S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Gameplay Perf and IQ @ [H]

Great review. I would of liked to see the 4850 and 9800GTX+ added to the list to get a reference point, but still a pretty good evaluation. I am probably going to have to step up to a GTX 260 216SP, I kind of underestimated what clear sky would require when I bought my 9800GTX+. It also uses more than 2gb (2.2gb in vista64) of memory at 1152x864 with maxed DX9 settings which is kinda surprising.
 
hellokeith said:
Kyle & other [h] crew,

Did you guys like playing Clear Sky?
Click to expand...


I'm not Kyle or the [H] crew. But I'll give you my two cents. Nowhere near as haunting or scary as the first. But the gunplay is fantastic. It's enjoyable on it's own...but not as a
follow-up or prequel to Shadow of Chernobyl.
 
Another great review, thanks guys.

Would like to see SLI and 4850, but I understand it's a lot of work to review a bunch of cards against one game rather than a bunch of games against one card.

I know it's easier said than done, and it's not that I've done reviews like this, but I'm wondering if it saves time to have an OS image for each video card so you can switch between cards without having to worry about drivers as much.

I still need my $10k technology budget.
 
can i say OWNED?

well, at least using a 4870 512mb saves a panty for nvidia :D
 
Simpson5774 said:
Great review. I would of liked to see the 4850 and 9800GTX+ added to the list to get a reference point, but still a pretty good evaluation. I am probably going to have to step up to a GTX 260 216SP, I kind of underestimated what clear sky would require when I bought my 9800GTX+. It also uses more than 2gb (2.2gb in vista64) of memory at 1152x864 with maxed DX9 settings which is kinda surprising.
Click to expand...

+1

I really wish either the 4850 or 9800GTX(+) made it into the eval for 1680x1050 and 1280x1024 (or 1440x900). Both would have been nice, but even just one would have been great. It is cool seeing how the $250-550 cards handle the game on $300-600 displays, but come on, show some love to those of us on a budget :D
 
No love for the 4850? I will buy the game eventually, but tuition first. :\

I would like to know the [H]ard oppinion for the STALKER on the 4850. :D
 
This review makes me really wonder about a possible bias towards Nvidia occurring regularly on these reviews. No I am not a fan boy, this is my first ATi card in 7 years.

I am playing with EVERYTHING on maximum and the Anti-Aliasing ticker on 2x. This is at 1920x1200 Enhanced DX10. There are none of these slow downs at these settings. Occasionally, when the weather changes, it drops to 30fps for a few seconds then skyrockets back up to 40+ FPS. Judging by the GTX280 numbers you have to have some fucked up testing methods to think its a better gameplay experience than the 4870x2. The thing about real world gameplay reviews is that you can make whatever side win. I can get a 7800GTX and bench it against the 4870x2 in this game and write a paragraph about it being a better experience just because I say so.:rolleyes:

Up until this review I trusted Hard reviews a good deal more than other sites, but this is ridiculous.

The pictures and indicated FRAPS frame rate generally indicates what the performance is like during that time of day/night in that area. No sudden or bad drops.

xrEngine2008-09-1819-27-44-32-1.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-1819-14-42-10.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-1819-14-29-45-1.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-1819-14-19-44.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-1819-02-10-55-1.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-2322-19-06-87.jpg


And the lowest I ever see it... When the sun shafts are at their peak and the weather is changing.
xrEngine2008-09-2323-21-29-69.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-2323-30-32-33.jpg

xrEngine2008-09-2422-22-29-57.jpg


xrEngine2008-09-1818-59-25-48.jpg
 
Dethred said:
This review makes me really wonder about a possible bias towards Nvidia occurring regularly on these reviews. No I am not a fan boy, this is my first ATi card in 7 years.

I am playing with EVERYTHING on maximum and the Anti-Aliasing ticker on 2x. This is at 1920x1200 Enhanced DX10. There are none of these slow downs at these settings. Occasionally, when the weather changes, it drops to 30fps for a few seconds then skyrockets back up to 40+ FPS. Judging by the GTX280 numbers you have to have some fucked up testing methods to think its a better gameplay experience than the 4870x2. The thing about real world gameplay reviews is that you can make whatever side win. I can get a 7800GTX and bench it against the 4870x2 in this game and write a paragraph about it being a better experience just because I say so.:rolleyes:

Up until this review I trusted Hard reviews a good deal more than other sites, but this is ridiculous.

The pictures and indicated FRAPS frame rate generally indicates what the performance is like during that time of day/night in that area. No sudden or bad drops.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-1819-27-44-32-1.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-1819-14-42-10.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-1819-14-29-45-1.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-1819-14-19-44.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-1819-02-10-55-1.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-2322-19-06-87.jpg

And the lowest I ever see it... When the sun shafts are at their peak and the weather is changing.
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-2323-21-29-69.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-2323-30-32-33.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-09-2422-22-29-57.jpg
Click to expand...
thats one strong 4870x2 to be running those settings with those kind of framrates. are you sure you are running on Enhanced DX10 because these guys didnt get the peformance you are getting even at lower res with no AA. http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,659033/Reviews/Stalker_Clear_Sky_DX10_Benchmark_Review/?page=2
 
*Shrug*

xrEngine2008-10-0200-48-43-90.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0200-48-47-67.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0200-48-55-48.jpg


v. 1.5.04
Beta Catalyst 8.8

Game is 100% smooth except for the 30fps times when the sun is rising, which resolves itself after a few seconds and is playable even at 30fps.
 
ssao.gif


Looks like you guys got the SSAO on and off images mixed up. I see more shading when you say it's off than when it's supposedly on.
 
RIG BELOW

mine runs fine at max everything AA AF whatever @ 1680x1050.. no issues whatsoever... runs a bootload faster than Warhead on Gamer (8QXAA) at the same res...
 
gaspah said:
RIG BELOW

mine runs fine at max everything AA AF whatever @ 1680x1050.. no issues whatsoever... runs a bootload faster than Warhead on Gamer (8QXAA) at the same res...
Click to expand...
max AA and max AF on maxium DX10 Enhanced settings at 1680 on an 800GTX? sure you can...
 
Lol, some people just have a very high tolerance to very low framerates. Just like alcoholics and beer...


Thank you for the review Mark and Brent. Well written and informative, this is why I go to [H] daily.
 
Hi all,
Amazon finally sent me my copy of Clear Sky and I was super curious how it would do on my main sig rig (dual 8800GTs@1920x1200).
I did not have too much time to play, but I did try to max it out and see what happens... well...it is unplayable, but runs in low to mid teens. I will have to fiddle with all the settings to see if I can keep the DX10 path at this resolution, but just to say, I love the graphics in the game. The lighting is fantastic and the environment really detailed.
I will post more later, when I get a chance to actually optimize it.
DK
 
Dethred said:
*Shrug*

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-10-0200-48-43-90.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-10-0200-48-47-67.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h82/dethred/xrEngine2008-10-0200-48-55-48.jpg

v. 1.5.04
Beta Catalyst 8.8

Game is 100% smooth except for the 30fps times when the sun is rising, which resolves itself after a few seconds and is playable even at 30fps.
Click to expand...

Odd, when I set Enhanced Full Dyn. DX10 on the 1GB 4870 my Antialiasing slider changes to an Antialiasing drop down box, the slider dissapears and I now have a drop down box to select AA levels in DX10 mode. Remember, in DX9 mode you get the slider which uses fake AA, but in DX10 mode you get real MSAA. Wonder why your slider is still a slider.

BTW I'm using the latest patch 1.5.05 and Cat 8.9.
 
Cybercat said:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/Cybercat/Screenshots/ssao.gif[/mg]

Looks like you guys got the SSAO on and off images mixed up. I see more shading when you say it's off than when it's supposedly on.[/QUOTE]

I double-checked, and the image comparison is definitely correct. The thing about SSAO is that the shading is dependent on the whole frame and every surface in it, not just small portions of it, so it can have unexpected effects if taken frame by frame.

Overall it is a subtle effect, and it's most visible change is an enhanced level of contrast.
Click to expand...
 
lo all,
Thought you'd like to know that there's a mod available that consists of a modified user.lxt (settings file) for the game that turns on much of the enhanced graphic settings while also giving a boost to the FPS that you would normally get.
It is called - "Better Lighting, Depth of Field and FPS' v1.0." , and filefront or the stalker forum has it there.

With a 4870 and that mod I get easily playable FPS with god rays and a lot of goodness enabled and it does work with DX10 and "Enhanced mode for DX10".

And even tough the game is buggy, its still good I suggest picking it up :)

Oh and I just remembered, the game does support multi-core/thread CPUs, but for some reason it only uses 1 core by default. Start the game, then while its running go to task manager and set the process affinity to only the first core and press OK, then set the affinity again to all cores and press OK then go back into the game, and if you look in the CPU usage graphs you will notice that it will start using all the cores afterwards.
 
Brent_Justice said:
Odd, when I set Enhanced Full Dyn. DX10 on the 1GB 4870 my Antialiasing slider changes to an Antialiasing drop down box, the slider dissapears and I now have a drop down box to select AA levels in DX10 mode. Remember, in DX9 mode you get the slider which uses fake AA, but in DX10 mode you get real MSAA. Wonder why your slider is still a slider.

BTW I'm using the latest patch 1.5.05 and Cat 8.9.
Click to expand...

When I patched it from the last version to 1.5.04 I got AA, and my performance almost doubled. Before, It greyed out the AA slider, but now it works, and looks very noticeable with it on.

The guy from the first Clear Sky thread stated that he got 30fps with a GTX280 while looking at the fire:

xrengine200809181927443ih5.jpg


Looks like I'm going to be putting a little more faith in other review sites after this.:confused:
 
Here's a shot with every slider maxed to the right, every visual enhancing option on, and DX10 enhanced lighting. I don't notice the Aliasing when I play on the first slider, and its a a little less than smooth with AA all the way up, but perfectly playable. Cleared out the duty base at 40fps with AA maxed out.

xrengine200810021648566jf6.jpg


Some more in hosted from photobucket with everything maxed 1920x1200 full AA DX10 (don't have any more space in imageshack.us):



xrEngine2008-10-0216-49-01-76.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-48-35-73.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-47-19-26.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-47-12-76.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-44-34-45.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-43-49-65.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-42-05-97.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-41-07-44.jpg

xrEngine2008-10-0216-39-54-70.jpg
 
Dethred said:
When I patched it from the last version to 1.5.04 I got AA, and my performance almost doubled. Before, It greyed out the AA slider, but now it works, and looks very noticeable with it on.

The guy from the first Clear Sky thread stated that he got 30fps with a GTX280 while looking at the fire:

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/913/xrengine200809181927443ih5.jpg

Looks like I'm going to be putting a little more faith in other review sites after this.:confused:
Click to expand...

I usually don't do this, but here is a screenshot on my test system, in almost the exact same position as yours, with a 1GB 4870 using the latest game patch 1.5.05 and Cat 8.9. This is at the highest game settings possible, minus AA, therefore 1920x1200 NoAA/16X AF at Enhanced Full Dynamic DX10 with all sliders maxed out to the right, I just now took this screenshot on my very clean test system, CPU @ 3.6GHz.

http://brentjustice.shackspace.com/shot.jpg

Considering me and Mark, who are two different people, with slightly different configs, 1000 miles apart, get the same performance as I've showed above, I don't know what to tell ya.
 
Brent_Justice said:
I usually don't do this, but here is a screenshot on my test system, in almost the exact same position as yours, with a 1GB 4870 using the latest game patch 1.5.05 and Cat 8.9. This is at the highest game settings possible, minus AA, therefore 1920x1200 NoAA/16X AF at Enhanced Full Dynamic DX10 with all sliders maxed out to the right, I just now took this screenshot on my very clean test system, CPU @ 3.6GHz.

http://brentjustice.shackspace.com/shot.jpg

Considering me and Mark, who are two different people, with slightly different configs, 1000 miles apart, get the same performance as I've showed above, I don't know what to tell ya.
Click to expand...

Well, I am glad that I am getting nearly 4x the performance.:p Can you get a screenshot with a 4870x2 with 8.8 betas with the last patch? With 1.5.03 I was getting only 30fps with no AA while looking at the fire, and changing to 1.5.04 you can see the difference with AA included. By the way, I have been running my CPU at 3.2ghz and ram at 1068mhz effective since its still pretty toasty in my computer room.

Post up a pic of the GTX280 with the same settings while looking at the fire.:confused:

Maybe the 8.9 drivers and the latest patch don't play so well with the 4870x2. All I know is that my card has absolutely no problems with this game. Its hard to imagine the GTX280 having trouble as its performance is supposed to be in the same "ball park". I wish there was more in terms of visual options to throw at it, so its hard to swallow a review that gives results contrary to what I am seeing. I am sure you can relate in some fashion.

Not to offend your techniques or testing method, but I am glad I got my 4870x2 based on looking at multiple sites. I haven't owned a GTX280, but my 4870x2 is slamming everything that it is forced to render. I don't know whether or not your GTX280 numbers are correct based on your 4870x2 results, but it looks like the price difference between the two makes the 4870x2 the better value.

Again, if Nvidia had the faster card, I'd own the GTX280 and be happy with it. I don't know how the 280 could produce any smoother gameplay than my x2 is giving me right now, as its smooth as butter (minus the morning God ray moments when the card drops to around 30fps).
 
Fresh install of Clear Sky, patched directly to v1.5.05, everything set to DX10 / max (except AA = off);

I managed to average between 15-30 FPS in the start of the game.

This was using Catalyst 8.9
Fan Speed 55% on both cards
Both cards OC'd to 790 MHz / 1100 MHz

I decided to try Catalyst 8.10 RC2, and my avg FPS dropped to 2 (two) FPS (using the same Catalyst settings).

That did not fill me with joy.

Edit:

Setting catalyst A.I. from standard to advanced seems to have solved that problem, and has actually helped my see my FPS bump to over 44 FPS in some places.

I can live with that.

Average FPS still jumps fairly wildly though.
 
Dethred said:
Well, I am glad that I am getting nearly 4x the performance.:p Can you get a screenshot with a 4870x2 with 8.8 betas with the last patch? With 1.5.03 I was getting only 30fps with no AA while looking at the fire, and changing to 1.5.04 you can see the difference with AA included. By the way, I have been running my CPU at 3.2ghz and ram at 1068mhz effective since its still pretty toasty in my computer room.

Post up a pic of the GTX280 with the same settings while looking at the fire.:confused:

Maybe the 8.9 drivers and the latest patch don't play so well with the 4870x2. All I know is that my card has absolutely no problems with this game. Its hard to imagine the GTX280 having trouble as its performance is supposed to be in the same "ball park". I wish there was more in terms of visual options to throw at it, so its hard to swallow a review that gives results contrary to what I am seeing. I am sure you can relate in some fashion.

Not to offend your techniques or testing method, but I am glad I got my 4870x2 based on looking at multiple sites. I haven't owned a GTX280, but my 4870x2 is slamming everything that it is forced to render. I don't know whether or not your GTX280 numbers are correct based on your 4870x2 results, but it looks like the price difference between the two makes the 4870x2 the better value.

Again, if Nvidia had the faster card, I'd own the GTX280 and be happy with it. I don't know how the 280 could produce any smoother gameplay than my x2 is giving me right now, as its smooth as butter (minus the morning God ray moments when the card drops to around 30fps).
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input, we look forward to your reviews of hardware on your own site.
 
This is with everything to the right and 4x AA at 1920x1200 DX10 lighting wet surfaces and volumetric smoke. I have experienced consistent framerates. FPS do drop with intense sunrays in the mornings, and with wet surfaces during rain. BTW New patch changes AA from slider to box.
averageiw1.jpg

This is a pretty complex environment (38-45 FPS). I never did believe in a [H] nvidia bias, but when my real world results, as well as others in this thread, are not consistent with [H]'s review I start to wonder. I'm not saying I'm just saying


It started to rain after awhile, and notice the huge hit to framerates, as there are so many wet surfaces.
rainqz3.jpg
 
Mark_Warner said:
I double-checked, and the image comparison is definitely correct. The thing about SSAO is that the shading is dependent on the whole frame and every surface in it, not just small portions of it, so it can have unexpected effects if taken frame by frame.

Overall it is a subtle effect, and it's most visible change is an enhanced level of contrast.
Click to expand...
Weird, so in some cases it seems SSAO can actually decrease quality, or just arbitrarily change it without necessarily helping or hindering it.

I've never tried running Crysis without SSAO but I'd assume the feature had a bigger effect there than in this game, mainly because I think (in my somewhat unsubstantiated opinion) that SSAO improvements were some of the biggest contributors to the IQ increase we saw with Warhead.
 
huh....kinda interesting why so many different results with the same systems?.

Maybe 1 is using 32bit vista? and the other 64 bit?...shrug couldnt hurt to find out

I dunno but I would trust [H] more then a forum poster shrug.

Still getting a 4870 1gig next friday anyway :) cant wait for the review
 
Well shit. I loaded the game and the update patch and the first go around the computer crashed rebooted, and the second go around I crased again and rebooted! This sucks.
 
Did you get rid of old drivers before installing the new card?
 
Don't trust me, trust the screenshots and the fact that I have no interest other than the huge discrepancies between my results, the results of others, and an official review.

If questioning the results is going to be met with immaturity and rude comments, then maybe I'll just take my opposite personal experience to other sites. Maybe they'll be a bit more open to the obvious discrepancies. At least try to back up the results with maturity. I know with some of the Neanderthals that visit Hardforum, these kinds of responses work, but it shows how much you can back your reviews if you essentially tell someone with proof to the contrary to go fuck off.


We have a review stating that the GTX280 provides the better gameplay experience based on a *subjective* analysis, yet I show my system running the game at 30-80fps with everything maxed out with AA and DX10. If you want to swallow a subjective review's results without a bit of interest, be my guest. If you want to dismiss my results as bullshit, then buy the GTX280 and enjoy the game at lower settings.

I have to honestly say that I haven't 100% trusted HardOCP reviews, nor any other sites'. I take them all into consideration considering the fact that trusting absolutely in one test is naive.

After showing contrary results and then receiving a less than mature response from the site's owner, I am having trouble believing a word of these reviews. Again, the only video cards I have owned have been:

ATi:
Radeon 7200
Radeon 4870x2

Nvidia:
MX440
FX5600 256mb
6800GT
7800GT
7900GT
7950GT
8800GTS 640mb
8800GTX

This is simply about what I have experienced, and what the review shows. I want to know what the best card is so I can make an informed purchase. Now what trust I did place in the individual HardOCP review is toast. I am beginning to wonder if my problem threads with EVGA/Nvidia were locked so quickly because they are a sponsor.

If you can't fathom a situation in which you have the same video card, similar hardware, and same game as the review, yet you get completely different results (confirmed by other forum members), then please continue being ignorant.
 
Draax said:
Did you get rid of old drivers before installing the new card?
Click to expand...

I booted into safe mode and used driver cleaner to get rid of the old nvidia drivers. I dont know for sure that it worked. Everything I reboot the ATI catalyst program stops working. Some kind of system error.
 
Dethred said:
Don't trust me, trust the screenshots and the fact that I have no interest other than the huge discrepancies between my results, the results of others, and an official review.

If questioning the results is going to be met with immaturity and rude comments, then maybe I'll just take my opposite personal experience to other sites. Maybe they'll be a bit more open to the obvious discrepancies. At least try to back up the results with maturity. I know with some of the Neanderthals that visit Hardforum, these kinds of responses work, but it shows how much you can back your reviews if you essentially tell someone with proof to the contrary to go fuck off.


We have a review stating that the GTX280 provides the better gameplay experience based on a *subjective* analysis, yet I show my system running the game at 30-80fps with everything maxed out with AA and DX10. If you want to swallow a subjective review's results without a bit of interest, be my guest. If you want to dismiss my results as bullshit, then buy the GTX280 and enjoy the game at lower settings.

I have to honestly say that I haven't 100% trusted HardOCP reviews, nor any other sites'. I take them all into consideration considering the fact that trusting absolutely in one test is naive.

After showing contrary results and then receiving a less than mature response from the site's owner, I am having trouble believing a word of these reviews. Again, the only video cards I have owned have been:

ATi:
Radeon 7200
Radeon 4870x2

Nvidia:
MX440
FX5600 256mb
6800GT
7800GT
7900GT
7950GT
8800GTS 640mb
8800GTX

This is simply about what I have experienced, and what the review shows. I want to know what the best card is so I can make an informed purchase. Now what trust I did place in the individual HardOCP review is toast. I am beginning to wonder if my problem threads with EVGA/Nvidia were locked so quickly because they are a sponsor.

If you can't fathom a situation in which you have the same video card, similar hardware, and same game as the review, yet you get completely different results (confirmed by other forum members), then please continue being ignorant.
Click to expand...

It's not so much trusting...I mean its very odd to see Brent build a totally new system, as Mark did, and get almost the exact same scores as him...Brent isnt one who is biased IMO.

I just think there is something wrong or someone is using something different.

Just because they said that people should buy a 280gtx over a 4870x2 for 1 single game doesnt mean jack.

Heck they could of made a IQ gameplay evaluation over GRID, and i bet ya they would say the ATI cards are the best for this game.

Besides Stalker still needs alot of patches...Great game im sure, i cant wait to buy it, but you have to realize someone who posts in the forum calling them liars and basically saying [H] results are wrong...well that isnt the brightest idea. IF you came accross as professional, and tried to help and figure out why you have totally different scores, maybe you wouldnt get the rude responses...

anyway enough ranting.
 
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