SimCity 4 Performance no AA/AF

We are hoping that we will find a better way to benchmark SimCity 4, as the way we are doing so at present has some issues. When we scroll to the edge of the world, ATIs cards shoot up to over 250fps, while NVIDIAs cards hit a more moderate maximum in the mid 70s. In looking at our data right now, we can see that the instantaneous low framerates for all the NVIDIA cards hovered around 64 fps, while ATIs cards dropped to the mid 50's. Due to this fact, we are counting this benchmark a draw.

SimCity 4 Performance 4xAA/8xAF

When we turn on AA, the 9800 XT and the 9600 XT are able to maintain low framerates of about 58, while the NVIDIA cards only hit 38. We feel the high frame rates are skewing the data more than they should, but when AA/AF is turned on, ATIs cards definitly pull out in front.

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  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    these anonymous forusm are always a hoot.
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    Derek takes it in the pooper
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    #62 making 60k a year is still below the threshhold of being able to spend money on whatever you want and not giving a f&5k....if you made 1mil a year I highly doubt you wouldn't drop the $500 on the best card without thinking twice. So don't call other's dumb for buying video cards...maybe that's how they want to spend their money....If you saved some trips to the "Blue Oyster" I'm sure you'd have a $500 card as well.
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    The message is damn clear, nvidia is using DDR2 memory to fill in the performance gaps.. Nvidia shuckhs!
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    doesnt anon mean something in french?

  • Live - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    Anon postings should be disabled. If people dont have the energy to register the energy awarded to there post is likely to be the same minimal amount.
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    #64, that makes perfect sense, just don't visit AnandTech. After all, it's not like you've just given them a page impression. lol

    Seriously, AnandTech will never lose readers or respect as long as they keep doing what they're doing. The critics here that break down every minute detail about what this review did "wrong" aren't gamers. If they were, they would realize that the IQ "differences" are so minuscule it's like trying to argue that nForce2 is incredibly faster than KT600, when the reality is that nForce2's attractiveness comes from its superior sound (APU), overclockability, and stability, most certainly not its “earth shattering” performance. nForce2’s better performance is simply a bonus to any half-intelligent hardware enthusiast, not its main selling point.
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    watchu' talkin'bout willis?!
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    Look, some of us see that these reviews seem to no longer reflect reality. What to do? Quit visiting the site, quit giving AT page impressions. Find reviews elsewhere; god knows there are enough other hardware sites to choose from.
  • Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link

    stop crying about the IQ. as #62 said "ESPECIALLY fps games where constant movement makes it almost impossible to notice the IQ differences". i would add - the difference between fx5950u and radeon 9800XT.

    i spent about 1/3 of the last 10 years playing games. i can call myself a GAMER. i want to play my games at at least 55-60 FPS and nothing else matters. i got radeon 9600pro. that's what i can affort. if fx5600u was faster i would've got it instead. brand doesn't matter if i got 60FPS at 1024x768.

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