Battlefield 2 Demo

For this game, we recorded our own timedemo using the freely availabe demo versino of the game. The demo was played back using EA's demo.cmd file, but we used FRAPS to determine the framerate as the timedemo feature incorrectly incorporates frames from the loading screen (which generally runs at >400 fps on the cards we tested).

With the added graphical effects, Battlefield 2 is quite a bit more demanding of systems than its predecessor. In fact, BF2 actually has a huge memory footprint and could even take advantage of more than 1 GB of RAM! That said, frame rates varied quite a bit between the configurations, and once again a single 7800GTX beats the 6800U SLI setup - it's a tie at 1600x1200, but the 7800 holds a 42% lead at 2048x1536. ATI does very well here, surpassing the 6800U by a decent margin and coming within striking distance of the SLI setup at 2048x1536. As with other games, the 6800 series struggles with the high resolution, running less than half as fast compared to 1600x1200. The benefit of SLI over a single card ranges from over 100% on the 6800U to 59% for the 7800GTX. If you want AA/AF at 1600x1200 or higher resolutions, only the 6800U SLI or 7800GTX setups are even remotely able to handle the strain.

Battlefield 2 Demo


Battlefield 2 Demo


Battlefield 2 Demo


Battlefield 2 Demo




The Test, Card, and High Resolution Doom 3 Performance
Comments Locked

127 Comments

View All Comments

  • multiblitz - Sunday, June 26, 2005 - link

    It would be great of you could do a comparison between the 6800 and the 7800 in video /DVD-playback-quality similar to the comparison betwenn the X800 and the 6800 you did last year.
  • at80eighty - Saturday, June 25, 2005 - link

    OMG! I've never seen so many bitching whiners come outta the woodworks like this!!

    You A-holes oughta remember that this site has been kept free

    F
    R
    E
    E

    The editors owe YOU nothing. At all.

    AT team - accidents happen. Keep up the great work!

    /#121 : well said. Amazing how these turds dont realise that the knife cuts both ways...
  • mrdeez - Friday, June 24, 2005 - link

    #124
    You can stfu too...j/k..point taken .

    I guess the real issue for me is that this card is a beast but ill never have it in my sli rig......i want all settings maxed at playable resolutions thats just me.........and i will not go back to crt...lol crt thats was lame dude
  • Momental - Friday, June 24, 2005 - link

    #122 The problem with your solution regarding "all of us just getting two 6880U's" works perfectly for those with an SLI-capable board, yes? Some of us, like myself, anticpated the next generation of GPU's like the 7800 series and opted to simply upgrade to one of those when the dust settled and prices slid back a bit.

    Additionally, telling someone to "STFU" isn't necessary. We can't hold a conversation if we're all silent. Knowhuddamean, jellybean? Hand gestures don't work well over the internet, but here's one for you..........
  • SDA - Friday, June 24, 2005 - link

    LCD gamers shouldn't be bothering with new graphics cards, they should get new monitors.

    kidding, I have nothing against LCDs. The real advantage of showing the card run at 2048x1536 is that it lets you see how well the card scales to more stressful scenarios. A card that suddenly gets swamped at higher resolutions will probably not fare well in future games that need more memory bandwidth.

    On a side note, you can get a CRT that will run 2048x1536 @ a reasonable refresh for about $200 shipped (any Sony G520 variant, such as the Dell P1130). The only things that would actually be small in games are the 2D objects that have set pixel sizes, everything else looks beautiful.
  • mrdeez - Friday, June 24, 2005 - link

    #121
    lol ty for your insight....anyway like i said this card is not for lcd gamers as most have a 12x10 or 16x12.....so what purpose does this card have??answer me this batman and you have the group that should buy this card -otherwise, the rest of us should just get 2 6800u....this card is geared more for workstation graphics not gaming.....unless you game on a hi def crt and even then max res would be 1920 by 1080i..or something like that.....
  • SDA - Friday, June 24, 2005 - link

    #116, if people in the comments thread are allowed to give their opinions, why shouldn't #114 give his too? Surely even an illiterate like you should realize that arguing that everyone is entitled to his or her own argument means that the person you're arguing with is too.

    #119, some people have different requirements than others. Some just want no visible blur, others want the best contrast ratio and color reproduction they can get.
  • bob661 - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link

    #188
    Oh yeah. The monitor goes up to 16x12.
  • bob661 - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link

    #118
    I play BF2 on a Viewsonic VP201b (20.1") at work and it's very good. No streaking or ghosting. Video card is a 6800GT. I play at 1280x960.
  • Icehawk - Thursday, June 23, 2005 - link

    Well, I for one think 1280x1024 is pretty valid as that is what a 19" LCD can do. I'd just want to see a maxed out 12x10 chart to see how it does - I know a 6800 can't do it for every game with full AA and AF. Otherwise I agree - a 12x10 with no options isn't going to show much with current games.

    See, I'm considering swapping my two 21" CRTs for two 19" LCDs - and they won't do more than 12x10. I'd love to do two 20-21" LCDs but the cost is too high and fast panels aren't to be found. 19" is the sweet spot right now IMO - perhaps I'm wrong?

    Thanks AT for a nice article - accidents happen.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now