Powercolor X1650 Pro Review
Game Tests - CoD 2 and Oblivion
Published: 24th August 2006 | Source: Powercolor | Price: |
Author: Matthew Kemp (kempez)
Hardware Acquired: Powercolor
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 2 is a fairly recent game that uses a lot of DirectX 9.0c features, including real time shadows, amazing smoke effects and some nice looking HDR effects. This makes the game very taxing. I played a fully patched up version of the game. Once again I played through the game with a two minute gaming session including explosions, smoke and also lots of snow.
And the FPS at the above settings...
CoD 2 was again very playable at 1024 x 768. I did use the high quality settings on the card and this made the experience much more crisp and detailed. I don't think there was headroom to play at 1280 x 1024 - but with a little overclocking I'm sure it's attainable. Even at this seemingly (to me) low res CoD 2 looks pretty awesome and the card gives very nice detail.
Oblivion
Oblivion is an awesome RPG with a simply huge immersive environment, great graphics and incredibly realistic scenery. This game is currently one of the most testing games that you can buy and it is certainly a test of the X1650. I chose to do a run-through of the Arena part of the game. I spoke to a character, did some magic whilst in a fight and fought in the arena that is pretty huge. Also as well as doing this test I took a wander around to make sure that the benchmark resembled the general gameplay with each card. ATI seem to come out on top in Oblivion so let's see how the card fares cranked up...
Oblivion
Oblivion is an awesome RPG with a simply huge immersive environment, great graphics and incredibly realistic scenery. This game is currently one of the most testing games that you can buy and it is certainly a test of the X1650. I chose to do a run-through of the Arena part of the game. I spoke to a character, did some magic whilst in a fight and fought in the arena that is pretty huge. Also as well as doing this test I took a wander around to make sure that the benchmark resembled the general gameplay with each card. ATI seem to come out on top in Oblivion so let's see how the card fares cranked up...
And the FPS:
Oblivion has a plethora of in-game settings so here are what I chose to be optimal:
I did encounter some issues with Oblivion at first. The game started playing in a very "jerky" manor. It was nigh on impossible to play like this. I re-installed the drivers, re-installed Oblivion and found another patch for it too. This all seemed to cure the problem but it was slightly annoying as I have never had a problem like this before with Oblivion.
In the end the game played through very well. I did have a test run with HDR and AA (ATI cards can do this) and this looked pretty good, but on a lower resolution with lower in-game settings. I felt this was too much of a compromise and so I kept the AA off. HDR is essential for the atmosphere in Oblivion and the X1650 Pro did a very good job of rendering the scene. The FPS took a bit of a hit outside, but this is to be expected and was still very playable.
In the end the game played through very well. I did have a test run with HDR and AA (ATI cards can do this) and this looked pretty good, but on a lower resolution with lower in-game settings. I felt this was too much of a compromise and so I kept the AA off. HDR is essential for the atmosphere in Oblivion and the X1650 Pro did a very good job of rendering the scene. The FPS took a bit of a hit outside, but this is to be expected and was still very playable.
Most Recent Comments
As usual a good review kemp, it seems they will be in the competition range of the Nvidia 7600.
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Originally Posted by name='Hyper'
As usual a good review kemp, it seems they will be in the competition range of the Nvidia 7600.
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Some very impressive in-game results there. Deffo a choice card for the budget caming build.
very good review kemp! looks darn good for a mid range card.
ATi still lacks in the midrange department. Both my old GTO and our new XFX 7600GT XXX beat that thing in 05 by at least 400 points. Regardless, a great review Kempez .
.Nicely done review Kemp
Nice review Kempz. One quick question tho. The card as it stands is it aimed at the mainstream or people who would overclock their system and get such a card?
The reason I ask is that the testings done on a clocked system, is that indicative of the people who would get this? Just wondering as you did all the testing on a clocked system?
Could we see some benchies on a stock and non stock system (like the custom pc magazine) for those of us in phear of clocking?
The reason I ask is that the testings done on a clocked system, is that indicative of the people who would get this? Just wondering as you did all the testing on a clocked system?
Could we see some benchies on a stock and non stock system (like the custom pc magazine) for those of us in phear of clocking?
I actually forgot I had my CPU clocked up during the tests. Regardless the C2D would play the games fast anyway. Unfortunately my test rig has been sold so I could not use that for the tests.
I am going to use the same PC for all my tests from now on so this was a base for future comparison
I am going to use the same PC for all my tests from now on so this was a base for future comparison
Great review Kemp, and it's certainly a nice little card for the budget conscious
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Originally Posted by name='Kempez'
I actually forgot I had my CPU clocked up during the tests. Regardless the C2D would play the games fast anyway. Unfortunately my test rig has been sold so I could not use that for the tests.
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That setup would be VGA-limited in all games anyway, even a stock Allendale can push a lower-midrange card to its limits.
The X1650pro will be a great alternative to Nvidia's solutions at its level. It has an amazing price/performance ratio: 66€ is even less than what the 7300GTs clocked at 500/1400 are selling for!
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Originally Posted by Vaerilis
Nice review!
That setup would be VGA-limited in all games anyway, even a stock Allendale can push a lower-midrange card to its limits. The X1650pro will be a great alternative to Nvidia's solutions at its level. It has an amazing price/performance ratio: 66€ is even less than what the 7300GTs clocked at 500/1400 are selling for! |
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How does it do when we subject it to the Overclock3D bench suite?
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