Performance in games

Testbed:

• Intel Core2 Extreme QX9650 (3000 MHz) CPU
• Zotac 790i Ultra motherboard on NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra
• 2GB DDR3 SDRAM Corsair 2000MHz
• WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA hard drive
• Tagan TG900-BZ 900W PSU
• Windows Vista 32-bit SP1, DirectX 10.1
• Dell 3007WFP 30-inch monitor
• ATI CATALYST 9.2; NVIDIA 182.06/08 drivers
• VSync disabled

Benchmarks:

• Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0 (HDR), built-in benchmarking utility (the Middle level), maximum settings.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky 1.507 (GSC Game World/THQ) -- DirectX 10.0, maximum quality settings (dynamic lighting enabled); demo, copy files to the savegames folder, run the game, load level 'ixbt4', and type "demo_play ixbt4" in the console. This game does not support AA.
• 3DMark Vantage 1.02 (FutureMark) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, multitexturing, 'Extreme' settings.
• CRYSIS 1.2 (Crytek/EA), DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, 'Very High' settings, 'Rescue' level; batch file, e-mail us to obtain the timedemo.
• CRYSIS Warhead (Crytek/EA), DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, 'Very High' settings, 'Cargo' level; batch file, e-mail us to obtain the timedemo.
• Company Of Heroes Opposing Fronts (Relic Entertainment/THQ) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, maximum settings; batch file, run the game, invoke graphics settings and click the test button.
• World In Conflict 1.007 (Massive Entertainment/Sierra) -- DirectX 10.0, shaders 4.0, 'Very High' settings with adjusted AA and AF; run the game, invoke graphics settings and click the test button.
• Devil May Cry 4 (CAPCOM) -- DirectX 10.0, 'Super High' settings with adjusted AA and AF; Scene 1.
• Lost Planet Extreme Condition Colonies Edition (CAPCOM) -- DirectX 10.0, 'Super High' settings (with adjusted AA and AF); Scene 1.

Note that performance charts are located on dedicated pages.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky

Performance charts: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

World In Conflict

Performance charts: World In Conflict

CRYSIS, Rescue, DX10, Very High

Performance charts: CRYSIS, Rescue, DX10, Very High

CRYSIS Warhead, Cargo, DX10, Very High

Performance charts: CRYSIS Warhead, Cargo, DX10, Very High

Far Cry 2

Performance charts: Far Cry 2

Company Of Heroes

Performance charts: CoH

3DMark Vantage, Graphics MARKS

Performance charts: 3DMark Vantage, Graphics MARKS

Devil May Cry 4, SCENE1

Performance charts: Devil May Cry 4, SCENE1

Lost Planet EC Colonies, SCENE1

Performance charts: Lost Planet EC Colonies, SCENE1

Conclusions

Well, what can we say? It's essentially the good old GeForce 9800 GTX+, and the tests prove it. When the GTS 250 1024MB performs faster than the 9800 GTX+, in the lion's share of cases these performance gains appear due to the frequency difference (Zotac card operates at higher frequencies). Such products absolutely don't need two GB of memory installed. You can see the difference only at 2560x1600, which is beyond playable.

On the whole, if we compare the new (old) products with the HD 4850, the latter is defeated. However, the 4870 is quite another story. And we know that its recommended price has dropped to the level of the GTS 250 1GB.

Zotac GeForce GTS 250 AMP! Edition 1024MB is a good product for its price. It comes with a bonus of higher frequencies (plus a game in the bundle, which has been supplied for months).

Note that the cooling system is a bit noisy.

Palit GeForce GTS 250 2048MB is a very interesting graphics card. It has an amazing cooling system. As we have already mentioned, 2 GB of memory are useless here. Let's hope it will not make the card more expensive, and all will be well.

NVIDIA has been offering the same GPU in different flavors for a year and a half already. Just imaging news in five years: "...In the 100-120 USD segment NVIDIA offers the good old G92, which has gone through five process technologyes and ten titles..."

On the other hand, it should be noted that G92 competes well with its rivals. But we have a question: how long can they trick users with all these renamings? People may take offense and leave.

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