10. Game Performance

DirectX 9: Far Cry

For the tests in Far Cry we use the Cooler01 time demo. It measures performance in an indoor level (Cooler). For all tests, we enabled the flashlight of the protagonist in order to put more stress on the graphics processor. Moreover, we use the highest quality level.

In the case of this relatively recent DirectX9 title, both a notebook with an MR9800 and its predecessor, the MR9700 - as used in the Acer Ferrari 3200 just reviewed by us - can hold their own against a reasonably up-to-date desktop system. Only in comparison to a desktop PC with Radeon 9800XT does the chip fall significantly behind.

DirectX 9: Halo

For Halo, ATi promises a 75% performance increase compared to the MR9800's predecessor. Our measurements bear this out.

However, a fast desktop PC is, in this benchmark, about 20% faster than a notebook with MR9800. PCs with a Radeon 9600XT or a Geforce FX 5700 Ultra, on the other hand, are considerably slower than a notebook system with ATi's new MR9800 graphics chip.