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		Quake 4 Performance Optimization Guide November 30, 2005

Summary: Disappointed with your performance in Quake 4? If so, today's Quake 4 Optimization Guide may help. Stathi goes over all of Quake 4's video settings with a range of budget, mainstream, and semi-high-end PCI-E and AGP graphics cards. See the performance impact of each setting, as well as screenshots of what each setting does in this article!

Introduction and Test Bed Setup Page:: ( 1 / 7 )

Let the Fragfest begin!

Test bed setup and explanation

The range of cards used in the guide is a little different than for our Battlefield 2 guide. We are using mostly mainstream cards in this lineup, while still using the budget cards. We are going to use both PCI-E and AGP cards on newer and older motherboards to test out how CPU dependant the game is. The motherboards and CPUs we will be using are the AMD Athlon 64 3800+ with the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum (for the PCI-E cards) and the Pentium 4 2.8Ghz with the P4S8X (AGP Cards). Our memory configuration is 1GB of Corsair Dual Channel DDR memory for the Athlon board and 1GB of memory for the P4S8X board. Below you can see pictures of the cards and the systems.

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System Setup

AMD Athlon 64 3800+
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Motherboard (for PCI-e cards)
Pentium 4 2800Mhz
ASUS P4S8X (for AGP cards)
1GB Corsair XMS TWINX DDR400 Dual Channel DDR Memory
1GB DDR SDRAM
80GB Western Digital SE Hard Drive
60GB Seagate 7200RPM Hard Drive
Windows XP Professional SP2
DirectX 9.0c
Quake 4
Timedemo C

Video Cards used for Testing

ATI Cards, using Catalyst Version 5.11 (non-CCC)
Sapphire Radeon X850XT PE, PCI-e
Sapphire Radeon X700Pro 256MB, PCI-e
MSI Radeon RX600XT-TD128E, PCI-e
Tyan Tachyon G9500 Pro (unlocked), AGP

NVIDIA cards, using Forceware Version 81.85
NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT, PCI-e
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra, AGP

The Cards Page:: ( 2 / 7 )

Pre-Game Attributes

Here you will see the pre-game attributes for all of the ATI cards. We used Catalyst version 5.11 (without Catalyst Control Center).

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The settings for the NVIDIA cards used in this optimization guide are shown below. We used Forceware Driver Version 81.82.

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*Test Notes: This is not a video card comparison article, but an optimization guide for various cards. People with faster or slower systems will have different results than these shown. Cards were tested at 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024. With the higher end cards we incorporated 4xAA. After the results were tabulated, we picked a target resolution and quality for each card. The target resolution and quality setting had to be an amount that would give us the best quality/performance combination and still allow for tweaking. We then tested the advanced settings for each card utilizing the target resolution and quality to see what impact it would have. Please note that resolutions higher than 1280x1024 were not tested. DirectX levels are kept at their native hardware levels. All resolutions use 32-bit color with OpenGL and Vertical Synchronization disabled.

Main Menu, Terrain, and Effects Page:: ( 3 / 7 )

Main Menu

The Main Menu is fairly simple to use and gives you all of your options at the bottom left corner. Its eerie feel makes you feel right at home in terms of what to expect in a Quake game. Click on the Settings tab and check out the screens below.

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Settings in Depth

Low Quality

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Quake 4 Performance 800x600
Performance	Normal	4x
RADEON X850 XT PE	88.1	79.2
GeForce 6800 GT	89.1	83
RADEON X700 PRO	78.6	60.1
RADEON X600 XT	58	33.8
RADEON 9500 PRO	18.8	NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	19.6	NT

Quake 4 Performance 1024x768
Performance	Normal	4x
RADEON X850 XT PE	91.3	72.4
GeForce 6800 GT	87.5	77.2
RADEON X700 PRO	68.7	44.6
RADEON X600 XT	40.6	24
RADEON 9500 PRO	18.9	NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	19.1	NT

Quake 4 Performance 1280x1024
Performance	Normal	4x
RADEON X850 XT PE	76.9	62.7
GeForce 6800 GT	74.8	57.6
RADEON X700 PRO	48	30.5
RADEON X600 XT	26.6	16.2
RADEON 9500 PRO	17.6	NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	17.1	NT

*Only cards with better results were tested with Anti-Aliasing. NT means “Not Tested”

Medium Quality

Quake 4’s medium quality mode continues to use compression for the game’s normal, specular, and diffuse maps. However, unlike the low quality setting, with the medium quality setting you’ll get high-resolution, 512x512 textures. This setting gives you above average frame rates and good image quality. However it is almost never recommended due to how close the benchmarks are to the same cards running in High Quality mode. Check out the benchmarks below for each card.

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[image]Compare the medium and low quality images interactively!
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Quake 4 Performance 800x600
Performance Normal 4x
RADEON X850 XT PE 88.4 78.7
GeForce 6800 GT 92.5 87.3
RADEON X700 PRO 77.7 57.8
RADEON X600 XT 56.4 33.5
RADEON 9500 PRO 19.3 NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 19.3 NT

Quake 4 Performance 1024x768
Performance Normal 4x
RADEON X850 XT PE 85.9 71.7
GeForce 6800 GT 86.6 76.3
RADEON X700 PRO 66.7 43.2
RADEON X600 XT 40.2 23.8
RADEON 9500 PRO 19.8 NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 18 NT

Quake 4 Performance 1280x1024
Performance Normal 4x
RADEON X850 XT PE 82.9 61.4
GeForce 6800 GT 73.1 56.5
RADEON X700 PRO 46.1 29.7
RADEON X600 XT 26.4 16.2
RADEON 9500 PRO 18.2 NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 16.4 NT

*Only cards with better results were tested with Anti-Aliasing. NT means “Not Tested”

High Quality and Ultra Quality Page:: ( 4 / 7 )

High Quality

Quake 4’s high quality mode continues to use compression for for specular and diffuse but no compression for normal maps. This looks very close to ultra quality but the compression does cause some loss. This setting has the best mix of quality and performance associated with it. You still get beautiful graphics on screen while maintaining decent frames per second. Most machines that are newer should be able to handle this decently, so shoot for this if you can.

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Quake 4 Performance 800x600
Performance	Normal	4x
RADEON X850 XT PE	87.8	77.8
GeForce 6800 GT	91.1	84
RADEON X700 PRO	74.4	52.8
RADEON X600 XT	49	30.4
RADEON 9500 PRO	19.9	NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	19.8	NT

Quake 4 Performance 1024x768
Performance	Normal	4x
RADEON X850 XT PE	85	71
GeForce 6800 GT	83.1	69.5
RADEON X700 PRO	62.2	40.6
RADEON X600 XT	35.2	21.8
RADEON X1800 XT	20.6	NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	18	NT

Quake 4 Performance 1280x1024
Performance	Normal	4x
RADEON X850 XT PE	81.8	59
GeForce 6800 GT	66.3	51.3
RADEON X700 PRO	41.9	28.3
RADEON X600 XT	23.3	15
RADEON 9500 PRO	18	NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	15.4	NT

*Only cards with better results were tested with Anti-Aliasing. NT means “Not Tested”

Ultra Quality

The ultra quality mode loads each texture diffuse, specular, normal map at full resolution with no compression. This is the ultimate in terms of how beautiful this game can look. If your card can handle it then by all means use this setting. The picture looks phenomenal and it will be hard not to fall in love with this game at this setting. The frame rates at this setting are a big drop from high quality though, especially on lower-end cards, so you should probably stick with the high quality setting unless you are running a very fast machine with a high-end graphics card, good CPU and around 1GB of memory.

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[image]Compare the high and ultra high quality images interactively!
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Quake 4 Performance 800x600
Performance Normal 4x
RADEON X850 XT PE 62.5 62.5
GeForce 6800 GT 74.8 67.2
RADEON X700 PRO 44.6 32.6
RADEON X600 XT 25.7 17.9
RADEON 9500 PRO 14.9 NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 14.6 NT

Quake 4 Performance 1024x768
Performance Normal 4x
RADEON X850 XT PE 68.5 53.9
GeForce 6800 GT 62 53.3
RADEON X700 PRO 37.3 27.2
RADEON X600 XT 20 13.6
RADEON 9500 PRO 13.6 NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 13.8 NT

Quake 4 Performance 1280x1024
Performance Normal 4x
RADEON X850 XT PE 52.2 41
GeForce 6800 GT 53.4 36
RADEON X700 PRO 27.3 19.5
RADEON X600 XT 15 10.1
RADEON 9500 PRO 11.2 NT
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 10.7 NT

*Only cards with better results were tested with Anti-Aliasing. NT means “Not Tested”

Target Resolutions and Target Quality Page:: ( 5 / 7 )

Target Resolutions and Quality is listed below for each card.

Card Target Resolution Target Quality
RADEON X850 XT PE 1280x1024 Ultra (4xAA)
GeForce 6800 GT 1280x1024 Ultra (4xAA)
RADEON X700 PRO 1280x1024 Ultra (NoAA)
RADEON X600 XT 1024x768 High (NoAA)
RADEON 9500 PRO 1024x768 High (NoAA)
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra 1024x768 High (NoAA)

*We will use only these targets in the testing of the advanced graphics options below.

High Quality Special Effects

High Quality Special Effects improves the fun factor of the game tremendously. It gives gun flare more detail while the area immediately surrounding flames will have a haze effect around it, and allows for all the bells and whistles of Quake 4 to shine though onto your computer screen. Notice the differences below?

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Quake 4 Performance
Performance	Off	On
RADEON X850 XT PE	41.1	41
GeForce 6800 GT	36.4	36
RADEON X700 PRO	27.4	27.3
RADEON X600 XT	35.2	35.2
RADEON 9500 PRO	18.2	20.6
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	19.1	18

Shadows

This one is pretty simple. This option enables shadows from static or dynamic objects throughout the game. Also to be noted is that this option puts a pretty big hit on your graphics card when enabled, so opting to turn this feature off on slower rigs is recommended. Look at the screens below.

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Quake 4 Performance
Performance	Off	On
RADEON X850 XT PE	51.9	41
GeForce 6800 GT	45.8	36
RADEON X700 PRO	31.7	27.3
RADEON X600 XT	*42.8*	35.2
RADEON 9500 PRO	20.1	20.6
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	*19.4*	18

Specular Lights

Specular lighting produces shiny highlights on the surface of objects within the game and helps to distinguish between flat, dull surfaces and shiny surfaces. It also brings more depth and realism to objects. This light comes from a point source, and is reflected on the object in a direction that agrees with the shape of the object. See the images below to see the difference!

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Quake 4 Performance
Performance	Off	On
RADEON X850 XT PE	50.3	41
GeForce 6800 GT	47.2	36
RADEON X700 PRO	*33.8*	27.3
RADEON X600 XT	37.3	35.2
RADEON 9500 PRO	19.6	20.6
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	18.1	18

Bump Maps

Bump Maps are used to add detail to objects in the game without changing the polygon count. In essence, bump maps add depth to what are essentially 2D surfaces. The added detail is created from light reflections onto the object that create a “bump” on the surface thus giving it texture and depth. This does not actually change the surface of the object though, just the appearance. Bump Mapping is a tool that software and game developers have been using for years to create better looking objects. Look at the picture below to see the difference between enabling and disabling Bump Maps.

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Quake 4 Performance
Performance	Off	On
RADEON X850 XT PE	49	41
GeForce 6800 GT	48	36
RADEON X700 PRO	33.2	27.3
RADEON X600 XT	37.6	35.2
RADEON 9500 PRO	19.6	20.6
GeForce FX 5700 Ultra	17.8	18

*Bolded objects will be used in our recommended settings

Recommended Settings Page:: ( 6 / 7 )

We came up with the recommended settings from the target resolution and target quality and testing them with the advanced settings located under the “System” option. This way we could gauge what impact advanced settings like Shadows and the like would have.

Starting with...

Higher-end Cards: Sapphire Radeon X850XT PE, NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT

- Sapphire Radeon X850XT PE: 1280x1024 with 4x Anti-Aliasing with all other advanced options turned on. We averaged around 41 FPS while benchmarking. This card ran beautifully in Quake 4 with virtually no choppiness. Not only did it run great, but the visual experience was awesome.

- NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT: To achieve great performance and quality, set your resolution to 1280x1024. Set the visual quality to Ultra and enable 4x Anti-Aliasing. If you want a little more performance, under the advanced options, disable shadows (particularly if you’re playing online). This makes the game look sweet and all you lose is shadowing during gameplay, which you probably don’t care about anyway if you’re playing competitively online.

Mainstream Cards: Sapphire Radeon X700 Pro 256MB, MSI Radeon RX600XT-TD128E

- Sapphire Radeon X700 Pro 256MB: For the best possible picture quality and good frame rates, use high quality at 1280x1024 with no Anti-Aliasing. Also make sure you turn off specular lighting in the advanced options page. This will get you around 34 FPS which are the best results for this card.

- MSI Radeon RX600XT-TD128E: The X600XT should have performed better for an XT card. Drop the resolution down to 1024x768 to get more fluid gaming. Set the quality to high and disable Shadows on objects under the advanced settings tab. You should average out around 43 frames per second with these attributes.

Budget Cards: Tyan Tachyon G9500 Pro, GeForce FX 5700 Ultra

- Tyan Tachyon G9500 Pro: Unfortunately, our 2.8GHz system was a little bottlenecked and thus limited the graphics cards potential in Quake 4. To maximize the fluidity though, use High quality at 1024x768 and turn all of the advanced options off.

- GeForce FX 5700 Ultra: It would be the best assumption to say that even with a faster motherboard and CPU that an older card such as the 5700 Ultra would probably have to use minimal graphics settings to run properly. Nonetheless, set your resolution to 1024x768 and your quality to High. This along with disabling shadows should give you around 19.5 frames per second.

Conclusion Page:: ( 7 / 7 )

As you can see from the benchmarks, the two biggest killers in terms of performance where jumping from High to Ultra quality mode and enabling Shadows in the advanced settings menu. Most cards that were below standards faired the best using High Quality and 1024x768, even though they did not even see the 30 frames per second mark.

We hope you like the new format of our Optimization guide. We are going to take your comments and suggestions into account when making the decision whether or not we will use this format going forward in future articles. So please let us know what you think!

*Special thanks to Rashly for his help.

*Note: This is not a video card comparison article, but a tweaking guide for various cards. Overclocking your video card may result in higher FPS, but may also lead to display corruption.

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