Gun Metal 2
Gun Metal 2 is a new benchmark at HEXUS, testing PixelShader 1.1 and VertexShader 2.0 from the DirectX 9 specification. We are almost wholly card limited in this test, at all resolutions, something we rarely see in a graphics card benchmark just now.
The NVIDIA driver fails to apply any kind of user specified anisotropic filtering with Gun Metal 2. With the game itself offering a choise of antialiasing settings and apparently using 4 sample anisotropic filtering at all times, we can sort of understand why that happens. But the ability to apply our own overridden settings would be nice. Maybe in the next driver. Or maybe not.
In terms overall performance, NV35 based hardware has the edge over 9800 Pro in this test, able to execute the shader programs that the game needs with a little bit more performance.
Being massively card limited, you'd see the same performance on an XP2200+ as you would on the test XP3200+, something I'd like to see more of. It gives more value to a graphics card purchase when you can obtain a constant level of performance from it in your games. The last test of the article now.
