MSI N285GTX Superpipe OC GeForce GTX 285 Review

Fallout 3 and WoW

Fallout 3

    Those nice folks at Bethesda keep producing the digital crack.  Fallout 3 is the latest iteration of the very successful franchise, and Bethesda puts their very own and unique mark on it.  Fallout 3 is based on the same Gamebryo engine that Oblivion uses, but with some extra tweaks and optimizations to make it look better.  A manual run through was done just past the area directly outside of the Vault, and captured by FRAPS.  Settings are put at Ultra, HDR enabled, and 4X AA and 16X AF.


    Fallout 3 is surprisingly kind to these modern graphics cards.  The GTX 285 was consistently faster than the HD 4870s, and at 2560×1600 the minimum frame rate was far higher as well.  Again, we can point to the size of the framebuffer for that definitive win for the GTX 285.

World of Warcraft

    Many are claiming that this title is keeping PC gaming on life support, and whether it may be loved or hated by legions of gamers, it certainly is the 800 lb. gorilla of the PC gaming world.  The latest expansion has improved the graphics engine, and many new areas feature advanced shader functions and lighting.  One such area is the Crystalsong Forrest region where a manual runthrough is recorded with FRAPs.  Settings were pushed to High, with shadows at medium, with 4X AA and 16X AF enabled.


    Even at the highest resolution, neither set of cards are begging for mercy.  Still, we see a bit of separation between the two, with the GTX 285 taking the lead at the lower resolutions, while the HD 4870s have a better average performance at 2560×1600.  One thing to notice is that the HD 4870s again dipped down a bit farther in minimum framerates, and likely we can again blame that on the smaller framebuffer.  While WoW has improved its graphics, it still has to cater to the lowest common denominator.