My Doom 3 and X800 XT performance review

[Redneck1089]

Hello,

Today I decided to have a bit of fun and start playing Doom 3 again after upgrading to an X800 XT. My computer is a dual 2 GHz PowerMac with 1.5 GB of ram. I turned the settings to max everything, including anti alasing, and the resolution to 1600 X 1050. I was getting 25-35 fps the majority of the time, except when a lot of enemies were on the screen and when doors opened; then I was getting anywhere from 4 to 12 fps for a very short period of time. Overall the game is very playable on max settings, despite the past reviews I have read.

On another note, I have experienced a problem with my X800 XT. Every time I put my computer to sleep and then wake it, the card makes the computer go back to sleep within 20 seconds. I did start another thread elsewhere on the forum about this problem...but didn't get too much help and want to fix the problem ASAP. I have downloaded all the ROM updates, display updates, and even the "hotfix" offered by ATI made specifically to fix this problem. I was wondering if anyone on here have any other suggestions?


I'll come back tomorrow and post some screen shots of Doom 3 on max settings if anyone is interested... :)

[Melkor]

That sounds pretty cool. My copy of D3 should be arriving in the post tomorrow am I'm anxious to see how it will perform on my new PowerBook. I don't really care about having the settings on full or anything I just was it to run smooth.

Btw, I downloaded the demo on my PC and it must have been the scariest game I've ever played. ( and I've played every resident evil game out there) I almost crapped myself when that dude with the crowbar appeared out of nowhere.

edit: since you asked, yes I would be interested seeing some screen shots please :)

[Redneck1089]

http://www.imageabyss.com/images/redneck1089/picture4.jpg

http://www.imageabyss.com/images/redneck1089/picture3.jpg

http://www.imageabyss.com/images/redneck1089/picture2.jpg

http://www.imageabyss.com/images/redneck1089/picture1_1.jpg

[Redneck1089]

Here's two more: :)

http://www.imageabyss.com/images/redneck1089/picture1_2.jpg

http://www.imageabyss.com/images/redneck1089/picture2_1.jpg

[Melkor]

That looks damn sweet. Cheers for the awesome pics :). I can't wait to play it ( and yet I dread it at the same time).

Btw, my copy didn't arrive today :(. Hopefully tomorrow.

[Redneck1089]

That looks damn sweet. Cheers for the awesome pics :). I can't wait to play it ( and yet I dread it at the same time).

Btw, my copy didn't arrive today :(. Hopefully tomorrow.


When it comes, get yourself a good pair of earphones, wait till late at night and turn all the lights down--makes the game just that much more kick ass! :D

[Melkor]

When it comes, get yourself a good pair of earphones, wait till late at night and turn all the lights down--makes the game just that much more kick ass! :D


No way! I probably play it with every light in the house on and at least 2 people in the room to keep me company. :o

[Striderdm1]

Good piccies there : ) I've a 2ghz dual G5 but i've got the nvidia 6800 ultra (great card this and i left ATI due to suffering a black screen after reboots - never ATI again for me!!). : (

Anyhow, I also play in ultra mode with everything (except fsaa) set to on. Sadly my tft monitor is only 17" so 1280x1024 is my res.

I get great framerates also, unless there are a lot of enemies on the screen (like in many 3rd party maps). But you should try your settings while using a mod like 'GTX' or 'Maximum Graphic Mod'. I'm sure fsaa will be back to 'off' in no time ; )

But there are some great fx with these two and i'm sure you will appreciate them. See doom3.filefront.com for downloads/links.

cheers

[crachoar]

...I'm anxious to see how it will perform on my new PowerBook. I don't really care about having the settings on full or anything I just was it to run smooth.

Sorry to be the guy to drop bad news onto your doorstep, but...

DOOM 3 performs like ass-tits on most macs - especially G4-based macs. Your experience will be extremely disappointing. I'd be surprised if you got more than 8FPS on the lowest settings.

[Melkor]

Sorry to be the guy to drop bad news onto your doorstep, but...

DOOM 3 performs like ass-tits on most macs - especially G4-based macs. Your experience will be extremely disappointing. I'd be surprised if you got more than 8FPS on the lowest settings.

I just downloaded the demo ( amazon are late with dispatching my order as usual) and you are totally right. I don't know how to check my PFS (:o) but it is almost unplayable imho. I am very disapointed.

Will other games peform better? I also ordered Unreal Tournament 2004 and that's an older game so I can only hope that performs better. Do you think it will?

[Striderdm1]

D3 needs a G5 tbh..
But do try lowering all the settings and then visit these sites to try some tweaking also:
http://ucguides.savagehelp.com/Doom3/FPSVisuals.htm
and:
http://www.tweakguides.com/Doom3_1.html
http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/doom3/

Doom3 is a great game, esp when modded (i just lurve GTX mod) so don't pass judgement just yet.. even if you're on a powerbook ;p

HTH - good luck :)

[Eric5h5]

Will other games peform better?

Yes...the Doom3 engine is very demanding to begin with, and was also written with x86 in mind like most games. So porting a demanding game to PPC without being able to use all the x86 optimizations results in a game that doesn't run fast. (Mind you, I have no complaints with my 2.5GHz G5+X800 graphics card. I do have a complaint with the surround sound not working though. I mean, it works at first but then the game quits back to the main menu when you try loading the second level.)

If Doom3 had been developed on PPC to begin with, the speed wouldn't be a problem. Of course, that would never happen. Then again, all three next-gen consoles use PPC, so any console ports will...er, wait, Apple is switching to x86. Never mind.

I also ordered Unreal Tournament 2004 and that's an older game so I can only hope that performs better. Do you think it will?

Yes, it will.

--Eric

[Melkor]

Yes, it will.

--Eric

That's a relief. Cheers :).

I'm actually going to return Doom3 'cause the demo performed so poorly.

[Striderdm1]

That's a relief. Cheers :).

I'm actually going to return Doom3 'cause the demo performed so poorly.

:eek:
get it tweaked and enjoy the game!! Get some mods enabled and try out some of the excellent TCs too. Don't miss out on this without at least trying to get some performance increase. You'll be suprised, i'm sure.

[Melkor]

:eek:
get it tweaked and enjoy the game!! Get some mods enabled and try out some of the excellent TCs too. Don't miss out on this without at least trying to get some performance increase. You'll be suprised, i'm sure.


Hmmm you really think I can get a decent enough performance by tweaking it? ( I don't know what you mean by mods or TCs :o ) I really don't know if I'm going to return it or not. It's just the demo was completly unplayable with every setting on low. Can I apply these tweaks to the demo, or do they only work on the full version?

Oh, btw, how do I get the console screen up on the demo so I can check my FPS?

Thanks for the advice and links :)

[Striderdm1]

deffinetly. Lower all the settings and don't pick a resolution above 1024x768 also. Now go2 the web sites listed above, though (iirc) i think this one was the better one: http://ucguides.savagehelp.com/Doom3/FPSVisuals.htm

Mods - modifications. Like skins or weapons or sfx /etc/etc
TCs - Total Conversions. Like Doom Reborn, Chex Trek, Classic Doom, Quake2 Lost Marine, LMS, Doom Chronicles, Pathways Redux, and more..

There's also a lot of sp maps out there too ; )

For the console, i just created a file called: autoexec.cfg and inside is:
com_allowConsole "1" (this is inside Application Support btw)

I increased my fps from around 40fps to 55fps. Though now i'm happy with 40ish tbh as i'd rather have certain fx on. Though i leave fsaa off & anisotropy at "1". You will be best off switching off shadows..

hth?

[crachoar]

Return that awful half-ass port of a game. Don't listen to these guys about 'tweaking and modding' - it won't look good or run at a decent framerate. Trust me. Been there and done that.

Most people on these forums are conditioned to settle for less. So when a game gets 8FPS - that's 'playable' to them. If you really want this game (for whatever crazy reason), I'd suggest getting an Xbox and a copy of the game for that. It looks pretty and it has Co-Op (which the PC doesn't). But if you're going to do that - you might as well get Halo 2 instead.

Don't bother trying to tweak Doom3. Return that over-priced junk and buy a port that actually runs on your hardware.

The good news is - UT2K4 will run just fine on your Powerbook. So, rock on I suppose.

[Striderdm1]

so bcos you failed....
Anyhow, I've tweaked mine from 38fps - 55fps (timedemo). Ok i've a G5 but my point remains & it's worth a try. But don't expect to play TCs like Doom Chronicles or Quake2 Lost Marine without a G5 !

[Nermal]

Classic Doom

How do you get Classic Doom to work? The site only has Windows and Linux versions. The Linux version says it's specifically for Linux, whereas the Windows version appears to be "generic", so I downloaded the Windows version. However, it's an exe file, and StuffIt doesn't want to touch it. Any ideas?

Edit: I got it going. Despite the site saying it's "specifically tailored" for Linux, the Linux version works fine in OS X. In addition, now that I have it running, I recognise it! I must've installed it on my old G4 at some point.

[Striderdm1]

yes it works.. click my sig ; )