The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GPU Performance
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 26, 2006 1:07 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Mid Range GPU Performance w/ HDR Enabled
Next we looked at mainstream GPU performance, targeting graphics cards that were priced at or below $300; for reference we've tossed in a few pairs of cards running in SLI or CrossFire.
Not only have we reduced the resolution, but we've significantly reduced the image quality settings here. The result is a good balance between image quality and performance, however we would much rather play with our high quality settings as Oblivion can be one very impressive looking game with the details cranked up.
The white lines within the bars indicate minimum frame rate
The king of the mid range is actually the Radeon X1800 XT offering pretty much the best performance you can get for under $300, even outperforming the GeForce 7900 GT. If you already have a Radeon X1600 XT and happen to own a CrossFire capable motherboard, then simply picking up one more X1600 XT will do wonders for your performance. Remember that the X1600 series can run in CrossFire mode without any external dongle, so all you need are two X1600 XTs and you'll be looking at fairly good performance. While we wouldn't recommend purchasing two X1600 XTs (you're far better off with a single 7900 GT), if you already have one it's the cheapest way to get a good performance boost in Oblivion.
The GeForce 7600 GT proves to be a good middle of the road performer here, offering good performance while being priced at under $200.
The GeForce 6600 GT is unfortunately overwhelmed by our medium quality settings, and unfortunately has now become a low end contender as far as Oblivion is concerned. Running a pair of 6600GTs in SLI improves performance a bit but still no where near what a pair of X1600 XTs will do in CrossFire mode.
The white lines within the bars indicate minimum frame rate
Once again we see that there's no significant performance difference between the GPUs at the top of the charts, but performance really begins to drop off after the 7600 GT.
The white lines within the bars indicate minimum frame rate
The Medium Quality Dungeon benchmark is very friendly to the NVIDIA cards here, with the first ATI showing being the X1800 GTO half way down the graph. The GeForce 7900 GT and Radeon X1800 XT continue to be the best performers here, but the 7600 GT isn't too far behind.
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nullpointerus - Thursday, April 27, 2006 - link
Really? I follow most of this site's articles, and I've never run into this problem.cgrecu77 - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
this is the article I've been waiting for, I was leaning towards upgrading to x1800xt but wasn't sure.The game is easily one of the best i've played (and it's my first RPG, I'm a TBS fan). While it doesn't have the depth and replay value of series like Civ or HOMM, it's still far better than any FPS (can't compare with other RPGs) I ever played.
Whoever says that the graphics in Oblivion are not the best is just full of b..t or lacks the hardware to turn everything on, looking from the top of the mountain at the Imperial City on a clear moon night it simply breathtaking.
The gameplay and interface are also among the best I've seen and there are few occasions where I think: "this should have been improved". The inventory system is probably a weaker point, but even that is debatable (it's quite obvious that much thought was put into it but maybe the decisions taken there are not the greatest).
However, performance is a big issue. My system is middle to upper range (a64 3200, 2gb ram, x850XT) and I can barely play at 1280x1024 with all sliders to the top and without shadows or AA.
Outdoor I get ~20fps which is ok, actually even excelent considering the huge number of objects rendered (especially grass and trees) - and acceptable since most battles are inside. What I don't get is why I have such a poor performance indoors, there are moments in a heated dungeon battle (especially where there are many fires, like inside sigil towers) where frame rates drops to low teens (from mid 50s). Graphics are average in those building, I only battle 2-3 opponents or less, the map is quite small (since any door leads to loading times )- so I don't get it, how come the game slows to a crawl there. I would consider this an obvious place where optimizations are lacking. Another thing that's missing is a way to alter the grass length (from the game menu, most people only look there to alter settings) and a few other things that were proven to greatly improve performance.
oneils - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
The hit to performance in dungeons may be due to a mix of having the shadow detail and specular lighting (or filtering?) set too high. I have the same problem with my 6800gt. Especially when I am fighting spell casters. If we are both casting spells, the system crawls.DigitalFreak - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
Opteron 165 @ 2.51Ghz2GB RAM
Geforce 7900GTX SLI
Check the tweak guides. There is A LOT you can do to make it run smoother without lowering graphic settings.
bollwerk - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
I also have 7900GTX SLI and it also runs fine for me with maxed settings at 1920x1200. (Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2GB ram, A8N32SLI) It's obviously not high FPS, but it's also not choppy at all as far as I can tell. Totally playable for an RPG. I'm loving it and I'm glad I didn't get the 360 version. The PC mods are soooo worth it.JarredWalton - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
But the tweak guides ARE lowering the graphics settings, just in a different way. I'm okay with 1920x1200 at modified details on 7900GT, but there are still times when frame rates drop into the single digits.Yawgm0th - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
No, they're not. I mean, you can do tweaks that involve lowering settings, but that are tons you can do that improve graphics and graphics performance at the same time.JarredWalton - Thursday, April 27, 2006 - link
For example? I'd really like to get more graphics quality for less graphics work.kmmatney - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
I would also like to see the performance without Bloom and HDR. A lot of times, I prefer games without this effect (its often not implemented very well). PLays well on my setup without AA and bloom, and with AF, at 1280 x 1024. Sempron 2800+ @ 2.4 GHz, and modded X800GTO2 running at X850XT speeds. I'd rather play at the higher resolution than lower resolution + Bloom.OrSin - Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - link
My problem is half the hipe of this game is that you a need a monster system to use it.Does any one remeber when a game bragged about the fast that it doesn't need powerful card to play it. Now its just the opposite. No wonder game will not be made for hard core gamers soon. I just can't understand have to pay $400 for a card that only 1-2 games will actually need. When in 6 months that same card is $250 maybe 6 games out might need it. Program in this age are jsut lazy or the products are being rushed. Can we get some optization and have people talk about great graphics on $150 cards.
As much as I hate consoles I'm leaning to them more and more. They will always the play the game good and mulitplayer support internet support is here (not this game).
I just hate the UI of most of them.