HD3870X2 and ATI Super AA

[nitromullet]

Just curious about the 3870X2 and super AA... Since it's two cores that require a Crossfire profile to work super AA should would also, but since this card is seen as a single card it might not... Which is it, anyone know?

 

[BFG10K]

The super-AA modes are available AFAIK. I've seen screenshots that have 16xAA available in CCC and it would be interesting to see the sample patterns.

Strangely SLI AA and Super AA have not been promoted in any fashion by either vendor this generation.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
The super-AA modes are available AFAIK. I've seen screenshots that have 16xAA available in CCC and it would be interesting to see the sample patterns.

Strangely SLI AA and Super AA have not been promoted in any fashion by either vendor this generation.

Just to clarify, you've seen screens from a single 3870X2 with 16xAA available?

That would pretty much seal the deal for me and the X2, as it would offer great performance in the other games I'm dabbling with (GoW and UT3), plus I'm sure it would do World of Warcraft with 16xAA if the mode is available.

 

[BFG10K]

Just to clarify, you've seen screens from a single 3870X2 with 16xAA available?

Yep.

I'm guessing 16x is each board doing 8xMSAA; it would be interesting to see what other super AA modes are available this generation.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Just to clarify, you've seen screens from a single 3870X2 with 16xAA available?

Yep.

I'm guessing 16x is each board doing 8xMSAA; it would be interesting to see what other super AA modes are available this generation.

it *kills* performance

with everything *maxed* in FEAR Perseus Mandate [ss-on] with the latest 8.2 Cats @16x10 i get:

40/80/262

with 16xAA /Adaptive AA - not 'temporal' (it tops out at 8x) and MultiSampling at 'sharp'

10/23/167

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Just to clarify, you've seen screens from a single 3870X2 with 16xAA available?

Yep.

I'm guessing 16x is each board doing 8xMSAA; it would be interesting to see what other super AA modes are available this generation.

it *kills* performance

with everything *maxed* in FEAR Perseus Mandate [ss-on] with the latest 8.2 Cats @16x10 i get:

40/80/262

with 16xAA /Adaptive AA - not 'temporal' (it tops out at 8x) and MultiSampling at 'sharp'

10/23/167

That is to be expected. A 16xAA mode would only useful for something like WoW or older games. Even though FEAR isn't exactly new anymore, it wasn't that long ago that even a high end setup struggled playing FEAR with 4xAA.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Just to clarify, you've seen screens from a single 3870X2 with 16xAA available?

Yep.

I'm guessing 16x is each board doing 8xMSAA; it would be interesting to see what other super AA modes are available this generation.

it *kills* performance

with everything *maxed* in FEAR Perseus Mandate [ss-on] with the latest 8.2 Cats @16x10 i get:

40/80/262

with 16xAA /Adaptive AA - not 'temporal' (it tops out at 8x) and MultiSampling at 'sharp'

10/23/167

That is to be expected. A 16xAA mode would only useful for something like WoW or older games. Even though FEAR isn't exactly new anymore, it wasn't that long ago that even a high end setup struggled playing FEAR with 4xAA.

Perseus Mandate is last year, and it appears they updated the graphics a bit ... at least it appears more demanding than FEAR although my rig breezes thru it.

i have been 'playing' with it ... since i got CrossFire ... i really don't care much for it ... even if it didn't have a performance hit .. you are right, it works fine for older games

i am not so sure i would see much difference in a DX10 game - Lost Planet with everything Maxed or Hg:L ... but then it will be 'awhile' before i will be able to play those titles with 16xAA at better than 640x480.

 

[nitromullet]

i have been 'playing' with it ... since i got CrossFire ... i really don't care much for it ...

You don't like the game or 16xAA?

I downloaded the demo myself when Perseus Mandate first came out (it was the dry period before all the new games hit), and it was kind of a snoozefest IMO. It ran well on my GTX though.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

i have been 'playing' with it ... since i got CrossFire ... i really don't care much for it ...

You don't like the game or 16xAA?

I downloaded the demo myself when Perseus Mandate first came out (it was the dry period before all the new games hit), and it was kind of a snoozefest IMO. It ran well on my GTX though.

i haven't played much of it ... i looks like *more* FEAR .. and it is tolerable only because of the Enemy 'AI' ... 16xAA doesn't 'do' much [more] for me ...
not to justify that performance hit

 

[BFG10K]

it *kills* performance

That's not surprising; I'd wager the performance would be similar to your slowest card running 8xMSAA by itself.

I don't even run 8xMSAA on my 8800 Ultra in the game.

As for the game, I liked it quite a lot, contrary to public opinion.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

it *kills* performance

That's not surprising; I'd wager the performance would be similar to your slowest card running 8xMSAA by itself.

I don't even run 8xMSAA on my 8800 Ultra in the game.

As for the game, I liked it quite a lot, contrary to public opinion.

i don't think so .. and i can try it i guess ... but i don't think my 2900p would run FEAR 4xMSAA with 10/23/167 ... i think it would be slower ... the reason the bottom is so slow is that there is this incredible *chug* as it turns the corner right after the fight scene... and i have to say it still have awesome particle effects ... nevermind DX10.

i only finished FEAR and i lost my saves 9/10th the way thru Extraction Point so i never quite finished.

Do i need to replay it to the end or can i just go for the 3rd installment and guess what happened?

BtW, big heads up ... great game values at CC clearance ... one more day i think

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2153534&enterthread=y

i just added these to my collection [and i just got Jade Empire & DS II + Xpack all for $19 from GoGamer last week]:

Jericho for $8 [bad bad reviews]
Perseus Mandate - for $10
Titan Quest - $6.98
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne $10.00
NWN2, MotB - $10.00
Guild Wars, NightFall .. Collector's Edition - $9.48
SilverFall - $8.98

:thumbsup:

lots of games ... including STALKER, NWN2, GRAW2, G3, CoJ ... more!!

So ... i have well over a dozen games to play ... you may not see me for awhile

 

[BFG10K]

i don't think so .. and i can try it i guess ... but i don't think my 2900p would run FEAR 4xMSAA with 10/23/167 ... i think it would be slower

I'm having trouble parsing this. Can you please rephrase it more clearly?

and i have to say it still have awesome particle effects ... nevermind DX10.

I think the game engine is still superb. Most people dismiss it as "obsolete" because it doesn't have flashy HDR/blur effects but the engine still has the amazing ability to make its environments looks amazingly realistic. From office cubicles to back-alleys to concrete buildings: they look like real life in that game.

Do i need to replay it to the end or can i just go for the 3rd installment and guess what happened?

Perseus Mandate is a standalone expansion and story. It does overlap with Extraction Point a bit but it's not necessary to finish the latter to enjoy the former.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

i don't think so .. and i can try it i guess ... but i don't think my 2900p would run FEAR 4xMSAA with 10/23/167 ... i think it would be slower

I'm having trouble parsing this. Can you please rephrase it more clearly?

and i have to say it still have awesome particle effects ... nevermind DX10.

I think the game engine is still superb. Most people dismiss it as "obsolete" because it doesn't have flashy HDR/blur effects but the engine still has the amazing ability to make its environments looks amazingly realistic. From office cubicles to back-alleys to concrete buildings: they look like real life in that game.

Do i need to replay it to the end or can i just go for the 3rd installment and guess what happened?

Perseus Mandate is a standalone expansion and story. It does overlap with Extraction Point a bit but it's not necessary to finish the latter to enjoy the former.

sure ... sorry about that ...
i think my 2900p would render it slower with 4xMSAA than my 2900xt/Pro crossfire does at 16xAF
... *i think* .. i could run it .. what do i do? disable CrossFire and uninstall my 2900xt from device manager?


FEAR's particle effects still amaze me .. those puffs of smoke and bullet holes with the sparks ... superb attention to detail ... and i really like the soft shadowing ... i just get a little sick of the gore.

and thanks ... i may not want to play thru Extraction Point again ... maybe i'll read a walk thru


i am having a devil of a time deciding *which* game to play ... The Witcher got *ruined* for me as i kept playing it during my benchmarking and i finally just put it down when i realized i was completely lost after being interrupted and starting over so many times ... i will come back to it after the next patch, anyway ...

 

[BFG10K]

sure ... sorry about that ...
i think my 2900p would render it slower with 4xMSAA than my 2900xt/Pro crossfire does at 16xAF
... *i think* .. i could run it .. what do i do? disable CrossFire and uninstall my 2900xt from device manager?

Just yank your 2900 XT and enable 4xMSAA.

Also note that you'll need to disable soft shadows in the game; with soft shadows AA often isn?t applied or you get graphical glitches and/or a larger performance hit than expected.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

sure ... sorry about that ...
i think my 2900p would render it slower with 4xMSAA than my 2900xt/Pro crossfire does at 16xAF
... *i think* .. i could run it .. what do i do? disable CrossFire and uninstall my 2900xt from device manager?

Just yank your 2900 XT and enable 4xMSAA.

Also note that you'll need to disable soft shadows in the game; with soft shadows AA often isn?t applied or you get graphical glitches and/or a larger performance hit than expected.

i don't want to take it out tonight
--next time i clean my case [once-a-week, now], i will remember

--and i left SS enabled ... i forgot about it