{"id":18220,"date":"2010-05-11T06:52:47","date_gmt":"2010-05-11T05:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=18220"},"modified":"2010-05-11T12:39:35","modified_gmt":"2010-05-11T11:39:35","slug":"catalyst-10-4-performance-analysis-featuring-win-7-and-5870-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/catalyst-10-4-performance-analysis-featuring-win-7-and-5870-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Catalyst 10-4 Performance Analysis featuring Win 7 and 5870 series"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n                 google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">As part of an ongoing feature for AlienBabelTech, this editor will be comparing the performance of 22 benchmarks with the current monthly Catalyst driver release versus the one from the previous month.  Catalyst 10-4 was just released at the end of last month with an impressive feature set that finally included H.264 level 5.1 support.\u00a0 However, we naturally ask ourselves if there any performance improvements for the new Radeon 5000 series in games.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">We are going to test Catalyst 10.3a against Catalyst 10.4 using our current benchmark suite of 19 games plus three synthetic benchmarks. Our testing platform is Windows 7 64-bit using Core i7 920 at 3.80 GHz, 6 GB DD3, and our video card is HD 5870.  All of our games are tested at 2560&#215;1600, 1920&#215;1200 and 1680&#215;1050 resolutions and with maxed-out in-game settings plus 4xAA\/16xAF and we use DX11\/10\/10.1 whenever possible.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Let\u2019s get right to the test configuration and the tests.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><!--pagetitle: Introduction--><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: medium\"><span style=\"font-size: large\"><span style=\"color: #ffff00\"><strong>Test Configuration<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"color: #ffff00\"><strong> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><span style=\"color: #ffff00\"><strong>Test Configuration &#8211; Intel Hardware Core i7<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><span style=\"color: #ffff00\"><strong> <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Intel Core i7 920 reference 2.66 GHz and overclocked to 3.8 GHz); Turbo (21X multiplier for 3.97 GHz of a single core) is on. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Gigabyte <\/span>EX58-UD3R <span style=\"font-size: small\">(Intel X58 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 2.0 specification; CrossFire 16x+16x).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">6 GB OCZ DDR3 PC 18000 Kingston RAM (3&#215;2 GB, tri-channel at PC 16000 speeds; 2&#215;2 GB supplied by Kingston)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">ATi Radeon HD 4870-X2 (2GB, reference clocks 750\/900) by VisionTek<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">ATi Radeon HD 4870 (1GB, reference clocks 750\/900) by ASUS<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Onboard Realtek Audio<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">250 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 hard drive<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Silent Pro 600 watt power supply supplied by<\/span><span style=\"font-size: small\">Cooler Master<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ffff00\">Test Configuration &#8211; Software<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><span style=\"font-size: small\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">ATi Catalyst 10-3a (beta) and 10-4 (WHQL); highest quality mip-mapping set in the driver, Catalyst AI set to \u201cStandard\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium; very latest updates<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">DirectX February 2010.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">All games are patched to their latest versions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">vsync is off in the control panel and is never set in-game.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">4xAA enabled in all games and &#8220;forced&#8221; in Catalyst Control Center for<em> UT3<\/em>; all in-game settings at &#8220;maximum&#8221; or &#8220;ultra&#8221; with 16xAF always applied<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">All results show average, minimum and maximum frame rates except as noted.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Windows 7, all DX10 titles were run under DX10 render paths; DX11 titles under DX11 render paths and DX9c, etc.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ffff00\">The Benchmarks<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Vantage<\/span><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Far Cry 2<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Crysis<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">F.E.A.R.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Unreal Tournament 3<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Just Cause 2<br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">World in Conflict<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Call of Juarez<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Batman: Arkham Asylum<br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Left4Dead<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Lost Planet<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Call of Duty 4<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">X3:Terran Conflict<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Enemy Territories: Quake Wars<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">ARMA2<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">H.A.W.X.<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Battleforge<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Dirt 2<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Call of Pripyat<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-size: small\">Resident Evil 5<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small\">Heaven (Unigine) 1.0 &amp; 2.0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s head right for the results of our performance testing of Catalyst 10-4 versus 10.3a<\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle: Test Configuration--><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small\"><span style=\"font-size: medium\"><span style=\"color: #ffff00\"><strong>Benchmarks &amp; Conclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\">Here are our results of 22 benchmarks compared between Catalyst 10-3a and 10-4.\u00a0 &#8220;Wins&#8221; are bolded; if there is a tie, both results will be in bold type.<\/p>\n<p style=\"TEXT-ALIGN: center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_1Fin1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18237\" title=\"Summary10.1_1Fin\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_1Fin1.jpg?resize=400%2C842\" alt=\"Summary10.1_1Fin\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_1Fin1.jpg?resize=400%2C842 400w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_1Fin1-142x300.jpg 142w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_2Fin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18233\" title=\"Summary10.1_2Fin\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_2Fin.jpg?resize=400%2C617\" alt=\"Summary10.1_2Fin\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_2Fin.jpg?resize=400%2C617 400w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_2Fin-194x300.jpg 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_3Fin1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18238\" title=\"Summary10.1_3Fin\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_3Fin1.jpg?resize=400%2C650\" alt=\"Summary10.1_3Fin\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_3Fin1.jpg?resize=400%2C650 400w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_3Fin1-184x300.jpg 184w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_4Fin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18235\" title=\"Summary10.1_4Fin\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_4Fin.jpg?resize=400%2C604\" alt=\"Summary10.1_4Fin\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_4Fin.jpg?resize=400%2C604 400w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Summary10.1_4Fin-198x300.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We see almost no significant performance improvement over Catalyst 10-3a with Catalyst 10-4.\u00a0 The only game that we tested that showed more than a slight improvement was J<em>ust Cause 2<\/em>.\u00a0 Conversely, <em>World in Conflict<\/em> showed a decline in performance with Catalyst 10-4.\u00a0 However, we would recommend upgrading to Catalyst 10.4 because there is no real disadvantage and whatever slight plusses we found outweigh any slight negatives and it makes reasonable sense to use the latest WHQL drivers .  Of course, if you have a 5000 series Radeon, it would be wise to upgrade just for the features of Catalyst 10.4<\/p>\n<p>We will be back later this month to compare performance of Catalyst 10.5 versus 10.4.   Happy gaming!<\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle: Conclusion--><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=18220\"><img decoding=\"async\" align=top title=\"Author: Mark Poppin\" src=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Catalyst-10-4-Performance-Analysis.PNG\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,7814,6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-articles","category-news","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18220","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}