Shader Model 3.0: How important is it for Far Cry & HL2?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rick S.
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Rick S.

We're trying to nail down our decision for an AGP video upgrade.

According to specs the ATI X850XT PE doesn't support SM3.0.
How important is this for games like Far Cry and Half-Life2?
Does SM3.0 make a substantial image quality difference?

The question is horribly subjective but I'd still appreciate hearing
some opinions, especially from those who've run both with it and
without it.

Thanks!
 
Rick said:
We're trying to nail down our decision for an AGP video upgrade.

According to specs the ATI X850XT PE doesn't support SM3.0.
How important is this for games like Far Cry and Half-Life2?
Does SM3.0 make a substantial image quality difference?

The question is horribly subjective but I'd still appreciate hearing
some opinions, especially from those who've run both with it and
without it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

SM3.0 is not so much about graphics, but rather the efficiency and
complexity of the code that creates a given shader. Visually, SM3.0
allows for more complex composited effects in pixel shaders for the same
performance as a less complex PS2.x equivalent. If you wish to speak
about it in generic terms, SM3 will allow developers to begin simulating
physical properties of materials more easily than before (refraction,
dispersion, spherical harmonics, density, procedurals).
 
Rick S. said:
We're trying to nail down our decision for an AGP video upgrade.

According to specs the ATI X850XT PE doesn't support SM3.0.
How important is this for games like Far Cry and Half-Life2?
Click to expand...

I've seen some shots of a Buddha statue in Far Cry using SM3.0 and they are
alot better because it supports displacement mapping which makes surfaces
with different depths instead of a flat surface.

In HL2 I think SM2 kicks ass more than enough. It's shading looks superb. I
haven't seen HL2 in SM3.0
 
Rick S. said:
We're trying to nail down our decision for an AGP video upgrade.

According to specs the ATI X850XT PE doesn't support SM3.0.
How important is this for games like Far Cry and Half-Life2?
Does SM3.0 make a substantial image quality difference?
Click to expand...

High-dynamic range (HDR) lighting, which SM3.0 enables, really makes a big
difference in image quality, by overexposing light sources to simulate
glare, sunshine, etc. You can find plenty of screenshots.

However, the performance penalty of HDR is significant (~ 50% hit in some
cases). And in Far Cry, you cannot enable FSAA simultaneously with HDR on a
Geforce card.
 
High-dynamic range (HDR) lighting, which SM3.0 enables, really makes a big
difference in image quality, by overexposing light sources to simulate
glare, sunshine, etc. You can find plenty of screenshots.

However, the performance penalty of HDR is significant (~ 50% hit in some
cases). And in Far Cry, you cannot enable FSAA simultaneously with HDR on a
Geforce card.
Click to expand...

My impression from what I've seen has been the opposite - 3.0 doesn't
make much difference in image quality (at least in Far Cry), but having
it used heavily does increase framerates on cards that utilize it,
relative to using 2.0.

In any case, I just did my last AGP upgrade and got an AIW X800XT. I've
been disappointed with how the manufacturers have dropped AGP so
quickly, and the cost of the cards haven't dropped as much as I thought
(since I did my last upgrade and went with a GeForce 6600GT - $200 a
year ago at release, maybe $140 today). In some cases PCIe cards are
selling for significantly less than the same model with AGP, yet it's
harder to find the AGP cards. With nVidia having dropped the 6800 Ultra,
the top end from them is the 6800 GT, and the faster X800s are faster
than that card. I got mine for $260, which is about the best deal I've
seen lately. And yet there's the PCIe Sapphire X850XT PE selling for
$200 now, which has to be at least $150 less than the AGP version. If
you can find one...
 
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