couple of years ago, it has quickly become widely used by game developers. Monolith's game title Shogo is a great game title that utilized Direct X functions. Shogo has been going through several revisions in the past months. Unfortunately, demos created with previous versions of Shogo are not necessarily compatible with newer versions. Tom Pabst created yet another great demo that provides a realistic measure of performance using Shogo v2.214.
The i810 based platform provides a respectable score at 640x480. But doesn't quite cut the mustard at the higher resolutions. The serious game player would frown at the i810's scores. But the average gameplayer should be quite content with the performance at 640x480 resolution. I guess Monolith's game Shogo should be called NoGO for the SiS620 based platform! Even though the SiS620 provides support for Direct X it's gaming ability get a Great Big Zero! The SiS620 is best left running productivity software.
Summary
I must say that Intel did a fine job with their newest chipset member, the i810. Although the performance offered by this solution isn't mind blowing it is very respectable for an integrated low-cost solution. Most Celeron based systems shipped by Tier 1 companies to date are configured with video solutions that provide less than spectacular 3D gaming. With the introduction of i810 based systems these same companies can provide a platform that provides reasonable performance for the occasional/average 3D gamer. However, with the release of upcoming more demanding 3D game titles, the i810 chipset solution could soon fall short in performance for the next generation of 3D gaming.
