Performance in Doom 3 was determined by executing a timedemo of the built-in demo1 demo along with a HOCBench timedemo in order to examine the performance of the card under different conditions.
Doom 3 Settings
Doom 3 Performance Results - 800x600
Here we see a huge performance delta between both timedemos. The HOCBench timedemo is being played through more than twice as fast as the standard demo1 timedemo. While HOCbench has some intense action, the map doesn't contain as many fine details as the demo1 map. Note that the demo1 scores barely budge with the added workload of higher antialiasing and anisotropic filtering, while the HOCBench results drop almost 10 fps with the increased quality settings.
Doom 3 Performance Results - 1024x768
Once again, the demo1 scores barely budge, across the various quality settings. The scores at 1024x768 are 1-2 frames per second off those from 800x600. Something within the demo1 timedemo is truly bringing the XFX GeForce 8500 GT to its maximum performance level.
Doom 3 Performance Results - 1280x1024
At 1280x1024, demo1's numbers are constant across the board and have dropped only 2-4 fps from 1024x768. We also see the delta between both timedemo's shrinking.
Doom 3 Performance Results - 1600x1200
Lastly, at 1600x1200, the GeForce 8500 GT is still providing playable numbers, but there's much stuttering and gameplay isn't smooth at all. This resolution is outside of the playable settings for the card.
