Anyone have Ghost Recon on a G5?

[neonart]

Just wondering how Ghost Recon performs on a G5. FPS? Settings?
I love this genre of game and R6 3 is around the corner...
I wonder if a 1.6 G5 will outperform my Dual 1.25. (Both would have 2 GB RAM and a 9800.)
What do you think?

[macrumors12345]

Originally posted by neonart
Just wondering how Ghost Recon performs on a G5. FPS? Settings?
I love this genre of game and R6 3 is around the corner...
I wonder if a 1.6 G5 will outperform my Dual 1.25. (Both would have 2 GB RAM and a 9800.)
What do you think?

Unless it is multithreaded (i.e. SMP aware), which it's probably not unless it is based on the Quake III Arena engine, then I think it is safe to say that the G5/1.6 will easily outperform the Dual G4/1.25 for this game.

If you really want to know, I can download the Demo and test it on my Dual G5.

[neonart]

If you could try the Demo it would be great! But I warn you, that's how I got started and now I'm an addict! ;)

I also belive the G5 will do better for most games. The only problem is that I'm afraid to lose some of the GUI's smoothness, especially when multitasking. So I'm on the edge!

[macrumors12345]

Originally posted by neonart
If you could try the Demo it would be great! But I warn you, that's how I got started and now I'm an addict! ;)

I also belive the G5 will do better for most games. The only problem is that I'm afraid to lose some of the GUI's smoothness, especially when multitasking. So I'm on the edge!

I downloaded it last night - I'll try taking a look at it tonight if I have time.

Mike

[macrumors12345]

Tried it just now on the Dual G5...I was getting about 60 FPS just running around the Castle Demo scene. This was at 1280x1024, with every detail possible turned up to max. I have a Radeon 9600 and 1.5 GB of RAM, BTW.

It's not clear to what extent it uses both processors. It did seem to slow down a bit when I put a Cinebench render on just one processor...in theory if Ghost Recon were just using one processor then the render shouldn't have affected it too much.

I wouldn't worry too much about the G5/1.6 not being fluid under a load. My Dual G5 is still generally responsive even when both processors are maxed out at 100%. =)

I think that the increased memory bandwidth (of the G5/1.6 vis a vis the Dual G4/1.25) will more than make up for the lack of a second processor. But then my previous machine was an iBook, so everything about this computer just seems insanely fast to me. =)

[macrumors12345]

I should also mention that the CPU fans never spool up while I am playing it (which would be odd if the CPU were the limiting factor, because they always spool up, at least initially, when there is a sustained heavy processor load).

[neonart]

I tried this same level on my G4 at 1280x1024 with all max and no Ati overdrives. I get 60 FPS as a Max. About 30-40 FPS on average, and as low as 20 FPS. Mostly this stage runs well, unlike some others, especially in Island thunder where frames average 19-27. (I run normally 1600x1200 though, but it doesn't make a difference.)
By this comparison you've given me I think a 1.6 G5 is not going to be a huge improvement. It may just be a crappy port that's limiting this game.

I may wait until January and see what new machines are released and upgrade then, maybe to a discontinued 1.8 Dual.

Thank you very much for the help!

[lewdvig]

Originally posted by macrumors12345
Unless it is multithreaded (i.e. SMP aware), which it's probably not unless it is based on the Quake III Arena engine, then I think it is safe to say that the G5/1.6 will easily outperform the Dual G4/1.25 for this game.

If you really want to know, I can download the Demo and test it on my Dual G5.

MULTITHREADING AND SMP ARE NOT THE SAME THING!

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=symmetric%20multiprocessing

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=multithreading&r=67