{"id":17550,"date":"2010-04-25T05:50:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-25T04:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=17550"},"modified":"2010-08-05T13:09:44","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T12:09:44","slug":"gtx470-performance-test-part-1-windows-xp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/gtx470-performance-test-part-1-windows-xp\/","title":{"rendered":"GTX470 Performance Test Part 1: Windows XP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--pagetitle:Introduction--><strong><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Introduction<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After a long wait nVidia\u2019s GF100 is here, and I decided to pick up a GTX470 as an upgrade for my GTX285 since I absolutely could not stomach the horrific noise levels from a GTX480. I have nothing against ATi, but I do prefer nVidia\u2019s cards for gaming.<\/p>\n<p>This article will conduct the tests on <span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">Windows XP<\/span>, while a future article will retest everything on <span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">Windows 7 (64 bit)<\/span>, which I plan on installing soon.<\/p>\n<p>But first, here are the specs for the two cards I\u2019ll be comparing today:<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17563\" title=\"Specs\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/specs.png?resize=232%2C375\" alt=\"Specs\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/specs.png?resize=232%2C375 232w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/specs-185x300.png 185w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Compared to the GTX285, we can see the GTX470 has a higher pixel fillrate and more shader performance, but it has less memory bandwidth, and seemingly less texturing performance too. In practice actual texturing performance should be better than the GTX285 due to improvements to the TMUs and caching. This was covered in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=14600\" target=\"_blank\">architectural analysis of the GF100<\/a>, which I co-wrote.<\/p>\n<p>With regards to estimated die sizes, the GTX470 is bigger than the already big GTX285, so it\u2019s truly a beast. I think it\u2019s safe to say that at least some of the delay in getting the GF100 to the market was because of manufacturing difficulties due to the chip\u2019s extraordinary size and complexity.<\/p>\n<p>Enough theory; let\u2019s talk about the benchmarks. As usual my settings are somewhat unorthodox compared to the standard fare, because in most cases they\u2019re the actual game settings I use when playing these games. There will be a total of <span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">36<\/span> different games tested today.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Setup--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Hardware<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Intel Core i5 750 (2.8 GHz, 21x multiplier, Turbo Boost on).<\/li>\n<li>4 GB DDR3-1333 RAM (2\u00d72 GB, dual-channel).<\/li>\n<li>Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 (Intel P55 chipset, F6 BIOS).<\/li>\n<li>nVidia GeForce GTX285 (1 GB, reference clocks).<\/li>\n<li>nVidia GeForce GTX470 (1.28 GB, reference clocks)<\/li>\n<li>Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic.<\/li>\n<li>30\u201d HP LP3065.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Software<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Windows XP 32 bit SP3<\/li>\n<li>nVidia driver 197.13 &amp; 197.41, high quality filtering, all optimizations off, LOD clamp enabled.<\/li>\n<li>DirectX February 2010.<\/li>\n<li>All games patched to their latest versions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Settings<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>16xAF forced in the driver, vsync forced off in the driver.<\/li>\n<li>AA forced either through the driver or enabled in-game, whichever works better.<\/li>\n<li>Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.<\/li>\n<li>All results show an average framerate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Hidden SSAA--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Hidden Super-Sampling<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>While this article was being written, a very interesting finding was made, that of <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=17590\" target=\"_blank\">hidden super-sampling<\/a> present on the GTX470\/GTX480.<\/p>\n<p>Essentially by using TrAA (SS), the entire scene receives super-sampling, not just alpha textures. This works in OpenGL and in DX10\/DX11. I noticed something was up in OpenGL anyway, so I disabled TrAA on the GTX470 to make it behave like the GTX285. But given I used TrMS\/TrSS in every Direct3D title, I had to be sure it wasn\u2019t happening in DX9 on XP.<\/p>\n<p>Well after extensive testing, I can confirm all of the results are legitimate. SSAA is not being applied to the entire scene with TrMS\/TrSS in DX9 on XP. That is to say, TrMS\/TrSS behaves the same way it does on the GTX285, providing you keep the level in lock-step with the base MSAA level, which I did.<\/p>\n<p>To double-check, I took some TrSS screenshots in some DX9 titles, and I can confirm super-sampling is only being applied to transparent textures, but nowhere else.<\/p>\n<p>To triple-check, I disabled TrAA on the GTX470 and retested some of the games where it was slower (<em>Call of Duty 2\/4\/5<\/em>, <em>UT 2004<\/em> and <em>Bioshock 1<\/em>), but the GTX470 was still unable to match the GTX285&#8217;s original score with TrAA.<\/p>\n<p>So as far as these results go, I\u2019m 100% confident they\u2019re accurate as far as Windows XP goes.<\/p>\n<p>Image quality in OpenGL titles is absolutely gorgeous with SSAA, and I&#8217;ll cover the hidden super-sampling (and other topics) in more depth in a future article concerning image quality.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:2xAA--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2xAA<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17553\" title=\"2xAA Text\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2xaa-text.png?resize=245%2C289\" alt=\"2xAA Text\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17552\" title=\"2xAA Graph\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2xaa-graph.png?resize=527%2C474\" alt=\"2xAA Graph\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2xaa-graph.png?resize=527%2C474 527w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2xaa-graph-300x269.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is not a good start for the GTX470 as it racks up losses in every game, except two. <em>Hell\u2019s Highway<\/em> receives a nice performance boost, and <em>Jericho<\/em> runs extremely well. I suspect the result in <em>Jericho<\/em> is what the card is capable of in other games if it had better drivers.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m very disappointed with the performance loss in <em>Stalker Clear Sky<\/em> because it\u2019s one of the games where I needed more performance the most.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:2560x1600--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2560&#215;1600<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17560\" title=\"2560 Text\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2560-text.png?resize=249%2C357\" alt=\"2560 Text\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2560-text.png?resize=249%2C357 249w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2560-text-209x300.png 209w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 249px) 100vw, 249px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17559\" title=\"2560 Graph\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2560-graph.png?resize=526%2C559\" alt=\"2560 Graph\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2560-graph.png?resize=526%2C559 526w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2560-graph-282x300.png 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here we see some reasonable performance gains in <em>Stalker<\/em>, <em>Unreal Tournament 3<\/em>, and <em>Left 4 Dead 1<\/em>. Unfortunately the rest of the games are about the same speed (or slower) on the GTX470.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:8xAA--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">8xMSAA<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17558\" title=\"8xAA Text\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/8xaa-text.png?resize=309%2C222\" alt=\"8xAA Text\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/8xaa-text.png?resize=309%2C222 309w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/8xaa-text-300x215.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17557\" title=\"8xAA Graph\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/8xaa-graph.png?resize=528%2C358\" alt=\"8xAA Graph\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/8xaa-graph.png?resize=528%2C358 528w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/8xaa-graph-300x203.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I cranked the settings to 8xMSAA (<span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">8xQ<\/span>) in these older games. <em>Serious Sam 2<\/em> sees an absolutely amazing performance gain from the GTX470, and <em>Fear 1<\/em> gets a nice boost too. The rest of the games are the same or slower on the GTX470.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:OpenGL--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">OpenGL<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-text.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17562\" title=\"OGL Text\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-text.png?resize=258%2C320\" alt=\"OGL Text\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-text.png?resize=258%2C320 258w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-text-241x300.png 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 258px) 100vw, 258px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17561\" title=\"OGL Graph\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-graph.png?resize=529%2C545\" alt=\"OGL Graph\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-graph.png?resize=529%2C545 529w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ogl-graph-291x300.png 291w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 529px) 100vw, 529px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Clearly nVidia\u2019s drivers have serious issues in OpenGL, at least as far as XP is concerned. The GTX470 actually posts an average loss overall over the GTX285 (<span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">9.42%<\/span>), and there are big losses in <em>Quake 1<\/em>, <em>Prey<\/em> and <em>Doom 3<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>If you look <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=12436&#038;page=6\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>, the lowly 5770 (<span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">84.2 FPS) <\/span>almost doubled the GTX470\u2019s score when tested under the same conditions in <em>Doom 3<\/em>. The GTX470\u2019s score is utterly unacceptable, especially in light of its improved ROP performance.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll remind you that <em>Quake 1<\/em> and <em>Quake 2<\/em> are not the original versions, but are instead modernized source ports, and are vastly more demanding as a result.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:4xAA vs 8xAA--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">4xAA vs 8xAA<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Now I\u2019ll test the performance hit of 4xMSAA vs 8xMSAA (<span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">8xQ<\/span>). I almost didn\u2019t bother completing this section, but I\u2019m glad I did because there are some glimmers of hope for the GTX470.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17556\" title=\"4 vs 8 Text\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/4-vs-8-text.png?resize=378%2C337\" alt=\"4 vs 8 Text\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/4-vs-8-text.png?resize=378%2C337 378w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/4-vs-8-text-300x267.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17554\" title=\"4 vs 8 Graph\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/4-vs-8-graph.png?resize=527%2C560\" alt=\"4 vs 8 Graph\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/4-vs-8-graph.png?resize=527%2C560 527w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/4-vs-8-graph-282x300.png 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a much lower performance loss overall when moving from 4xAA to 8xAA compared to the GTX285. Of course any results where the GTX470&#8217;s 4xAA score is lower than the GTX285&#8217;s are hollow victories, but still, it shows the ROPs have potential, even when operating with subpar drivers.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, we see a vastly lower performance hit in <em>Call of Juarez 1<\/em> and <em>Bioshock 1<\/em>. The clear standout however is <em>Clive Barker\u2019s Jericho<\/em>, where the GTX470 runs faster at 8xQ than the GTX285 does 4xAA. I\u2019d almost suspect the GTX285 is running out of VRAM in some of these situations.<\/p>\n<p>Yet again <em>Prey<\/em> has serious issues with the GTX470, coming off worse in every situation.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:8xS & 16xS--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">8xS &amp; 16xS<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately the combined mode super-sampling modes are still present in the driver, so I\u2019ll test them in these classic titles.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17555\" title=\"xS Text\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/xs-text.png?resize=269%2C289\" alt=\"xS Text\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17564\" title=\"xS Graph\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/xs-graph.png?resize=530%2C495\" alt=\"xS Graph\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/xs-graph.png?resize=530%2C495 530w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/xs-graph-300x280.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Aside from the good performance gain in <em>Half-Life 2<\/em>, the GTX470 is absolutely woeful compared to the GTX285. It\u2019s at best equal, and at worst <span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">30.36%<\/span> slower.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Conclusion--><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Conclusion<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>On XP the GTX470 is currently slower than the GTX285. It\u2019s as simple as that. Moments of brilliance are vastly overshadowed by abysmal performance almost everywhere else.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously the GTX285 doesn\u2019t have a problem with either XP or my choice of settings, but the GTX470 does. So either XP\u2019s driver isn\u2019t optimal for the GTX470, or it\u2019s a problem with nVidia\u2019s GTX470 driver in general. Retesting on Windows 7 will answer that question soon enough.<\/p>\n<p>The card is also much louder than the GTX285, even when sitting inside a solid steel Antec 902 with excellent cooling. My GTX285 often wouldn\u2019t raise its fan much past idle speed during extended gaming sessions, but the GTX470 often spins up within seconds of entering a game, and it sounds like a hairdryer on a low setting. You will hear this card when gaming, even when wearing headphones like I do.<\/p>\n<p>On the plus side, the GTX470 is about an inch shorter than the GTX285 which means it won\u2019t overhang your motherboard, and hence might fit into smaller cases.<\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s it for the XP results, but stay tuned for part two of this article where I\u2019ll retest the GTX470 on Windows 7 (64 bit).<\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Pros<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Much faster than the GTX285 in a handful of situations.<\/li>\n<li>Best AF in consumer space.<\/li>\n<li>Rotated and sparse grid super-sampling in DX10\/DX11 and OpenGL.<\/li>\n<li>TrAA can be decoupled from MSAA.<\/li>\n<li>Open and flexible profile system allows complete control over your gaming library.<\/li>\n<li>1280 MB memory for demanding games.<\/li>\n<li>Relatively short for a high-end card.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cons<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Current performance on XP is abysmal compared to the GTX285.<\/li>\n<li>Not always cost and\/or performance competitive with ATi cards.<\/li>\n<li>Cooler is loud under load.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #99ccff;\">For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/-->\n<\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\nsrc=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=17550\"><img decoding=\"async\" align=top title=\"Author: BFG10K\" src=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Article-Image1.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":18083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,7814,7],"tags":[3422,3421,900,3170,121,3469,275,243],"class_list":["post-17550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-articles","category-technology","tag-197-41","tag-197-45","tag-gtx285","tag-gtx470","tag-nvidia","tag-ssaa","tag-super-sampling","tag-xp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}