DiRT3: PC Performance Benchmarks for Graphics Cards and Processors

---

 

Released: 2011
Genre: Racing (Cars) / 3D
Developer: Codemasters Publisher: Buka

Get ready for DiRT 3! Rush through snow, rain and mud and experience dramatic night racing with the most rally content in the game series. Express yourself in the awesome new Gymkhana mode, inspired by Ken Block's incredible free driving, and upload your best rides directly to YouTube! Compete in iconic rally cars representing the sport for 50 years, from the classic Audi Quattro to the 2011 Ford Fiesta WRC, and win in all split screen and full multiplayer game modes. Compete like a pro rally star and enjoy intense racing across three continents, from forested Michigan to the infamous roads of Finland and the national parks of Kenya.

Powered by Codemasters' award-winning EGO Engine, DiRT 3 features time-rewind flashbacks and a realistic damage system. DiRT 3 is a fully off-road racing game.

---

 

Overview: Playability

Anyone who doesn't have enough light and arcade rides on plastic cars in Need for Speed ​​​​(not counting Shift 1,2) knows about the wonderful Codemasters studio. The wizards from this studio are almost single-handedly occupying the rally simulator sector, having given us the Toca Race Driver series, Formula One simulators and the magnificent Race Drive GRID in the past. And these are only the most famous series of developers. Thanks to them, many people know the name of the great racer Colin Mcrae, who has long become the hallmark of rally simulators. 

 

And at the end of May, a new masterpiece called Dirt 3 appeared on the shelves. Of course, this time the name Colin Mcrae disappeared from the name of the game, but the game retained all its best features. Since Dirt 2, the game has been overseen by Ken Block (if anyone doesn't know, this is a professional racer who made figure driving competitions world-famous, originally from Japan - Gymkhana.), bringing new ideas and developing the series in new directions.

The game is already full of different types of off-road competitions, but this time we will be allowed to test our strength even in the Gymkhana mode. This is perhaps one of the most notable innovations in the new game. The classic rally, which has also been pushed back in recent years, will return in a fuller volume and will occupy an average of 60% of all competitions from the entire game. But that's not all that's new in the game. For the first time in the series, not only a change in the weather, but a change in the time of day and night will appear. Just imagine that now, on a charged Audi Quatro, you will have to fight not only with the road and weather, but also with the pitch darkness of night competitions.

Also in the game, Group B (heavy-duty rally cars), which was closed by the motorsport commission in the distant 80s, returned to the full extent, for excessive danger to racers. The variety of rally tracks is very pleasing to the eye: here are the snow-covered forests of Europe, the hot deserts of Africa and the colorful autumn landscapes of America. The developers have implemented the weather effects very realistically: whether it be rain or snowfall. Real spray, clouds of dust and snow flakes fly from under the wheels. The picture pleases the eye all the time, although in fact the differences between the second part and Dirt 3 will be distinguished only by professionals in computer graphics. Rallycross, trailblazer, rally raids and one-on-one competitions have not gone away either.

By default, the game is a serious simulator, but with a low entry threshold. Both a professional and a beginner will not be able to figure it out, only discovering the amazing world of rally racing.
The fleet in the game is more than impressive, although there are no more than 50 cars, there are the most significant cars for this type of motorsport from different eras of the rally's formation.

Dirt 3 is an excellent continuation of the famous series, which raised the quality bar to an even higher level. It's hard to even imagine what the developers will please us with next time. And you will never regret the hours spent on virtual tracks. All fans of motorsport game is required to familiarize.

---

 

Overview: Graphics

Dirt 3 is a continuation of the legendary series both in terms of playability and graphics. More than a year ago, Dirt 2 brought us many innovations in terms of graphics, the main of which was DirectX 11. In fact, it became the first sign that introduced this API to the graphics.

And although the differences are difficult to notice, they are still there. This is especially noticeable on improved and expanded locations, which amaze us with their realism, presenting landscapes of incredible beauty.

The detailing of the machines has also been greatly improved. Now they are not just detailed, but worked out to the smallest detail. The only thing that was a little disappointing was the view from the cockpit, which is somewhat inferior to NFS Shift, but in all other respects, of course, it surpasses its opponent in almost everything.

Another nice difference in Dirt 3 is the improved physics of the cars, as a result of which we are no longer carried like a cow on ice, and the racing process itself is a real pleasure. Next, we go directly to the graphics tests and determine how different models of video cards behave in the game.

---

Review: Game resource intensive

All video cards were tested at maximum graphics quality by MSI Afterburner. The purpose of the test is to determine how video cards from different manufacturers behave under the same conditions. The minimum and average value of frames is taken as a performance indicator. Below is the configuration of our test systems.

Less productive video cards up to the level of GeForce GTS 450 and Radeon HD 4870 are tested based on Core 2 Quad Q9550 and Phenom II X4 940 BE processors, depending on the resource intensity of the game, and more productive ones based on more powerful solutions. Overclocked versions of video cards presented by sponsors were equated to conventional counterparts by reducing their clock speeds.

Our video cards were tested at a resolution of 1920x1080 in DX 9 and DX 11 modes at maximum quality settings. Video cards with DX 10-10.1 support were tested in DirectX 9 mode, and with DX 11 support, respectively, in DirectX 11 mode. AMD Eyefinity technology was tested at maximum quality settings on three monitors at a resolution of 5760x1080. SLI and Cross Fire technologies work great and allow you to unleash the full power of dual-chip video cards. 

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920x1080 DX9

When testing at maximum quality settings in DX 9 mode, all our tested video cards in this mode proved to be just great. The minimum that will be required is the presence of video cards of the level of Radeon HD 4830 and GeForce 9800GT.

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920x1080 DX11

In DirectX 11 mode, the load on video cards will increase significantly. The minimum acceptable comfortable solution is the Radeon HD 6850 and GeForce GTX 460. Based on the purchase of a video card for the game today, these solutions look the most optimal.

Testing at maximum quality settings using AMD Eyefinity technology on two monitors at a resolution of 5760x1080 

 

 

With the use of AMD Eyefinity technology, the performance of video cards is reduced by 40-50%, depending on the model of the video card. AMD Eyefinity. The minimum that is necessary for a comfortable game is a video card of the level of Radeon HD 6970 and higher. The most optimal solution is the Radeon HD 6990.

Processor dependency testing

All our tested processor models showed a decent level of performance. The game perfectly scales the computing cores, allowing you to unleash the full potential of quad-core processors.

Testing processor dependence at minimum quality settings 640x480

Both in terms of graphics and in terms of processor dependence, we see excellent optimization in terms of resource allocation for multi-threading. But with processors, the situation is more rosy and all our test models will be able to provide an acceptable level of performance in DiRT 3. 

Test Dirt 3 version 1.1

Based on the numerous feedback from our readers, we decided to retest some game moments. Due to my long absence, the initial measurements were made immediately after the release of the game, and the review itself came out only after a long time. In this case, we took an updated version of the game 1.1 with updated drivers from AMD and NVIDIA versions of Catalyst 11.5b and GeForce / ION Driver Release 275.33. The benchmark test in this case was run 3 times in DirectX 11 and AMD Eyefinity modes. 

Testing at maximum quality settings 1920x1080 DX11

As we can see, with the release of the patch and new drivers, the performance of AMD and NVIDIA 4XX series cards has clearly increased. Now the minimum acceptable comfortable solution is the Radeon HD 5770 OC and GeForce GTX 460SE.

Testing at maximum quality settings using AMD Eyefinity technology on two monitors at a resolution of 5760x1080 

Performance has also been increased for AMD Eyefinity technology. The minimum that is now necessary for a comfortable game is a video card equal to the Radeon HD 5870 and higher. A more or less optimal solution is the Radeon HD 6970. In this case, the game needs a significant amount of video memory and one gigabyte is barely enough...