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Every dog has its day
DOOM III was the highlight of this year’s gaming as the crispy graphics and delightful cinematic effects never seen before, ID once again proved to be the leader in computer graphics. Ubisoft’s FarCry and now Valve’s Half-life 2 are equally spectacular.
3DMARK also returns this season, with a considerable degree of fanfare, which was certainly not misplaced because the benchmark has proved that most good things in life come with patience.
After a painstaking wait of 20 months, FutureMark Corporation finally unleashes 3DMARK 2005, putting an end to the Doom III revolution as well as current generation graphic cards. So the most popular graphics benchmark is back, only to prove that it is more than simply a benchmark. In fact, it’s the only benchmark-tool-game or whatever you call it that dimisses all $500 graphic cards as nothing but junk.
Not a different story as far a FutureMark is concerned for when 3DMark 03 was released, the same thing was experienced by graphic cards of that time. Geforce 4 Ti was the hottest selling card but it lacked the DX 9.0 support and so failed to run the most exciting benchmark test. ATI who already had 9700 Pro with DX 9.0 support simply blew the competition away. This scribe still has his old Ti 4200 but one can’t help but wonder whether it will it stand a chance against 3DMark?
Sadly, it doesn’t stand a chance. DirectX 8.0 days are over, if you’re the owner of Geforce 4 or an earlier version, you wont be able to run 3DMark05. Of course this makes perfect sense because even the most obsolete games today support DX 9.0. In fact, most low-end graphic cards like FX 5200 also support it and so there is no guarantee that your computer will work when you choose to play games.
Apparently, the installed size of the software is more than 600MB, a hundred times more than 3DMark 03. The increase in the number of polygons is dramatic, from several thousands to more than a million. Fully DX 9.0-supported, featuring Shader Model 2a (9700, FX 5900), 2b (X800 series) and NVIDIA’s marketing scheme, Shader Model 3 (6800 series).
The number of game tests have been decreased from four to three in the past year. Two sets of featured tests, one stressing the Vertex and Pixel Shader capabilities and the other known as a batch test, performs unique tests to check the graphic card in a very specific manner.
There is also a very interesting Image quality benchmark which has been a part of the 3DMark series. Only graphic cards supporting Pixel Shader 2 or higher can run these tests and the user can manually select which Shader models to use if their card supports the above-mentioned Shaders. As far as system specifications are concerned, that may just be a problem for many.
3DMark is a very complex graphics benchmark tool. This year’s edition is based on three different game tests while being bound to the CPU more than ever. Each test is unique in its own way, as it squeezes the maximum out of hardware. Futuremark officials say that this year’s 3DMark is more like an intense gaming engine, so if that is considered to be true, the games of today simply don’t stand a chance.
Based on the average frames you get in each test, a final score is obtained which can be used world wide to make comparisons with any other computer configuration. This way one can identify one’s obtained score with someone else’s score on a similar configuration.
“Return to proxycon” features future space invasions, in which the mothership is successfully attacked. There is a lot of gun fire and a metal shards flying. It’s an indoor first person shooter scene almost like Doom III. Unlike 3DMark 03 where the action was carried out in small corridors, this year it takes place on a much larger scale. The test duration has been increased to a great extent and there’s a lot of shiny metal and brilliant shadowing to admire. Overall this test pumps out enough eye candy to surpass the graphic levels of Doom and gives the hardware a run for its money.
This almost replaces the Nature test except that this one occurs under full moon rather than during the day. This has to be the most painful as well as stunning test of all. It is based in a dense forest during full moon, home to a magic firefly which lights up the forest with its dense greenish light.
This is a sort of a test which is just like last year’s Nature test. This scribe can run 3DMark all day long simply to look at the amazing scenes never seen before. The limited visibility doesn’t stop one from spotting the finer aspects, making this test very easy on the eyes. The minute details on leaves, real-time atmosphere and superb moon light make for an impressive environment.
Based on the scene of a magical ship flying in the sky with seagulls passing through canyons, the adventure starts as the ship captain follows a route which is unfortunately home to the largest sea monster one has ever laid eyes one. This is probably the only test available in which you can’t but exclaim “Oh my God!”
The test starts as magical flying ships gently make their way around the sea. Then the viewing angle shifts and you get a view of a very large outdoor map featuring tall mountains and superb, water reflections, better than what you see in 3D animated movies.
The sun is shining at the top which increases the complexity. The scene is said to be processed six times before one get such reflections and so is a huge improvement from the earlier version. No doubt it uses SM2 and 3 and does it quite brilliantly. The scene continues as the men in the ship get away from the large sea monster with an impressive show of boosters at the back of the ship.
This is another test which makes one want to run 3DMARK05 over and over again. The water programming is said to be all in the mathematical equation but the level of detail and water reflections you get in this test are simply surreal.
There are two CPU tests based on the scenes of the first and third tests. The CPU score doesn’t have an impact on the final score obtained. However, owing to the specifications used, the CPU test fails miserably. It is thus necessary to have a fast CPU as well.
All the above tests specifically stress on graphic cards and no sound when working for a score. However, with the demo option, one can view all three tests with delightful sound quality. The demo option has always been present in the 3DMARK series and so the tradition continues to this day. So most users are likely to view the demo ten times more than the original stress tests. The demo itself does not fall short of stressing the PC, yet one needs exceptional sound quality to fully enjoy it. Futuremark provides superb sound quality as well.
Judging from the benchmarking results, it is clear that even the most advanced graphic cards like X800 Pro fail to pump out smooth frames. Driver optimization sometime helps improve the results but for most that’s all one is going to get. While the score shown may somehow be limited by this scribe’s hardware, it is still quite respectable when it comes to worldwide comparisons. The first test comes out being the second most stressed test. The second test is perhaps the best and the most important while the last one is simply brilliant.
Speaking of details, one can use Anti-aliasing and Anisotropic to the extent of your graphic card’s support. Of course the above filtering requires 256MB RAM.
There are no sound tests in 3DMark 05 so if you want sound in benchmarks, you’ll have to an earlier version. I have played Half-life 2, Doom III and Far Cry and one can safely say that 3DMark 2005 simply the best when it comes to these games.
The writer
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