Fall '06 NVIDIA GPU Refresh - Part I: GeForce 7900 GS

Battlefield 2 Performance

This benchmark is performed using DICE's built in demo playback functionality with a few added extras built in house. When using the built in demo playback features of BF2, frames rendered during the loading screen are counted in the benchmark. In order to get a real idea of performance, we use the instantaneous frametime and frames per second data generated from a benchmark run. We discard the data collected during the loading screen and calculate a result that represents the actual gameplay that was benchmarked. While DICE maintains that results over 100fps aren't reliable, our methods have allowed us to get useful data from high performing systems.

During the benchmark, the camera switches between players and vehicles in order to capture the most action possible. There is a lot of smoke and explosions, so this is a very GPU intensive Battlefield 2 benchmark. The game itself is best experienced with average in-game framerates of 35 and up.

We ran Battlefield 2 using the highest quality graphics settings we could. Shadows, lighting, and especially view distance are very important in order to best play the game. In our opinion view distance should never be set to less than the max, but other settings can be decreased slightly if a little more performance or a higher resolution is required.

For a little less money, the overclocked 7900 GS delivers a little more performance than the X1900 GT under Battlefield 2. It seems like the X1900 GT may have a CPU limited advantage here, but at higher resolutions the XFX 7900 GS can deliver about 6% higher performance under the highest settings (without AA) for slightly less money. The X1900 GT is more competitive with the stock 7900 GS, but the advantage NVIDIA has in this case is in value.

With AA enabled, the X1900 GT closes the gap on the overclocked 7900 GS and outperforms the stock version. When all is said and done, the XFX 480M offers performance and value at least at the level of the X1900 GT in BF2. For those who wish to save the extra $20, the performance hit for not choosing the overclocked model is not huge. Which is the better deal will have to come down to personal preference and/or finance.