"Mafia II: Perfection for NVidia's Graphics Plus Technologies?"

[thilanliyan]

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...tion-nvidia-s-graphics-plus-technologies.html

 

[lavaheadache]

looks very impressive

 

[brybir]

My thoughts on the article:

1. I could not tell the difference between the videos showing it with APEX and without APEX. Maybe the resolution of the video is too low to really see the difference?

2. 3d Vision looks cool but look at the framerate on a 460 1GB: 18.16 average and 11 min is not acceptable. Even with 460 SLI you are getting 41 average but 19 minimum. This is all on a i920 @4gz, 6GB ram etc. Basically, you need 460's in SLI (and even then, 19 is far too low) or something beefier. Down side is that by the time you get a pair of 460's or more likely a pair of $470s+3d glasses and software and a 3d monitor, you are out at least $1000. A bit steep for me at least.

3. 3d Surround is cool except that you need an SLI setup for it to work. Hopefully the next gen of Nvidia cards will implement it on one card. Once the 3d surround and eyefinity work in most games (not just games optimized for them), I may add a few more 24" monitors.

 

[happy medium]

Conclusion....

Quote:
In all reality, you haven’t seen any of these articles from us simply because we had yet to find a game that really benefited from many of the features NVIDIA touted. Well, things have changed with Mafia II. In it, PhysX, 3D Vision and Surround become the perfect trifecta making an already good game into something which is simply phenomenal. NVIDIA’s intelligent interfaces make setting things up a breeze and you really don’t even need an ultra expensive system since a pair of GTX 460 cards are more than enough to handle anything but the most insane workload. In our opinion NVIDIA and 2K Games have hit the nail on the head with Mafia II. If anything, you owe it to yourself to pick it up or at least play the demo.

 

[tviceman]

I don't care what GPU this game is played on, it's a really, really fun game. The reviews are ranging from mediocre to great, with the biggest knock being it's not a sandbox open world style game. Perhaps it could have been a better experience that way, but I personally enjoy linear, tightly knit story driven games as much as I do sandbox experiences.

 

[Grooveriding]

The game is great!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Review is not so great and they're trying to review something you can't quantify, it's all subjective. Poor show.

The graphics in the game are subpar, it looks like a console port, graphics are of the quality of Mass Effect 2 or Bioshock, the character models, particularly faces, look terrible.

The physx effects as always are a joke, a bunch of chunks of awkward and unrealistic rock debris on the ground.

The game is a lot of fun and the gameplay makes it awesome, but don't buy this title hoping to be impressed graphically, it looks like a game from 2006 and runs like a pig considering, especially if you turn on physx. :thumbsdown:

Turning on physx literally cuts my framerate in half, what a joke.

 

[Petey!]

@brybir

Your 3rd point kind of refers back to the 2nd. While 1 card Surround might be nice, you'd still see low FPS. You really need 2 cards to be able to enjoy Surround anyway.

And either way your still looking at dropping $600 on monitors alone, not much different then a 3D 120hz and glasses combo.

But really, people using surround/eyefinity/3D are usually using the latest and greatest anyway, and with new technology comes new tech prices, always. This isn't for the masses, and probably won't be for awhile.

 

[RussianSensation]

My thoughts on the article:

1. I could not tell the difference between the videos showing it with APEX and without APEX. Maybe the resolution of the video is too low to really see the difference?

I could barely tell the difference (the lamp swung more realistically). Other than that, just more rocks falling off the support beam. PhysX fail - . . . AGAIN. :thumbsdown:

"NVIDIA’s intelligent interfaces make setting things up a breeze and you really don’t even need an ultra expensive system since a pair of GTX 460 cards are more than enough to handle anything but the most insane workload."

Really? So, now a $460 graphics card setup is not expensive for the majority to enjoy 3D? I don't think so. I am not going to spend more than $250 for a graphics card. If it can't be done within a reasonable budget, it's not mainstream. The point of more advanced technologies is to improve gaming for everyone, not select 1 percent of gamers.

I guess Hardware Canucks forgot to mention that ATI cards perform better than NV in Mafia 2: http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/...ebericht/3/#abschnitt_grafikkartenperformance

1920x1080 4AA/16AF
5850 = 44.4 avg / 39.0 min
GTX470 = 42.8 / 34.0 min
5850 wins

1920x1080 4AA/16AF
5870 = 53.2 avg / 47.0 min
GTX480 = 53.3 / 43.0 min
5870 wins

I guess NV only features had to be promoted or the article would have shown NV in a negative light....oops

 

[tincart]

Just gave this game a try on my new 460 1GB. Looked ugly on my old 4890 and looks ugly on my 460. APEX medium runs fine but the performance hit doesn't seem to justify some little bits on the floor and some cloth moving.

PhysX didn't factor into my decision to buy the 460 anyways, so it's not a big disappointment in any case.

 

[MrK6]

If this is "perfection" for NVIDIA technologies, I have some bad news for NVIDIA. State-of-the-art hardware running outdated graphics with abysmal performance is a failure in my book. I'd like to try the game, but not for $50. Hopefully there will be a decent Steam sale before the holidays.

 

[happy medium]

If this is "perfection" for NVIDIA technologies, I have some bad news for NVIDIA. State-of-the-art hardware running outdated graphics with abysmal performance is a failure in my book. I'd like to try the game, but not for $50. Hopefully there will be a decent Steam sale before the holidays.

Try the demo.

 

[MrK6]

Try the demo.

The demo doesn't really show much. I'll play the full game, but, again, not at $50.

 

[FalseChristian]

I agree. I won't pay $50 for it, either. I'll wait until the price drops to $49.99.

 

[Wreckage]

It's good to see that someone is pushing PC gaming forward. Instead of waiting for others to do it for them. Things like GPU PhysX, CUDA effects and 3D are really starting to set PC gaming apart from console gaming once again. (Free online play and Keyboard/Mouse help as well).

I'm glad PhysX is having another good year with several top shelf titles supporting it. I just picked up Metro 2033 and Cryostasis so I think I'm up to 4 or 5 PhysX games now.

 

[tviceman]

a failure in my book.

This is your book.

Chapter 1.

I hate Nvidia and anything that is associated with Nvidia. I think anything that puts Nvidia in a good light is bad, and therefore I say whatever is necessary to spin it negatively. I also do the best I can in my forum posts to imitate Charlie's rants.

The end.


Your book just isn't a good book.

Enough with the trolling. -Admin DrPizza

 

[Xarick]

The nice thing about the physx in this game is that if you turn off cloth then the particle and smoke physx run just fine on the cpu. Thus anyone can enjoy them. The problem is at high they look stupid. At medium they look good.

3D IMO will never be the future until the glasses go away.

 

[Grooveriding]

I just picked up Metro 2033 and Cryostasis so I think I'm up to 4 or 5 PhysX games now.

How nice, you own all the games that support gpu physx. 🙄

 

[evolucion8]

It's good to see that someone is pushing PC gaming forward. Instead of waiting for others to do it for them. Things like GPU PhysX, CUDA effects and 3D are really starting to set PC gaming apart from console gaming once again. (Free online play and Keyboard/Mouse help as well).

I'm glad PhysX is having another good year with several top shelf titles supporting it. I just picked up Metro 2033 and Cryostasis so I think I'm up to 4 or 5 PhysX games now.

I would agree with you if you were refering to Batman AA with its exquisite phisics effects, but Mafia 2 phisics implementation is laughable, Cryostasis implementation is even worse (Poltergeist effects everywhere, creepy...), Metro 2033 doesn't show a noticeable difference with PhysX on and off, I don't have an nVidia card and never experienced a performance drop of using it, even though not necessarily PhysX usage has to be for the eye candy only, Need for Speed Shift uses PhysX for rigid body calculations, car collisions and suspension, and uses the CPU.

So 2009 was barely good enough for PhysX, but this year, it has been the worst of all, 3D vision is taking off, but its not practical yet (Expensive and questionable performance impact, I haven't seen a single member here with an nVidia card using it), CUDA only benefits a small crowd and I haven't seen new consumer applications that uses it (Besides Cyberlink Expresso which I really love and is fast!!!), sorry to burst your bubble though... 😛

 

[Genx87]

If this is "perfection" for NVIDIA technologies, I have some bad news for NVIDIA. State-of-the-art hardware running outdated graphics with abysmal performance is a failure in my book. I'd like to try the game, but not for $50. Hopefully there will be a decent Steam sale before the holidays.

Must suck for ATI then since they cant do it at all 😀

 

[Acanthus]

Must suck for ATI then since they cant do it at all 😀

13fps is the same as 0fps to me.

 

[Madcatatlas]

One of the forum comments:

Yawn. "Hey look, it's GTA IV with 'mafia' members and a different story line". These games drive me nuts - all 'feel' the same with their layouts and such.. it seems to have better graphics, but that's not enough to make me buy it - hell, they promote all the new technology with 3D vision, and still chose to use DX9.. boo.

I'll go back to killin zombies in L4D2. 'specially the clown zombies. I hate clowns.

You lost me at dx9 2k games..

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Things like GPU PhysX, CUDA effects and 3D are really starting to set PC gaming apart from console gaming once again.

Translation: Nvidia is the Jesus of graphic technology

I love how you purposely omitted multi monitor gaming, since AMD had Eyefinity way before Nvidia came out with 3d vision surround

Oh, and inb4Matroxdiditfirst

 

[Wreckage]

Must suck for ATI then since they cant do it at all 😀

You would think that if they actually did not like PhysX they would just ignore these threads. But they come in here and thread crap so much. It's a clear sign of jealousy plain and simple.

Feature envy. Or is it NV 😀

 

[OCGuy]

Good stuff!

Ignore the thread crappers 😉

 

[MrK6]

It's good to see that someone is pushing PC gaming forward.

By only offering support on an API that's two generations old but still runs like crap? I'm all for the enhancement of gaming, but taking one step forward and two steps back still means you're going backwards.

This is your book.

Chapter 1.

I hate Nvidia and anything that is associated with Nvidia. I think anything that puts Nvidia in a good light is bad, and therefore I say whatever is necessary to spin it negatively. I also do the best I can in my forum posts to imitate Charlie's rants.

The end.


Your book just isn't a good book.

You mad?

The nice thing about the physx in this game is that if you turn off cloth then the particle and smoke physx run just fine on the cpu. Thus anyone can enjoy them. The problem is at high they look stupid. At medium they look good.

3D IMO will never be the future until the glasses go away.

I agree, and I'm pretty sure I said that months ago when the Mafia II PhysX demos first came out. Having an unrealistic amount of blobby chunks blow everywhere after each environmental interaction actually draws away from immersion IMO. I like the way that PhysX works reasonably well on the CPU, but it's still not playable at <30FPS.

Must suck for ATI then since they cant do it at all 😀

I think you need to join tviceman in the "I'm mad" club. 😀

13fps is the same as 0fps to me.

Exactly. What's the point if the performance still sucks? I've been saying this for years, but unless NVIDIA gets it's ducks in order and makes PhysX performance both acceptable AND noticeable, they won't have their killer app.