![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Sunday , July 20, 2003
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
UT2003 Texture Filtering
ATI recently questioned the validity of our UT2K3 benchmarks in our BFGTech 5900 Ultra review. ATI explained to us that our benchmarks were damaging to their 9800 series card. We look further into this and share the results with you.
Non AF Testing:
First we will take a look at image quality comparisons with no Anisotropic Filtering turned on. The entire point of evaluating this at all on high-end cards is debatable as it can be argued that anyone paying $400 to $500 for a video card will certainly be using Anisotropic Filtering. For arguments sake we included it.
In the first picture above we have taken a cut out from the 5900 Ultra and the 9800 Pro in Antalus and put them side by side for easy evaluation. Side by side like this I cannot see any differences concerning mip-map boundaries in the in-game images. (MipMap boundaries being those areas where the textures blend into each other on the same plane.) In fact, by flipping these two screenshots back and forth in Image Viewer it seems the 5900 Ultra has a SLIGHTLY sharper detail texture quality. The difference is so slight that you would not notice it unless you are specifically flipping the images back and forth and starring at it closely.
The second picture above is a shot using the "firstcoloredmip 1" command that colorizes the mip-maps using version 2225 of UT2K3. You can see that according to this screenshot of the mipmaps that the GFFX has a more ‘harsh’ transition and the 9800p a more ‘softer’ transition bewtween textures. Even with that being so we just are not seeing it make a difference in the first in-game shot above. The tool seems to point out a difference in technique and not quality.
Here is another in-game shot in Antalus cut-out and put side by side for evaluation. In this picture we can look at the bridge and the rising tower in the right of the picture. Comparing these two pictures I can notice no major image quality differences.
In the first picture above we have cut out a section of this screenshot in Asbestos map that shows a repeated floor. If there was any mip-map boundary differences at all in-game this was the only situation that I could see a SLIGHT difference by switching the images back and forth. It appears that the first mip-map boundary is transitioning pretty hard from a clear texture to a blurry texture in the GFFX 5900 Ultra picture on the top. If you compare it to the picture below it is a more gradual transition. This is better seen in the second mip-map shot.
You can see where I circled the first mip-map transition there in the GFFX 5900 Ultra picture. If you look in that same area in the normal in-game shot you can see what I mean. That slight difference there is not noticeable in game as you are moving however. I only noticed it in this still screenshot flipping back and forth between the two images. We did in-game movement evaluations as well and never could tell a difference between the two.
In the above picture we have cut out a piece of this screenshot in Anubis with No AF. As you can see there are no major image quality differences between the two cards in the in-game shot except for maybe a SLIGHTLY more sharp detail texture image on the 5900 Ultra near the bottom middle right above the HUD. Even though the highlighted mip-map picture is telling us the 9800 Pro should be smoother, we just aren’t seeing that difference in the in-game shot and of course that is what is important.
In the first picture above we have a cut out from a screenshot on both cards in Phobos. In this map there is a nice floor texture that makes it easy to spot mip-map boundaries. Suffice it to say it is hard to notice any difference at all between the two pictures.
The mip-map shot shows otherwise, it says that there are some pretty hard transitions between mip-maps on the GFFX 5900 Ultra. But when you look at the in-game shot you just don’t see that.
In DM-Flux there is a nice spawn point that shows you looking down a hallway that is textured with rock in a nice curving fashion. This lets us look at filtering as it moves around on a non-horizontal surface. And looking at these two shots side-by-side here I cannot tell a bit of difference either.
The mip-map shot shows a difference, but I don’t see it impacting the in-game shot negatively at all.