{"id":2344,"date":"2009-01-09T05:43:22","date_gmt":"2009-01-09T05:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=2344"},"modified":"2009-01-12T03:07:55","modified_gmt":"2009-01-12T03:07:55","slug":"benching-the-benchmarks-stalker-clear-sky-dx101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/benching-the-benchmarks-stalker-clear-sky-dx101\/","title":{"rendered":"Benching the Benchmarks: STALKER – Clear Sky DX10.1 Benchmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"stalker__clear_sky_logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

– We Bench the Official Benchmark<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Shadows of Chernobyl<\/em> is a popular first person shooter by GSC Game World, published in 2007.\u00a0 It features a non-linear storyline with role-playing gameplay elements such as trading and allying with NPC factions.\u00a0\u00a0 In S.T.A.L.K.E.R.<\/em>, the player assumes the identity of an amnesiac \u201cStalker\u201d – an illegal artifact scavenger in \u201cThe Zone\u201d. This is also the location for Clear Sky<\/em> –\u00a0 an earlier alternate reality story surrounding the Chernobyl Power Plant.\u00a0 GSC released this prequel story expansion on September 5, 2008 as \u201cPrologue: S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Clear Sky\u201d<\/em> and it has just now become a DX10 benchmark for us.\u00a0 In case you didn\u2019t know, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.<\/em> stands for \u201cSpecially Trained in Artifact, Lifeform and Kinetics – Energy Retrieval\u201d.\u00a0 Clear Sky<\/em> follows the typical video game introduction also seen in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.<\/em>. The player’s character, Scar, is the sole survivor of a research party after an unknown emission has discharged from the center of the Zone.\u00a0 Nursed back to health in the Clear Sky Stalker camp, he is told that the continuing emissions are disrupting the entire equilibrium of the Zone that will lead to a event even more catastrophic than the original or subsequent Chernobyl meltdowns and explosions. With the introduction over, you start on a quest to discover the source of the emissions and imbalance to save yourself and our biosphere.<\/p>\n

Clear Sky<\/em> also takes place in a surreal area called \u201cThe Zone\u201d, which encompasses roughly 30 square kilometers.\u00a0 The <\/em>original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.<\/em> uses the X-ray Engine, a DirectX8.1\/9 Shader model 3.0 graphics engine featuring HDR, parallax and normal mapping, soft shadows, motion blur, weather effects and day-to-night cycles. As with other engines using deferred shading, the DX9 X-ray Engine does not support anti-aliasing with dynamic lighting enabled.\u00a0 Clear Sky<\/em> has added DX10 extensions to the X-Ray Engine that adds real AA; and the DX10 lighting and shadowing effects are really well done – especially in comparison to early DX10 games like Lost Planet<\/em> and Call of Juarez<\/em>.\u00a0 However, there are still short unexplained slowdowns that will usually drop your frame rates into the teens as DX10 is much heavier on your graphics card than the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.<\/em><\/p>\n

(all of our screen shots are posted at 1920×1200)<\/span>
\n <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

\"xr_3da-2008-12-20-20-42-12-91\"<\/a>

STALKER - DX9c<\/p><\/div>\n

\"xrengine-2008-10-12-20-21-51-91\"<\/a>

Clear Sky - DX10<\/p><\/div>\n


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<\/p>\n

Clear Sky<\/em> Official Benchmark<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We got a very pleasant surprise at the end of last year, last week:
<\/p>\n

http:\/\/cs.stalker-game.com\/en\/?page=news&item=119<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky benchmark<\/strong>
\n 30 December 2008<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“Dear players, hardware specialists, overclockers, modders and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans! We are happy to present you a special version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky designed for testing the performance of your PC!<\/span><\/p>\n

This benchmark is based on one of the ingame locations \u2013 Marshland. The testing process includes four stages, those utilizing various weather and time of the day settings (day, night, rain, bright sun). In order to test your system thoroughly the benchmark is provided with a number of presets and options including different versions of DirectX (9.0, 10.0, 10.1), screen resolutions, antialiasing etc, all at your disposal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having your PC tested with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky benchmark you will be able to get detailed information about its performance on various graphical modes and find out how well your system is balanced for gaming and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky in particular.<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, we love STALKER<\/em> and CS<\/em> – this editor cut his reading teeth, as it were, in elementary school – on Russian Science fiction on which the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.<\/em> series is based – so I jumped right into the benchmark.<\/p>\n

For our benchmarking, patch 1.07 was used; it was first to add DX10.1 support to Clear Sky<\/em> – and today – date of publication, patch 1.08 is released.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/cs.stalker-game.com\/en\/?page=patches<\/a><\/p>\n

Changes:
\n – Added the possibility for admins to take screenshots of a player’s screen (as an anti-wallhack-cheats measure) by console commands (make_screenshot, screenshot_all).
\n – Fixed bug with banning the players.
\n – Fixed bug with saving the rank and money amount of the player upon the round restart (if the player deliberately closed the game process in the task manager, and then reconnected).
\n – Increased the stability of the network play.<\/span>
<\/p>\n

Fortunately, 1.08 all appears to be multi-player related, so we present our findings which are still valid and up-to-date with with you can expect from Clear Sky<\/em> bench.<\/p>\n

\"next-page\"<\/a><\/p>\n


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<\/p>\n

… The Clear Sky<\/em> Benchmark<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is a very intensive benchmark and one that has made some non-game owners to wish they had the full expansion.\u00a0 It takes approximately 12 minutes to run it all and there are 4 sub-tests that are detailed when you complete it:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Day <\/li>\n
  2. Night <\/li>\n
  3. Rain <\/li>\n
  4. Sun shafts<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    All of the tests offer decent repeatability and are usually quite close from run to run – although not identical.\u00a0 From my own game play, this benchmark is fairly representative of what you will encounter in-game if you max out the settings as we did.\u00a0 You are presented with a few choices.\u00a0 We picked ‘Ultra’as our “preset” choice.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Minimum<\/li>\n
    2. Low<\/li>\n
    3. Default<\/li>\n
    4. High<\/li>\n
    5. Extreme<\/li>\n
    6. Ultra<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For “Render”<\/strong> we picked the DX10 pathway – No. 5:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Static\u00a0 Lighting<\/li>\n
      2. Objects Dynamic Lighting <\/li>\n
      3. Full Lighting<\/li>\n
      4. Enhanced Full\u00a0Lighting<\/li>\n
      5. Enhanced Full Dynamic Lighting (DX10.0)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        You have a plethoria of resolutions<\/strong> to choose from.\u00a0 We chose three which are most common among gamers with current modern PCs:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. 1920×1200<\/li>\n
        2. 1680×1050<\/li>\n
        3. 1440×990<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Finally, there are Advanced Options which offer:<\/p>\n

          MSAA<\/strong>; we chose 4x.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Off<\/li>\n
          2. 2x<\/li>\n
          3. 4x<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            MSAA for A-Tested Objects<\/em>; and we tested both<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Off<\/li>\n
            2. Dx10 Syle (Standard)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              A final DX10.1 checkbox option<\/strong> is for ATi cards only which brings up the highest options, which we also benchmarked.\u00a0 This last option is grayed out for Nvidia cards.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Use DX10. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Here is full disclosure of our testing setup:<\/p>\n

                Test Configuration<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
                \n
                \n Test Configuration – Hardware<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                * Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 (reference 3.33 GHz; overclocked to 3.99Ghz ).
                \n * ASUS P5e-Deluxe (Intel X48 chipset, latest BIOS. PCIe 2.0 specification; crossfire 16x+16x).
                \n * 4 GB DDR2-PC8500 RAM (2×2 GB, dual-channel).
                \n * Nvidia GeForce GTX280 (1GB, nVidia reference clocks) by BFGTech
                \n * ATi Radeon 4870 (1GB, reference clocks) by ASUS
                \n * ATi Radeon 4870X2 (2 GB, reference clocks) by VisionTek
                \n * On-board Audio – ASUS P5e daughter-card – SupremeFX-II
                \n * 2 – Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 Hard Drives [setup identically, except for the graphics cards]\n

                Test Configuration \u2013 Software<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                * ATi Catalyst 8.12, highest quality mip-mapping set in the driver; Catalyst AI set to \u201cadvanced\u201d
                \n * nVidia Geforce 180.48, high quality driver setting, all optimizations off, LOD clamp enabled.
                \n * Windows Vista 32-bit SP1; very latest updates
                \n * DirectX November 2008; or as included with the Clear Sky<\/em> benchmark.
                \n * Clear Sky<\/em> patched to 1.07.<\/p>\n


                \n Test Configuration \u2013 Settings<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                * as noted, vsync off in the driver to \u201capplication decide\u201d and never in game.
                \n * 4xAA enabled in-game; all settings at maximum – “Ultra”
                \n * All results show average, minimum and maximum frame rates
                \n * Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
                \n * Vista32, under DX10\/10.1 render paths<\/p>\n


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                \"last-page\"<\/a>\"next-page\"<\/a><\/p>\n


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                Day<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                This is the first of the benchmark tests presented.\u00a0 It is slightly less demanding than some of the others.\u00a0
                <\/p>\n

                \"Day<\/a>

                Day - Outdoor scene<\/p><\/div>\n

                \"Day<\/a>

                Day - Indoor scene<\/p><\/div>\n


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                We test ‘Day’ first at 1920×1200, then 1680×1050 and finally at 1440×990 resolutions:<\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-day1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1680x1050-day\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1440x990-day\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                Well, we can forget about using last generations single-fastest video card, 8800GTX.\u00a0 We see it dropping into the single digits!\u00a0 Only 4870-X2 offers nearly-playable frame rates at its minimums – and that is at 1440×990 resolution!!\u00a0 Generally, without anti-aliasing, the 4870-X2 offers a playable experience at 1920×1200.<\/p>\n


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                \"last-page\"<\/a>\"next-page\"<\/a><\/p>\n


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                Night<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                Here the same scene repeats itself, but now it is nighttime and the scene is light up by moonlight and lightning flashes.\u00a0 Also, there is occasionally rain at night, but it does not seem to make much difference to performance.The next bench deals specifically with rain, however.
                \n <\/strong><\/p>\n

                \"xrengine-2009-01-04-18-58-36-15\"<\/a>

                Night - Indoor Scene<\/p><\/div>\n

                \"xrengine-2009-01-04-18-59-15-52\"<\/a>

                Night - Outdoor Scene<\/p><\/div>\n


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                We also test ‘Night’ first at 1920×1200, then 1680×1050 and finally at 1440×990 resolutions:<\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-night1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1680x1050-night\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1440x990-night\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                The differences are not “night and day”.\u00a0 Here we see the same performance ranking as in the earlier test and you can forget about 8800GTX for DX10; or 280GTX for 1920×1200 if you max every setting out.<\/p>\n


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                Rain<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                Now we see the same scene repeat itself but in the daytime – now the sun is obscured by clouds and it looks like a cold rain.<\/p>\n

                \"xrengine-2009-01-04-19-02-24-25\"<\/a>

                So dreary, Rain<\/p><\/div>\n

                \"It<\/a>

                It does not rain indoors! .. unless the roof leaks<\/p><\/div>\n


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                We also test ‘Rain’ first at 1920×1200, then 1680×1050 and finally at 1440×990 resolutions:<\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-rain1\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

                \"1680x1050-rain\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

                <\/em><\/p>\n

                \"1440x990-rain\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                What can we say?\u00a0 The results are a repetition of the first two tests.<\/p>\n


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                \"last-page\"<\/a>\"next-page\"<\/a><\/p>\n


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                Sun Shafts<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                This test is perhaps even more demanding as it makes use of heavy shader power to illustrate the effects of brilliant sunshine and “god rays” on a sunny early morning.\u00a0 It is the most “overdone” of the DX10 effects – compared to the other three tests, in this reviewer’s opinion – but still much better than the early DX10 games.
                \n <\/strong><\/p>\n

                <\/em><\/p>\n

                \"A<\/a><\/em><\/em>

                A brilliant sunrise<\/p><\/div>\n

                \"Rise<\/a><\/em><\/em>

                Rise and shine, STALKERs<\/p><\/div>\n

                <\/em><\/p>\n


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                We also test ‘Sun Shafts’ first at 1920×1200, then 1580×1050 and finally at 1440×990 resolutions:<\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-sun11\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

                \"1680x1050-sun-shafts\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1440x990-sun-shafts\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                Wow! .. Even 4870-X2 and GTX280 struggle with the minimums – at 1440×990!!<\/p>\n


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                Dx10.1, “MSAA for A-tested Objects” and Conclusion:
                \n <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                Do you think it can get worse?\u00a0 Oh yes.\u00a0 More Clear Sky<\/em> DX10.1 features will make every card struggle now – at all resolutions!<\/p>\n

                <\/em><\/p>\n

                \"In<\/a><\/em><\/em>

                In game, night <\/p><\/div>\n

                \"In<\/a><\/em><\/em>

                In game, day<\/p><\/div>\n

                <\/em><\/p>\n


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                If you thought DX10 was demanding on your PC on the “regular” DX10 pathway for Clear Sky<\/em>, wait until we check “MSAA for A-tested objects” – which requires still higher performance from your video card.\u00a0 Notice that the 280GTX takes a bigger performance hit – percentage-wise – than the 4870.\u00a0 Also, we note there is an additional highest <\/em>setting available for Radeon cards that is not available to Nvidia cards – DX10.1.\u00a0 Fortunately for ATi owners,\u00a0 when we use a powerful card like 4870×2, it’s performance hit is slightly less than with the lower setting that the GTX280 Geforce can run.\u00a0 In actually playing<\/strong> the Clear Sky<\/em> game, however, the practical difference in visuals between DX10.0 and DX10.1 is unnoticeable; especially when you are being shot at.<\/p>\n

                Here is our final set of four benchmarks – all at 1920×1200 to show the performance variablity between out test cards.\u00a0 The “+” is MSAA for A-tested objects and Dx10.1 is only run on 4870 and 4870-X2 as the option for DX10.1 is grayed out for Nvidia cards.\u00a0 We did not bother with and retired our 8800GTX for this test.<\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-day\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-night\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-rain\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                \"1920x1200-sun-shafts1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

                Conclusion:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                You might have noticed that CrossfireX-3 – a staple of our “GPU Shootout Series”<\/a>– is conspicously missing.\u00a0 That is because it refuses to run with either the CS<\/em> benchmark – or the Clear Sky<\/em> expansion –\u00a0 since it was released.\u00a0 We hope AMD is paying attention as this game needs all the graphics muscle it can muster.\u00a0 Clearly, this generation of video card is not well suited for playing Clear Sky<\/em> even at 1920×1200 with fully maxed out DX10 settings.\u00a0 The only hope is for multi-GPU and well scaling drivers.<\/p>\n

                Realistically, unless you are playing with a 4870×2, you are going to have to turn down some settings in CS – even at 1680×1050 resolution.\u00a0 We will keep you updated if drivers improve this situation for any of our test cards – and expecially for CrossfireX-3.\u00a0 In the meantime, we hope you enjoy running this benchmark for yourself.<\/p>\n


                <\/p>\n

                Feel free to post comments below or discuss this review in our ABT forums<\/a>.<\/p>\n

                Mark Poppin<\/p>\n

                ABT Editor
                <\/p>\n


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                \"last-page\"<\/a><\/p>\n


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                <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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