NVIDIA’s GeForce 9800 GTX delivered the best overall performance in our mainstream Fallout 3 performance testing, outrunning the Radeon 4850 by up to 19% under 4xAA, although the margin narrows to just 3% by 1920x1200 with 8xAA. ATI’s cards have consistently outperformed their NVIDIA counterparts under 8xAA, but we were honestly surprised to see how far they fell behind under 4xAA in Fallout 3. Again, we think this is likely partly attributable to immature drivers on ATI’s part, as the 4000 series cards are generally more competitive with competing GeForce cards in other games under 4xAA.
Because of this, the Radeon 4830 finished behind the GeForce 8800/9800 GT under 4xAA, but managed to pull ahead of the GeForce GT boards under 8xAA.
The GeForce 9600 GT really surprised us with its performance in Fallout 3. Not only did the card outperform the GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB, it nearly matched the 9800 GT in performance, running just 4-9% slower than the 9800 GT overall. The Radeon 3850 and 3870 also put up a stronger showing than we expected.
Moving further down the totem pole, the Radeon 4670 struggled against the 9600 GSO under 4xAA, although the tables turned with 8xAA, with the newer Radeon card pulling ahead of the 9600 GSO by 19% at 1600x1200. Our GeForce 9600 GSO board shipped with just 384MB of memory, which certainly put it at a disadvantage at such a high AA level. A 768MB GSO board would have fared better, but these cards generally sell for $20-$30 more than 384MB cards. At that point you’re better off going with a 9600 GT.
We tested the GeForce 9500 GT DDR2 and GDDR3 under 4xAA, although honestly we feel that hardware enthusiasts in this price bracket would be best served by holding onto their cash until they can afford to spend another $30 or so for a Radeon 4670 or GeForce 9600 GSO. Both of these GPUs deliver much better performance than the GeForce 9500 series, as well as ATI’s own Radeon 4500s.
Fallout 3 doesn’t push GPUs like Crysis or STALKER: Clear Sky, but it is an enjoyable experience nonetheless. Because it isn’t as graphically demanding as some of the other games on the market, you don’t have to fork over $400 or more on a new graphics card for the best Fallout 3 experience if you don’t want too, in fact the cards we tested today are more than capable of handling the game.
This is probably a refreshing change if you’re tired of hearing the hype around DX10 graphics and Vista; Fallout 3 requires neither to deliver its best graphics. In fact the game is surprisingly tame on hardware and loads quicker than any game we’ve tested in quite some time. When combined with the game’s solid gameplay and storyline, Fallout 3 should appeal to a large audience of RPG fans as well as FPS gamers looking for an alternative to the linear style of most shooters.
Batman: Arkham City PC Review Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to 2009’s smash-hit action game Batman: Arkham Asylum. As the name suggests, you will be reprising your role as the Caped Crusader and going against an even larger 'prison' filled with Gotham's criminals and villains. A textbook example on how to do a proper sequel, Arkham City takes what worked in the original, excised or improved upon what didn’t, and elevated everything to an even greater scope. The PC version suffered from a few months of delay, but in that time, Rocksteady worked closely to NVIDIA to implement some familiar technologies from the last game, such as PhysX and 3D Vision, along with new DirectX 11 optimizations. But how well was the whole package executed? Read on to find out!
Saints Row: The Third PC Review Saints Row is one of most unique series of games to build upon the open-world action template forged by Grand Theft Auto, and has met with plenty of critical and commercial success since it began on consoles back in 2006. This latest iteration, titled Saints Row: The Third promises the most outlandish fun and freedom of customization of them all, and in a much more PC-friendly package than its predecessor. Does it live up to those expectations and, more importantly, is it worth the price of admission? Find out in Will's latest review!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda Softworks’ latest offering in their series of epic fantasy RPGs, as well as one of the most highly-anticipated PC titles of 2011. As the Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn, prepare to take the fight to the mythical beasts that have returned to the realm after centuries of slumber, all the while exploring a huge and highly-detailed open world.
The PC version of the game promises enhanced graphical fidelity, standard RPG trimmings such as hotkeys and quick-save, as well as unbridled mod support, something we’ll all be thankful for once they release that SDK. Skyrim has already sold millions of copies and set records for play-time on Steam... Find out why in today's review, which happens to be one of the biggest and most in-depth articles on the subject out there!
L.A. Noire Complete Edition PC Review L.A. Noire, as the name clearly states, is a video game built on the tropes of one of the greatest periods of American cinema: film noir. Developed by the now defunct Australian developer Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, this title has been out on consoles for a full six months before finally making its way to the PC. This “Complete Edition” of the game features improved graphics, keyboard/mouse controls, and every bit of previously-released DLC for free. But was it truly worth the wait? Read on and find out!
Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E Performance Review
Today marks the launch date for Intel’s Sandy Bridge-E line of processors, a new family of high-end Core i7 products based on the LGA 2011 platform. This new socket is poised to replace the existing LGA 1366 specification used by the more powerful Nehalem and Westmere parts from the past couple years, specifically Bloomfield and Gulftown, the Core i7-9xx+ line of CPUs.
With 6 cores, 15MB of cache, and support for quad-channel DDR3-1600 memory, the Core i7-3960X sounds like quite a catch. Want to know more about it and how it performs? Read on!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Xbox 360 Review
The self-appointed "most anticipated game in history" launched worldwide this past Tuesday. Why, it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, of course (of course), what else? Unsurprisingly, the military FPS debate between this and Battlefield 3 rages on, but now that both have been released, surely we can take a look and objectively evaluate them both? Luke's taken the Xbox version of MW3 for a spin this week, so to find out what he thinks of it in today's review!
Stronghold 3 Review
The latest sequel in the long-running real-time strategy franchise from FireFly Studios, Stronghold 3 is all about building your dream castle and defending it against sieging enemies. Almost exactly one decade after the first game was released, this new title promises a return to the classic and well-received gameplay that has been strayed so far from in more recent iterations. Does it live up to those expectations? Will (AKA Synchronous Failure) tells us all about it in his first official FiringSquad review, so read on!
Battlefield 3 PC Review - Single-player Impressions
One of the most highly-anticipated PC games of the year is upon us; Battlefield 3 is now available in North America! EA/DICE have finally delivered a sequel to the core Battlefield franchise, a proper follow-up to BF2. Having played through the game's single-player campaign already, ahead of the multiplayer festivities kicking off around midnight, I figured I'd share my impressions ASAP. Is it really a worthy addition to the core Battlefield series, or just another bullet point on the back of the box? Read on and find out!
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited Supersonic Software Interview
Following up on our hands-on preview from earlier this month, here's an interview with Supersonic Software, creators of Wrecked: Revenge Revisited. The game's coming out on XBLA and PSN in a matter of weeks, but for now, Luke chats with the developer about its predecessors Mashed and Micro Machines, how difficult it can be to get an indie game published, the closure of Codemasters' Guildford branch, and more!
Orcs Must Die! PC Review Orcs Must Die! is the first release from an independent developer named Robot Entertainment. Fans of classic real-time strategy games may have heard that name before, as the outfit is comprised of many veterans from Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires series.
Equal parts action and strategy, this is a tower defense game that not only puts you in command, but on the front lines of combat, as well. Slaughter thousands of orcs, ogres and other vile creatures of fantasy that invade your fortresses through 24 levels of the story-based campaign. With high levels of replayability thanks to its scoring and leaderboard functionality, multiple difficulty levels, and various styles of play, it sounds a steal at only $15. Does it deliver on all that’s promised, though? Read on and find out!
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