13. DirectX8: Splintercell

Pixelshader effects (v1.1) and highly complex light and shadow effects come into play with Splinter Cell. The frame rate is determined equally by normal 3D and shadow calculations.

This game does not really run very quickly on any system if the protagonists are set to act at maximum quality settings.

However, by slightly reducing the display quality, smooth game play is guaranteed with a display resolution of 1024x768 pixels or higher. The influence of the power-play settings on the attainable frame rate is interesting: choosing the default settings for power play in battery operation limits both the core and the memory speed of the graphics chip to a value of just 105MHz. Gaming is impossible at this setting in view of the two-thirds reduction in frame rates.