FarCry is a hot first-person shooter that takes in-game graphics to the next level, although in a different direction than DOOM 3. Instead of darkness and confined spaces, FarCry can place you outdoors, on bright sandy beaches, jungles or even on the water itself. This game gives our video cards a different kind of a stress test, and rest assured that FarCry ranks up there with the very toughest 3D game benchmarks. FarCry is an interesting benchmark, as it combines the old school performance requirements with new features such as support for SM 3.0. For this test, we are using the full retail version, and the included in-game demo.
The latest patches enable SM 3.0 support for FarCry, and this makes it an excellent test of current 3D feature sets and performance. Here we have the Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT posting very high-end scores for its class, and sticking very close to the performance of the GeForce 6800 Ultra at 1280x1024. Once we hit 1600x1200, the Gigabyte card drops back slightly, but still remains competitive, and well ahead of the next-fastest GeForce 6800 GS card.
FarCry is a heavy-duty game benchmark, and the higher detail 4X AA and 8X AF settings do cause the framerates of the Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT 256MB to drop back quite noticeably. The Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT 256MB is still the cream of the mainstream crop, but in this case, it is relegated to that performance class.
Quake 4 is the latest in 3D first-person shooters from id Software and Raven, and while the actual storyline is pretty standard fare and the game itself is based on the DOOM 3 engine, the graphics are exceptional and it is an improvement over previous games. The lighting and shadow effects are excellent, and the overall level design and architecture are a real treat. The overall load on the graphics card can be extreme, which is both a blessing and a curse, depending on the actual hardware you are testing.
Quake 4 is one of our most demanding benchmarks, and it definitely brings out the best in the Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT card. The Gigabyte board holds down second place in this chart, well in front of the GeForce 6800 Ultra, and slightly ahead of the Radeon X1800 XL in terms of overall 1280/x1024 - 1600x1200 performance.
The Quake 4 benchmarking with 4X AA and 8X AF modes enabled did not progress as anticipated, and instead of the Gigabyte GeForce 7600 GT 256MB card dropping back slightly from the top-end models, it actually performs better. It clearly holds down second place and is noticeably ahead of both the GeForce 6800 Ultra and Radeon X1800 XL.
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