Modern DirectX 11 synthetics versus DirectX11 video cards – PC performance graphics benchmarks of Graphics Cards

A lot of time has passed since the first DX11 card appeared. But unfortunately we are talking only about ATI cards, which have already occupied almost all price niches, with the exception of only the most budget ones. What can these new products do in modern DX11 applications? Today there are not so many graphics engines based on the new API, so there is basically nothing to choose from. We will look at synthetic applications such as Ladybug Demo,Mecha Demo, Call Of Pripyat Benchmark and Heaven Benchmark v1.0.

Ladybug Demo

With the release of new video cards, ATI developers presented us with two new tests that reveal the capabilities of DirectX 11: Ladybug Demo and Mecha Demo.

Ladybug Demo shows the capabilities of the new depth-of-field effect. The Depth-of-field effect is used to give a 3D scene a cinematic effect. Depth of field is used in feature films by filmmakers to subtly guide the viewer’s attention through the shot or enhance the emotion of a scene.

Some users will find that with the depth-of-field function disabled, the picture looks sharper, but at the same time less attractive (the puppetry of the surrounding world is visible). When depth-of-field is activated, the picture becomes blurry and the performance of video cards drops several times.

We invite you to check out part of the Ladybug video Demo(at the top left there will be a mode with depth-of-field disabled, and in the main frame with depth-of-field enabled), where you can see for yourself the quality of graphics in this product:

Of course, the ladybug itself is perfect and looks quite real, but the rest of the environment leaves much to be desired, especially with the depth-of-field effect disabled.

Wick Demo

Wick Demo shows the result of rendering translucent OIT objects. Your attention will be presented to a hologram of a robot that performs all sorts of theatrical tricks while standing in one place.

Of course, the number of transparent polygons on the robot itself is quite well designed, but the environment itself always leaves much to be desired. When OIT is turned off, the picture becomes nothing at all and is more reminiscent of a presentation from five years ago.

We invite you to check out part of the Mecha video Demo(at the top left there will be a mode with OIT disabled, and in the main frame with OIT enabled), where you can see for yourself the quality of graphics in this product:

Of course, technology provides many opportunities, but their implementation by ATI developers is, to put it mildly, unimpressive.

Call Of Pripyat Benchmark

Benchmark based on the game STALKER: Clear Sky. Measures the estimated computer performance by making three runs of one location (the city of Pripyat) at different times of the day. The rendering method, picture quality and resolution can be adjusted to suit you.

For those who want to boast about the results obtained, there is an online table of records, an entry into which, however, is made only after launching a special testing mode that uses its own settings. This program (as well as the game) supports DirectX 11.

Which only causes an involuntary smile, considering the durability of the game engine, which was developed for the generation of GeForce FX and Radeon 9XXX video cards…

We invite you to evaluate part of the Call Of Pripyat Benchmark video (at the top left there will be a mode with DX10, and in the main frame with DX11), where you can see for yourself the quality of graphics in this product:

Heaven Benchmark v1.0

Unigine Corp was the first to announce a benchmark that supports DirectX 11 – Heaven Benchmark. This software product to some extent poses a challenge to Futuremark, which has not yet presented its product for the new API.

Heaven Benchmark is based on the Unigine engine, providing support for both DirectX 9/10/11 and OpenGL. Brief characteristics of the new product are as follows:

Benchmark mode;
Polygon display mode.
Using tessellation technology;
SSAO (Screen-Space Ambient Occlusion) algorithm;
The ability to take a walk through the virtual world of Heaven Benchmark;
Cloud generation occurs according to a new physically accurate algorithm.

When tessellation is turned on, the picture becomes completely different. The first thing that catches your eye is the tiles. Moreover, not only has it become more voluminous, or rather, more realistic, it also casts a shadow correctly. The number of polygons on the dragon is simply amazing.

We invite you to evaluate part of the Heaven Benchmark video (at the top left there will be a mode with DX10, and in the main frame with DX11), where you can see for yourself the quality of graphics in this product:

Testing video cards in DirectX 11 applications

Today we tested exclusively Radeon video cards and exclusively in DX 11 applications. To pass the tests most accurately, you will need a dual-core Core 2 Duo 3,16 GHz processor and 3 gigabytes of RAM.

All video cards were tested at maximum graphics quality in Heaven Benchmark v1.0 and Call Of Pripyat Benchmark (we took the arithmetic average of the results for 4 tests) using an internal counter, and in Ladybug Demo and Mecha Demo Fraps program. We conducted tests in a resolution of 1920×1080, because real DirectX 11 gaming applications will behave much more aggressively than these benchmarks and will crash them much more…

Testing DirectX 11 1920×1080 Ladybug Demo

Testing DirectX 11 1920×1080 Mecha Demo

Testing at maximum quality settings DirectX 11 1920×1080 Call Of Pripyat Benchmark

Testing at maximum quality settings DirectX 11 1920×1080 Heaven Benchmark v1.0

And what do we see from all the tests? Even the top single-chip solutions today cannot provide the optimal minimum number of FPS in all tests. Of course, you could take the 5970, but this is not a mass-produced card now and only wealthy enthusiasts can afford it.

Final World: modern DirectX 11 graphics cards from ATI are quite good-looking, but in real DirectX 11 they are unlikely to be able to show their positive side. We are waiting for new Fermi video cards from Nvidia – maybe they will show themselves much better in this API…