I wantedtotake a lookatthesubjectonceagainbecause I'vefound a cardoneBaythat I'vehonestlyneverheardoff.
It's anAMGradionprobe w x 2100 gpu, and I payjust £50 forit.
Despitetheprice, I cantellthatit's neverreallybeingused, and I'm toldbythecellartheyboughtitinerror, thinkingitwas a gamingcard, thoughitwasneverproperlytested.
Sotoday I wanttoestablishwhatthegamingGPUequivalentofthiscardiswhetherornotthisworkstationGP, youcanplaygamesdespitethefactthatitwasclearlyneverdesignedtodosoNow.
Tobeclear, I wouldneverrecommendbuying a workstationcardinplaceof a gaminggraphicscardifyoursoleintentionis, ofcourse, toplaygames.
But I thought, Whydon't weseewhatthiscardiscapableofanyway?
Putittothetestin a fewbottomtitlesandseehowbadorgooditmightbe.
Afterall, judgingfromthespecsandafterresearchingthiscard a littlebit, itseemsthatit's quite a recentrelease.
Sotheradioon W X 2100 retailsnewforaround £100 or $130 whichsoundscheapfor a workstationgraphicscard.
Remember, though, thatwearelookingatthisfrom a gamingperspectiveandinthatrespect, fromwhat I cantell, thedesktopgamingfocusedequivalentofthiscardwouldbe a radioonour X 5 50 whichsharesthesamecorecountLexagraphicsprocessorandmemoryamount.
BecauseWorkstationGPusearespecificallytailoreddriverwisetothedesignandengineeringsector, itwouldn't makemuchsense, optingforoneoftheseatitsfullretailpriceoveranRx 5 50 thoughit's worthrememberingthatprofessionalgraphicscardsarebuiltwithpremiumcomponents, attestedvigorouslyandcomewithbettersupportfromthecompany's sellingthem, whetherthatbe a M d orinvideo.
Sooutofpurecuriosity.
Andinanswertosomeofthequestions I getonthesubject, let's seehowwellthisthingcangain.
Firstly, I hadtoinstallthedrivers.
Thisprocessisdefinitelyworthmentioningbecauseitputsmypreviousnotdesignedforgamingstatementintoquestion a littlebit.
Yes, theinstallationwillcontinueasnormalwith a M D's blueprofessionaltheme.
Oncethat's alldone, you'rethenCIAdriveroptionsbuttoninthe A M D menuclicking.
Thisallowsyoutoswitchtogamingmodeandinstallsstandardreadthemeradiondrivers, as I liketocallthemdon't gettooexcitedbecausefromwhat I cantell, thisfeaturedoesn't improvegamingperformanceasolddemonstratelateron.
So, as I mentionedbefore, forthefirstfewgames, youwillseetheresultsfromboththegraphicscard, withtheworkstationdriversandgamingdriversinstalledonscreenstartingwithOverwatch.
Theresolutionscalingherewasat 100% andAuntieAliceNgwasturnedoff, whichprovedtogiveus a goodfewframes.
ExtraOverwatchherewasmorethanplayable, and I testedthegameacross a fewdifferentmaps, thoughthecomparativeresultsbetweenthetwodriversweretestedonthesamemaponononlinematch.
Asyoucanseehere, thefootagewasfroman A I practice, but I alwaystaketherealfiguresfromanonlinegame.
I simplyshowfootagefrom a boatmatch, sotospeak, because I getwipedoutfarlessoftenonthefootage.
Justflows a lotbetter, tobehonestnow, indirtforthegamewassettothemediumproofsetsagainwithnoneoftheextrasettingstweetsortouched a tal.
Here I playedthrough a rallystageononeofthesololevels, though I didalsotest a coupleoffmulticompetitorseventsaswellandcombinedattheframeratesaverage 1% lowand 10.1% lowheretogiveyou a moreaccurateresultofwhatyoucanexpectacrossthefewdifferentingameracesandoptionshere.
Although I can't seeyouoptingfor a cardlikethisif 60 framespersecondisyourmainconsiderationnow, atthispoint, I decidedtodropthecomparisontothegamingdriversbecause, as I mentionedbefore, theframeratediddip a little.
Withthosegamingdriversinstalledontherenointendedtoimprovetheperformance, it'llratherthanadd a fewfeatures.
Soatthispoint, I droppedthecomparisonsandjustfocussolelyontheworkstationDriversinfarCryfiveat 900 p.
I hadtoreducethesettingsallthewaydowntolowinordertoexceed 30 framespersecondalmostconstantlysotherewon't beanymajordipstothemidorhightwenties, whichmadefor a prettydecentoverallexperience.
Ifyou'rehappy, ofcourse, with 30 framespersecondfortnight, ontheotherhand, wellthatranat 60 framespersecond, atleastwiththelowsettingsturningthingsuptomediumgaveusabout 45 to 55 framespersecondonaverage.
But I thoughtWhydon't wegofor a fullyfledgedsmooth 60 framespersecondhere?
So I turnedeverythingdowntoolowornearkepttheresolutionatfullHDanditwas a prettydecentoverallexperience.
I havetosay, ofcoursethegamewon't lookasgoodasitwillonthosehighersettings.
Butit's quite a competitivetitleasyouknowanyway.
So I thoughtthemoreframeshere, thebetternow, asofrecenttimes, I can't resisttheurgetobenchmarkkingdomcomedeliverance.
It's oneofmyfavoritegamestoreleasewithinthelastyearorsoand I reallyhavehad a greattimeplayingit.
Butnonetheless, it's anexcellentgametoplayanditwillputyourhardwaretothetest, consideringitisquitedemandingthathasseen a fewperformancepatchesoverthelastfewmonthswhichhaveincreasedperformancequitesignificantlyinsomecaseshereitwasabletoexceed 30 framespersecond, althoughonceagain I hadtoreducetheresolutionto 900 p inordertosustain a smoothframerate.
Butcanitrun?
Crisisarehere, youask.
Well, atthehighsettings, I mayhaveoverestimatedthepowerofthiscard, as I wasonlyabletoachievearoundthemidthirtiesintermsofframerighthereat 10.
Mostofthetime, I chosethislevelherebecauseitseemstobequiteimpactfulontheframerate, orso I foundandcanbequitedemandingon a lotofgraphicscards.
Asyoucanseehere, Ondaaswasthecasewith a fewothertitles, itwillrunat 100% mostofthetimewhenpairedwith a processofliketherisingFive, asitwillbeholdingtheCPUback.