10 May 2009

I DID IT!!!



YATTA!!

I DID IT!!!



52 minutes is the time to beat. Guess what, my timing is 51m57s!! 3 seconds slower & I would have to do it all over again. What a close call~

The truth is, almost nothing went according to plan. After the swim, I had a bit of problem wearing my socks I dunno why. Went through the obstacles rather smoothly, off the ramp with a round of applause from the OCS cadets, which was really encouraging. I was minutes behind time after the up slope killer. Despite the fatigue, I pushed on.

450m from the end point, my stomach turned & I puked. I guess it wasn't a good idea to have roti prata with curry before a CPFT ;P The next thing I know, Sgt Song Po appeared from nowhere & was running with me. Alvin were yelling to me that there's only 20-seconds left. I gave it whatever I've got and sprint to the finishing line, had a last glimpse at the clock, and then I dropped to the ground with a huge sense of relief.







IPPT, SOC & CPFT are the 3 passing criteria for the PTI course. CPFT somehow resembles an army version of the modern biathlon, involving both swimming and running. Here is roughly its components, in sequence:

200m swim with long4 + rifle --> FBO 1.5km run --> clear SOC --> 3.5km rundown








PTI Goodie Bag we collected upon passing the course,








I love the golden cross swords =D









"...the Fitness Specialist knows that it is possible. He himself has stretched his body to those limits, and beyond."

www.mindef.gov.sg/cyberpioneer/backissuesoct1.htm


GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part5



Last but not least, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor,
the gap is merely 3.5%






The gap opens to 5% with 4xAA & 16xAF.

You can see from the result that both cards perform at a similar level, with the GeForce GTX260+ edges out by a small margin in most games. Given both cards are selling at the same price, the Nvidia card definitely makes a better choice.



Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor


GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part4



Need For Speed: Undercover, again no significant difference between the two.






The GTX260+ almost achieved what is known as "free AA",
while the HD4890 suffered a 12.6% drop in frame rate.








Moving on to the first DX10 game benchmark, FarCry2,
HD 4890 performs much better than its counterpart.





The gap maintained after switching on AA & AF.



Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor


GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part3

Benchmark Result




3Dmark Vantage (Performance),
where GTX260+ leads by 1717 points or 16%,
thanks to its support for PhysX technology.






3Dmark06 running at its default 1280x1024,
shows that both cards are on par.






Moving on to Call of Duty 5, running at 1920x1200 0xAA 0xAF,
GTX260+ is merely 2fps faster, no significant difference between the two.






GTX260+ suffers a drastic drop in performance when AA & AF is turned on.



Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor


GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part2

Test Setup

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.6Ghz (400x9)
Memory: Corsair DDR2-1066 2x1GB
Motherboard: Asus P45
Harddisk: Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10
Power Supply: GreatWall 650W
Display: Hanns.G 28" (1920x200)

Graphics:
Gainward GeForce GTX260+ 55nm 896MB Golden Sample (625/1348/2200)
Radeon HD 4890 GDDR5 1GB (850/3900)

Driver:
Forceware

O/S: Windows Vista Ultimate SP1
Chipset: Intel P45 Vista 9.0.0.1008 WHQL
Framerate: FRAPS 2.9.8



Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor


GeForce GTX260+ vs Radeon HD4890 Part1

GeForce GTX260+ 55nm vs Radeon HD4890




AMD turns up the heat with an improved core and thus the birth of it's flagship Radeon HD4890. As part of their pricing strategy, ATI has announced that HD4890 will be retailing for under $260, which is also the price point of an overclocked GTX260+. Today, we will find out which card is the most bang for bucks.




Sample GPU-Z screenshot:



GeForce GTX260+ core216 with a 55nm core


Specification Comparison

ProductGeForce GTX 260+Radeon HD4890
Core Code
GT200
RV790
Process55nm55nm
Transistors1400 million
959 million
Core Clock
625Mhz
850Mhz
Shader1348Mhz
850 Mhz
Shader216
800
ROP 28
16
TMU72
40
Memory Clock
2200Mhz
3900Mhz
Memory Bus Width 448-bit
256-bit
Memory Size/Type 896MB GDDR3
1GB GDDR5



Part 1: Introduction & Specification
Part 2: Test Setup
Part 3: 3Dmark & Call of Duty 5
Part 4: NSF:Undercover & FarCry2
Part 5: COH: Tales of Valor