- Just step into Quake 2 Rocket Arena, armed with the new and almighty rocket and rail gun and you will be gibbing for hours on end.If you dig fast paced action, then load up the good ole Quake 2, fire up a mod or two and have some fun!
- We averaged 54.1 frames per second (FPS) using the Quake II built-in timedemos. Dropping GI settings to Medium got us 64.1 FPS while dropping to Low achieved 71.7 FPS which may both be considered acceptable singleplayer framerates. NVIDIA recommends playing Quake II at 1920×1080.
Quake II using DEMOMAP DEMO1.DM2
NOTE: Frame-rates for Quake 2 are completely different than for GLQuake. Quake 2 uses a different animation and rendering engine than Quake, so comparing their frame-rates is like comparing apples and oranges. The minimum acceptable frame-rate for solo play in Quake 2 is about 12 fps, and maybe around 15 for netplay. More is certainly better. Quake 2 puts even more strain on a 3D graphics subsystem than GLQuake does.
THE TEST:
3. Along the same lines as #2 above, even if you have a different brand of video card, you can use this chart to see POTENTIALLY what kind of performance increase you'll get by upgrading your CPU. Again, if I got a 25% improvement in FPS going from CPU A to CPU B on a V3-3000, you'll probably see ROUGHLY the same percentage of improvement on a G400, a TNT2 or a GeForce using the same processors (yes I know some of these other cards are less CPU dependent than others, but it still applies as a valid comparison guide). I only own 3Dfx hardware (I'm not a 3Dfx advocate, that's just the hardware I've chosen to use - something better comes along that I can afford, I'll buy it).
4. The purpose of my page is to help people decide on a CPU upgrade, NOT to sell you on a 3Dfx card or a particular CPU. I'm trying to answer this question which you constantly see posted in various forms on 3D hardware forums: 'Is it worth it for me to upgrade my <blah blah> CPU to a <blah blah> CPU, and how much of difference will I see?'
5. I don't give a rat's behind what framerate you're getting on YOUR system with YOUR video card with YOUR settings. Please don't e-mail me to brag. I fully agree that there may be better hardware out there, this is just the hardware I'm using and have access to. You want to mail me your video card for a few weeks so I can do tests? No problem. I'm more than happy with the framerate I'm getting on my personal system thank you, and bragging is NOT the point of my framerate page (see #4 above). Don't treat me like a deprived child, and don't start any flame wars. I'm trying to provide information here.
Computer System | 512x384 | 3D Card |
Pentium II 400 MMX (Overclocked to 448 Mhz), 128 Mb SDRAM, Win95, Aopen AX6b mobo | 33.4 | Matrox Millenium II, PCI |
Pentium II 400 MMX, 128mb SDRAM, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 31.1 | Matrox Millenium II, AGP |
Pentium II 300 MMX, 128mb SDRAM, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 20.9 | Matrox Millenium II, AGP |
P-233 MMX, 64mb SDRAM, Win98, FIC PA-2007 mobo | 12.6 | Diamond Stealth 2000 3D, PCI |
P-200, 64mb, Win95, FIC PT-2003 mobo | 12.4 | Matrox Millenium I, PCI |
Computer System | 512x384 | 640x480 | 800x600 | 1024x 768 | 1280x 960 | 3D Card |
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 733 MHz 133x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 163.9 | 125.3 | 87.3 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP (Overclocked to 186 MHz) | ||
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 733 MHz 133x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 159.1 | 118.3 | 82.5 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP (Overclocked to 176 MHz) | ||
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 733 MHz 133x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 155.2 | 111.6 | 77.7 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP | ||
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 666 MHz 121x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 149.8 | 117.4 | 82.4 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP (Overclocked to 176 MHz) | ||
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 666 MHz 121x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 146.6 | 110.9 | 77.7 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP | ||
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 633 MHz 115x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 143.5 | 116.5 | 82.4 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP (Overclocked to 176 MHz) | ||
Pentium III 550E (Overclocked to 633 MHz 115x5.5), 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 141.2 | 110.5 | 77.6 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP | ||
Pentium III 550E, 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 127.1 | 111.6 | 81.7 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP (Overclocked to 176 MHz) | ||
Pentium III 550E, 128Mb, Abit BE6 II mobo, Win98 | 126.2 | 107.5 | 77.4 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP | ||
Pentium III 500 (Overclocked to 560), 128Mb, Abit BX6 mobo | 128.8 | 127.7 | 117.7 | 87.0 | na | Metabyte Wicked3D Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Pentium III 500, 128Mb, Abit BX6 mobo | 128.8 | 127.7 | 117.7 | 87.0 | na | Metabyte Wicked3D Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Pentium III 500, 128Mb, Asus P2B-LS mobo | 125.7 | 124.1 | 114.5 | 82.9 | 55.2 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP |
Pentium II 400 MMX (Overclocked to 448 MHz), 128 Mb, Win95, Aopen AX6b mobo | 116.9 | 98.7 | 63.4 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 8 Mb |
PentiumII 400 MMX (Overclocked to 448 MHz- 112x4), 128mb, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 109.3 | 107.5 | 95.7 | 65.3 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Celeron 300a (Overclocked to 450 Mhz 100x4.5), 128 Mb, Win98, Abit BH6 mobo | 104.5 | 103.8 | 98.5 | 74.6 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI (overclocked to 100 Mhz) |
Pentium II 400 MMX, 128Mb, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 104.6 | 103.3 | 92.6 | 65.4 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 2000 AGP | |
Pentium II 400 MMX, 128mb, Win95, Dell Dimension XPS R400 | 102.9 | 102.8 | 100.3 | 70.9 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
PentiumII 400 MMX, 128mb, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 98.3 | 97.9 | 89.9 | 65.0 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Celeron 300a (Overclocked to 450: 100x4.5) MMX, 64mb, Win98, Asus P2B mobo | 98.3 | 90.0 | 58.9 | na | na | Quantum 3D Obsidian2 (Voodoo2) 12 Mb |
Pentium II 400 MMX, 128mb, Win98 RC0, Dell Optiplex GX-1 | 94.1 | 94.0 | 91.0 | 74.2 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Celeron 400, 128 Mb, Abit BH6 mobo | 93.4 | 93.4 | 93.4 | 79.0 | 3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP | |
AMD K6-2 400 (Overclocked to 420 4x105MHz), 192 Mb 192 MB sdram | ---- | 87.0 | 86.7 | 80.0 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Pentium II 300A Celeron (Overclocked to 338 MHz 4.5x75), 64mb SDRAM, Win95, ABit LX6 mobo | 79.6 | 76.3 | 56.7 | na | na | Guillemot MaxiGamer Voodoo2 12 Mb |
Pentium II 300 MMX (Overclocked to 338 MHz), 128mb SDRAM, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 75.7 | 75.6 | 74.9 | 66.9 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Pentium II 300 MMX (Overclocked to 338 MHz), 128mb SDRAM, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 75.9 | 73.9 | 56.8 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
AMD K6-2 350 (Overclocked to 375 MHz 5x75),128mb SDRAM, Win98, Asus TX97XE mobo | 75.0 | 75.4 | 71.0 | 64.1 | na | Guillemot Maxigamer Voodoo2 12 mb SLI |
Pentium II 300 MMX, 128mb SDRAM, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 67.4 | 67.3 | 66.8 | 54.8 | na | Creative Labs Voodoo2 12 Mb SLI |
Pentium II 300 MMX, 128mb SDRAM, Win98, Soyo 6BA mobo | 67.3 | 66.3 | 54.8 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
AMD K6-2 266 (using 3DNow! Quake2 miniport), 128 Mb, Win98 | 57.4 | 65.3 | 57.5 | na | Diamond Monster 3D II Voodoo2 8 Mb | |
Pentium II 233 MMX (Overclocked to 262), 64 Mb, Win98, Asus P2L97 mobo | 55.1 | 50.6 | 49.0 | na | Quantum Obsidian 2 PCI 12 Mb | |
Pentium II 233 MMX, 64Mb | 50 | 39.6 | 35.9 | na | na | Monster Fusion Voodoo Banshee |
Pentium II Celeron 300 MMX (Overclocked to 333 MHz), 128 Mb, Win95 | 48.0 | na | na | na | Canopus Pure3D Voodoo | |
P-233 MMX, 128mb SDRAM, Win98, FIC PA-2007 mobo | 47.0 | 47.1 | 46.8 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 8 Mb |
Pentium II 266 MMX, 64mb, Win95 | 45.0 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb | ||
Pentium II 300 MMX, 128mb, Win95 | 42.4 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
Pentium II 300 MMX, 96mb, Win95 (Brian Hook's test system) | 39.3 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
P-233 MMX, 32mb, Win95 | 38.1 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
Pentium II 300 MMX, 64mb, NT4.0 | 36.9 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
P-200, 64mb, Win95, FIC PA-2007 mobo | 35.7 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 8 Mb | ||
P-200, 40mb, Win95, FIC PA-2007 mobo | 34.2 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
P-200 MMX, 32mb, Win95 | 32.8 | na | na | na | Righteous 3D Voodoo | |
P-166, 40mb, Win95, IC PA-2007 mobo | 30.1 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
P-200, 64mb, Win95, FIC PT-2003 mobo | 29.1 | 28.9 | 28.8 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
K6-233 MMX, 64mb, Win95 | 27.6 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
P-166, 64mb, Win95, FIC PT-2003 mobo | 26.2 | 25.8 | 25.5 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
P-133, 64mb, Win95, FIC PA-2007 mobo | 25.9 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 8 Mb | ||
P-133, 48mb, Win95, FIC PA-2007 mobo | 25.9 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo | |
P-133, 64mb, Win95, FIC PT-2003 mobo | 22.7 | 22.9 | 23.0 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
P-120, 64mb, Win95, FIC PT-2003 mobo | 20.3 | 20.5 | 20.6 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
P-90, 64mb, Win95, FIC PT-2003 mobo | 18.0 | 12.6 | 13.0 | na | na | Creative Voodoo2 12 Mb |
Cyrix PR-200+, 32mb, Win95 | 15.3 | na | na | na | Monster 3D Voodoo |
Any of these systems will give you okay performance in solo play (although it's going to bog down sometimes on anything less than a P-133), but realistically you need at least 30 fps to enjoy netplay. Competative netplay requires about 40 fps. I would consider a minimal system for competative netplay to be a P-233 with a Voodoo2 or Voodoo3, and I'd disable dynamic lighting (set gl_dynamic 0) to keep the framerate near 40 fps.
You should also look carefully at the scores for the P2-400 with the single Voodoo2 card as opposed to the scores for the P2-400 with dual cards running in SLI mode. The single card system slightly outperformed the dual card system at 512x384 because it's CPU is over-clocked to 448 MHz. However, it lags far behind the dual card system at 800x600 resolution. This clearly demonstrates the improved performance you get when using dual-card SLI on a high performance system - the framerates on the dual card system remain practically the the same at all resolutions (although there's nothing shabby about the 64 fps the single card system got at 800x600, I might point out).
Many of you have expressed surprise (or dismay, as the case may be) at the showing of the Cyrix PR-200+ system. However, this performance is not surprising considering the fact that the Cyrix CPU has a very weak floating-point unit compared to Intel processors and even compared to the K6. However, at 15.3 the Cyrix is at least (barely) playable in solo mode, although the framerate is not acceptable for serious deathmatch play. And before you ask, I wouldn't expect the score to be any higher if you put a Voodoo2 in the Cyrix machine - you can't make a cow run like a gazelle...