This outer space simulator is a visual treat. A completely
rewritten 3D engine based on DirectX8 encompasses many visual effects such as
volumetric Nebulae (gas clouds) that have a real impact in the game (you can
hide in them), many new engine, shield, weapon and explosion effects. Objects
cast real dynamic 3D shadows! Dynamic DP3 bump mapping allows a previously
unseen level of detail.
X2: The Threat - 1024x768-32bit
Video Card
FPS
Ranking
Asus Radeon A9600XT
72.40
MSI
FX5900XT-VTD128
96.14
XGI Volari V8
49.12
XGI Volari V8 (360/330MHz)
53.50
X2: The Threat - 1600x1200-32bit
Video Card
FPS
Ranking
Asus Radeon A9600XT
37.49
MSI
FX5900XT-VTD128
51.18
XGI Volari V8
26.38
XGI Volari V8 (360/330MHz)
28.40
Performance here was what we
would expect from a lower-end video card, and XGI's V8 provided excellent image
quality.
AquaMark
is another DirectX 8 benchmark. Using vertex shaders, any card that is DirectX8
compatible will not just have a huge speed boost, the image will also look
better. Default test has 24 MB worth of textures.
AquaMark 2.3 - 1024x768
Video Card
FPS
Ranking
Asus Radeon A9600XT
64.0
MSI FX5900XT-VTD128
84.1
XGI Volari V8
56.1
XGI Volari V8 (360/330MHz)
71.6
AquaMark 2.3 - 1280x1024
Video Card
FPS
Ranking
Asus Radeon A9600XT
41.2
MSI FX5900XT-VTD128
55.8
XGI Volari V8
43.3
XGI Volari V8 (360/330MHz)
49.3
AquaMark 2.3 - 1600x1200
Video Card
FPS
Ranking
Asus Radeon A9600XT
28.8
MSI FX5900XT-VTD128
41.7
XGI Volari V8
31.5
XGI Volari V8 (360/330MHz)
36.2
The Volari V8's performance in Aquamark was very
respectable, besting the 9600 Pro in the higher resolutions. Image quality was
also excellent. Overclocking again bought a decent performance gain, which is
always an encouraging result.
X2: The Threat
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