10.3.9 Improved gaming performance?

[Soulstorm]

Is it just me or did 10.3.9 boost performance in 3D? I am seeing this in my UT2004. A guy at macologist observed the same thing.

http://www.macologist.org/viewtopic.php?t=1200

I know that apple doesn't mention anything about updated Opengl drivers... Maybe it is just code clean up??

[pgc6000]

Maybe. Or maybe we are just used to the slow 10.3.8. That update slowed down OS X. Though I'm not quite sure with games. Anyway, hopefully it did improve graphic speeds.

[pgc6000]

I just played a round of Call of Duty: UO. There did seem to be a slight increase in frames. UO is probaly the toughest 3D game for my machine to run, so an increase of frames was most noticable on that game.

[Orlando Furioso]

pick one?

I tried out UT and it did indeed seem to run a lot more smoothly (all settings maxed out at highest resolution). Text appears to stand out more, and is more crisp than I remember it. It might just be a font change (why? I have no idea). For some reason though, my aim was really off (perhaps it is too early in the morning... on that note, I could just be imagining the whole thing).

Since I have been playing Doom3 lately, the speed "improvements" I perceived may just be my subconscious comparing UT performance against Doom3.

On the other hand, Doom3 also seems to pick up a performance boost from 10.3.9. Although, it is not a significant increase.

If anyone out there who has not updated the OS would be willing to do a "before"/"after" benchmark to compare gaming performance, I (and others I’m sure), would appreciate the post.

[csubear]

I know WoW is running faster. I'm seeing numbers in the 40s and even 50s now. I've never seen anything above the 30s. My guess is something happend.

[Hydra]

I know WoW is running faster. I'm seeing numbers in the 40s and even 50s now. I've never seen anything above the 30s. My guess is something happend.
Sounds good, PB or iMac?

I'm thinking about getting a 15" PB or something to replace my iBook so I could play the game.

[WhiteSavage]

No Hydra! Dont move to the dark side!!! Argh!

[pgc6000]

He's geting a powerbook, not a PC.

[TDM21]

If anyone out there who has not updated the OS would be willing to do a "before"/"after" benchmark to compare gaming performance, I (and others I’m sure), would appreciate the post.

I just ran a Doom3 test on my PB to see if there was an increase in performance. I ran 2 time demos before the update then repeated afterwards. Here are my results:

Setup and Settings:
Pb 12" Rev C 1.33gHz 768mb ram nVidia go 5200
(Energy setting to highest)

Dom display settings:
Medium Detail
800x600 resolution
Shadows off, vsync off, antilasing off

results:
10.3.8 demo1: 18.1 fps demo2: 20.4
10.3.9 demo1: 18.1 fps demo2: 20.4

That is not a typo. I got the same results before and after the update. Maybe someone will have better results on a more high end system.

[csubear]

Sounds good, PB or iMac?

I'm thinking about getting a 15" PB or something to replace my iBook so I could play the game.


Ye old powerbook.

[Lacero]

10.3.9 might bring compatibility with FCP 5.0 to be released tomorrow. I was hoping for improved OpenGL drivers for better Doom 3 fps scores, but I'm going to defer my testing until after NAB to see the real deal on this update. 51MB is pretty hefty for changes that don't seem to make a difference on my system.

[Hydra]

Ye old powerbook.
Ok, I think I'll buy a PB in the fall or so. I hope they have new versions ready by then. Anyway if it's not fast enough for the game I might consider building a x86 computer once again after the dual core A64s come out. But it's a longshot, I'd really hate to have a ugly and noisy computer with wihdows lying around. So I guess the performance even on a G4 PB and FX5200/R9700 mobility is good enough to really enjoy the game, actually I'm much more interested in Xbox2 and PS3 to go along with my Apple laptop.

[eXan]

Guys! Here are my results in Xbench:

10.3.8

Overal score: 72.68

CPU test: 82.94
Thread Test: 60.55
Memory Test: 62.74
Quartz Graphics Test: 85.38
OpenGL Test: 66.54 (46.56 FPS)
UI Test: 94.76 (30.48 refresh/sec)
Disk test: 68.95.

10.3.9

Overal score: 67.75

CPU test: 83.42
Thread Test: 60.03
Memory Test: 65.69
Quartz Graphics Test: 87.51
OpenGL Test: 71.32 (49.91 FPS)
UI Test: 94.07 (30.26 refresh/sec)
Disk test: 42.78. :eek:

With each OS update my Open GL speed goes down, but now it raised abit!

CPU is also usually speeds up with each update.

But now my disk performance has significanlry dropped. I think thats because I have only 13 GB of free space on my 120 GB HD?

[iPoster]

10.3.9 doesn't seem to make much difference in Wolfenstein:ET, maybe slighty smoother...

And no difference in Cinebench2003 from 10.3.8 to 10.3.9...

But my Quake3 timedemo went from 76.0 to 105.1fps!
(though I may not have had exactly the same configuration, the screen size and general options were the same...high detail defaults and 800x600)
:confused:

[Demon Hunter]

I wouldn't take much from the Xbench OpenGL results, it's an awful test... maybe just even a fluctuation.

[James Philp]

Did you guys really buy macs to play games? :confused:

[Devie]

Did you guys really buy macs to play games? :confused:
Im not buying a mac to play games, but I would like to be able to play games.
I dont get people like you, there is nothing wrong in expecting a system to be able to play a game.

[eXan]

Did you guys really buy macs to play games? :confused:

Yes and no. I dont only play games. I also use iLife, FCP, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, web...

[Rocksaurus]

I wouldn't take much from the Xbench OpenGL results, it's an awful test... maybe just even a fluctuation.

Don't take anything from Xbench, no matter what the test. It's junk.

[Soulstorm]

I know that in COD i have seen smoother performance in areas where fps dropped to 20's. This is in my G5 system (see specs below).

In doom 3 I observed no difference. In UT 2004 I did. It runs smoother.

[eXan]

Aside from Xbench, I noticed no difference in KOTOR (VERY unplayable), but 1 fps more in ONS-Torlan (didnt try anything else)

[pgc6000]

Did you guys really buy macs to play games? :confused:
No, not just for games. But what's wrong with picking up games to play? Honestly...

There was indeed an improvment with Open GL and ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers. Plus a lot more. Big update:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxcombinedupdate1039.html

[Hoef]

Maybe just me but hardly any difference in UT2004. Any one who did a scientific experiment (count frame rates or so) to determine the improvment?

[Soulstorm]

There was indeed an improvment with Open GL and ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers. Plus a lot more. Big update:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxcombinedupdate1039.html
Do not confuse combo update with the other one...

The info you read about is meant for the combo update, that means that the changes you read there concern all changes from 10.3.0 to 10.3.9.

What I am asking is if there is an increase in performance during update from 10.3.8 to 10.3.9.

[pgc6000]

Oh, I see.

[TheGimp]

My D3 timedemo results (640x480, medium, shadows off):

10.3.7 0 FPS
10.3.9 21 FPS

1.5 GHZ Powerbook w/64mb vram (nvidia), 512MB ram

[a2daj]

If you crack opening the 10.3.9 delta upgrade (10.3.8 -> 10.3.9) in Pacifist there are no OpenGL or graphics driver updates.

[benpatient]

Gimp, I just wanted to congratulate you on a thoroughly LOL moment for me.

Excellent timing, rhythm, and placement.

[AppleMatt]

If you crack opening the 10.3.9 delta upgrade (10.3.8 -> 10.3.9) in Pacifist there are no OpenGL or graphics driver updates.

Odd, because the 7W82 seednotes listed "- Various video driver fixes".

The boosts could have come from elsewhere, such as improved I/O or sound.

AppleMatt

[Soulstorm]

Odd, because the 7W82 seednotes listed "- Various video driver fixes".

The boosts could have come from elsewhere, such as improved I/O or sound.

AppleMatt
Just look here (http://www.macologist.org/viewtopic.php?t=1200)

Yeah its in there. Also talked with Brad Oliver about it (in a thread about KOTOR performance and a possible future patch for an issue found on 32MB RV280 systems that I and some others found). Theres no new card drivers but the OpenGL did see an update.

[a2daj]

I think Nightcougar is misquoting something Brad said.

Here's what Brad said:

http://www.macaddict.com/forums/topic/48909/3

"I haven't tried it under 10.3.9 yet, but I was told a few days ago that 10.3.9 would not have any driver updates from ATI or nVidia. That's not to say that OpenGL itself didn't get updated some, so perhaps there are some improvements that bring KOTOR performance back in line with 10.3.7. If anyone notices an improvement, please let me know."

He's not saying OpenGL was updated. He's saying OpenGL may have been updated but he wasn't sure. As I said before, I opened up the delta update with Pacifist and saw no OpenGL related files.