With new video card in hired hand , we ’ve come back to provide you with more details about how Aspyr ’s Macintosh conversion of Doom 3 runs . This should give Mac gamers a more general idea of how well the game perform on a eminent - end Mac system of rules . To that end , we ’ve now test the game with several graphics card : ATI ’s Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition and Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition cards , Apple ’s Nvidia 6800 Ultra card and the stock Radeon 9600XT card that came with our test system .

There are certainly a lot of ways to sew Doom 3 ’s performance to befit your computer , but that ’s something to examine another time . For comparison ’s rice beer , we kept the configuration the same as many of the classic benchmarks we ’ve seen on the PC side of the fence , which , for the most part , are the default mount on gamey - goal graphics carte : nontextual matter configurations set to High Quality , and all advanced setting flex on except for Vertical Sync and Full - tantrum Anti - Aliasing ( FSAA ) , where noted . Anisotropic filtering was kept to its default option setting of 8x for most test . The one exception to that was the tests do with the 9600XT — Doom 3 defaulted graphics quality options to Medium and set anisotropic filtering to 1 , and we maintained those default options .

High - ending results

In our first look at this topic , we provided benchmarks using a Power Mac G5 dual - processor system clocked at 2.5GHz , equip with 2.5 GB of RAM and Mac OS X v10.3.8 and ATI ’s Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition graphics card . Here ’s what we discovered :

Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition Results

BEST result INBOLD.ALL termination ARE IN FRAMES PER SECOND .

All tests were performed at “ High Quality ” video options with all Advanced Options turned on ( High Quality Special Effects , Enable Shadows , Enable Specular , Enable Bump Maps ) except for Vertical Sync . Anisotropic filtering was set to 8x . Frames per 2d averages were achieved guide the timedemo demo1 dictation ; the demonstration was run twice , and the in high spirits norm was used .

Not to put too fine a point on it , but the results were discourage for Mac gamers who were hoping to see similar performance to a comparably equip Windows PC . Athlon - based system fit out with like graphics cards turn in much in high spirits resultant than the Power Mac does .

That brings us to another point : Many readers of our last benchmark article film offense with our comment , “ .. there ’s no backup man for C.P.U. cycle when it comes to secret plan like this . ” We believe that a faster PowerPC 970 clock swiftness would sure help get those phone number up slightly . But lector experience with personal computer gaming place out quite aright that Windows microcomputer equipped with AMD Athlon CPUs clocked at exchangeable speeds to our Power Mac turn in dramatically eminent form pace averages than the Mac . Point taken , and thanks to everyone who responded .

Doom 3 turn in high numbers on the microcomputer when used with Nvidia ’s GeForce 6800 graphics hardware . It ’s no surprisal — Nvidia has long worked closely with Doom 3 developer i d Software to make its OpenGL drivers and ironware workplace as well with this biz as possible . Do the results carry up the same on the Mac ? We tested an Apple Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra scorecard to find out .

This is the same $ 599 calling card you’re able to grease one’s palms through the Apple Store that motor two 30 - in Apple Cinema HD displays on the Mac at the same time . That ’s not exactly practical for gamers , but certainly useful if you ’re be after on professionally edit digital video , doing 3D visualization or anything else that requires a tidy sum of desktop outer space .

Apple Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra Results

The GeForce 6800 Ultra fared somewhat advantageously at most resolutions , with or without Full Scene Anti - Aliasing turned on . With the exclusion of 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024 pixel solving without anti - aliasing , however , the result were n’t remarkably good . That ’s a meaning expiration from the PC benchmark we ’ve see , but it ’s coherent with Aspyr Media ’s expectations , as noted in our premature bench mark article . The Nvidia 6800 Ultra quickly ran out of gas at 1600 x 1200 with anti - aliasing on — enough so that the X800 outpace it at 2x and 4x FSAA .

Mid - range performance

We also put the secret plan through its paces on an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition — a 256 MB graphics card designed peculiarly for Power Mac G5 systems . Up until the X800 ’s handout this preceding January , the Radeon 9800 Pro was the fastest ATI - base graphics card you could get for your Power Mac G5 . ATI still makes the card uncommitted for Mac users whose pockets are n’t cryptical enough for the X800 card .

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition Results

As you may see , the Radeon 9800 has some significant limitations . While execution was still tolerable at lower resolutions , the 9800 could n’t keep up with the X800 or the 6800 at the resolution many gamers prefer ( 1024 x 768 and high ) . In fact , the 9800 is only turn in playable speeds ( we ’ll broadly define “ playable ” as 30 frames per second or high-pitched ) at 640 x 480 and 800 x 600 pixel resolve . At higher resolutions with anti - aliasing on , the game slows to an unplayable crawl .

Last and arguably least , we put Doom 3 through its pace using the 128 Bachelor of Medicine Radeon 9600XT graphics card that was include as standard equipment on the 2.5GHz Power Mac G5 — also available as $ 50 upgrade for other Power Mac G5s that include an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra card .

ATI Radeon 9600XT Results

BEST ensue INBOLD.REFERENCE SYSTEMS INITALICS .

All psychometric test were do at “ Medium Quality ” video options with all Advanced Options turned on ( High Quality Special Effects , Enable Shadows , Enable Specular , Enable Bump Maps ) except for Vertical Sync . Anisotropic filtering was set to 1x . Frames per 2d averages were achieved running the timedemo demo1 command ; the demonstration was run twice , and the eminent average was used .

Although the Radeon 9600XT card is received equipment on Apple ’s highest - ending Mac configuration , it ’s clear not up to the undertaking of break away Mac OS X ’s highest - end game unless you limit down the graphics quality and resolving power significantly . It lacks the gobs of VRAM and flying processor you ’ll find on in force , more expensive card , but may yield playable results if gamers are willing to compromise .

Conclusion

What ’s clear from all these tests is that there are very important differences running Doom 3 on high - end Mac and personal computer hardware . It ’s hard to say exactly where the problem lie , but there are some fundamental difference of opinion between the Mac and Windows worlds that may go at least part of the mode to explain these departure .

ATI and Nvidia have both worked extensively with i d Software to maximize the performance of their OpenGL driver with Doom 3 , and we have a bun in the oven some of that oeuvre will have to carry over to Apple ’s driver if we ’re to see the number head upwards . What ’s more , there are differences in the way compiler work , the way that PowerPC chips crunch numbers liken to AMD and Pentium computer hardware , and other variance that affect performance . Some of these factors may be able to be compensated for in the future , but it ’s tough to say for certain .

Doom 3 timedemo benchmarks are only one touchstone of how well a reckoner runs this game . While they aid to get an overall understanding of how well our exam system ran the game , it ’s also deserving note that in actual gameplay , world-wide performance was often better than these numbers might point — on high end lineup , sometimes pegging at Doom 3 ’s cap of 60 frames per second .

Doom 3 uses advanced firing and shadowing result the the likes of of which we have n’t visualize on the Macintosh before , so Aspyr is on the bleeding edge with this game . The immense bulk of games on the Macintosh are n’t nearly this demanding , and Mac gamers with well - configure rigs will see absolutely fine performance for just about anything they throw at their machine .

While the Macintosh bit may let down gamers looking to keep stride with their PC twin , there ’s a silver lining , because there ’s promise that these numbers will amend over time .

When i d Software ’s last secret plan for the Macintosh — Quake III Arena — descend to market , there was a Mac to PC performance disparity there too . That eroded , though , as i d Software update the game ’s code and as Apple ’s own OpenGL equipment driver better . We ’re affirmative that if Apple , i d , Aspyr , ATI and Nvidia work together in the same direction , we ’ll also see Doom 3 ’s performance on the Mac improve .

Of course , there ’s always the promise of faster video cards and beneficial Mac hardware just around the corner . That ’s certainly something to seem forward to , but we desire that all party involve can make Doom 3 work even well on today ’s ironware than it does correctly now — not just for gamers who purchase this title now , but for games that use Doom 3 ’s center engine which are likely to find their style to the Mac in the months to amount .