I figured it would be nice for gamers to accurately test their machines performance, rather than use synthetics that give rediculously-innacurate results. Half-Life 2 is a perfect game for doing so due to the relatively small size of its timedemos, and is quickly becoming very popular.
If you don't have Winrar, make sure you grab 7-zip, a free alternative.
Extract all files to [Drive:]\[program directory]\Steam\SteamApps\[e-mail address]\half-life 2\hl2
For example, C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\[email protected]\half-life 2\hl2
See this for how to run timedemos or make one.
To access the console, right-click on the Half-Life 2 shortcut and select "Properties." Add -console to the end of the shorcut. For example, mine shows up as:
"C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" -applaunch 220 -game "hl2" -console
Here are the timedemos:
Decapitation: Zombies, the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, explosive barrels, and everyting sharp make for a fun time in Ravenholm.
Kleiners: Just a simple conversation in Kleiner's Lab, with a few parts that stress the GPU, but it shouldn't be hard for most systems.
Canal Fun: If it weren't for G-Man showing up, I'd think this were a boat-racing game. Lots of physics calculations going on here.
Lassie:This wouldn't even be a game if you could have a leash on Dog, but it would still stress your CPU and GPU a decent amount.
Bad idea: See how to waste hard-to-find ammo and squad members on striders that you know you're supposed to run from. It's a good mix of CPU and GPU stressing.
Source Video Stress Test: Available in CS:S, this is made by ATI and quite easy for those with the game to access. It's also more optimized (likely for ATI cards) than real timedemos, and doesn't seem to give accurate results for HL2. It does give accurate results for CS:S and it's still better than a synthetic.
CPU-Z, in my signature, can help with the next part for those who don't know their hardware.
When you list your scores, please include the following things:
Operating system and service packs
Video card model and manufacturer
Processor model (e.g. Pentium 4 2.4C, Athlon 64 2800, Athlon XP 2500 Barton, NOT just "AMD 1800MHz" or "Intel 2GHz")
Motherboard manufacturer and model
RAM speed, amount, dual-channel or single-channel, and timings (if you know them)
Driver version (e.g. Catalyst 4.12)
Resolution and settings the test was run on. It's preferable to run it with all the highest settings (for those who can), no AA or AF, and 1024x768. If you run it in DX8.1 or DX7 mode, please say so and state what your video settings were.
To share your results, open up the console with ~ after the timedemo ends, and copy the line that tells you your framerates, or just list the average FPS. An example of the results woud be:
9920 frames 168.395 seconds 58.91 fps 4.703 fps variability
Obviously you don't have to use all the timedemos or even any (just use the CS:S test), but the more you use and post the more you can compare performance with others and locate potential bottlenecks.
If you don't have Winrar, make sure you grab 7-zip, a free alternative.
Extract all files to [Drive:]\[program directory]\Steam\SteamApps\[e-mail address]\half-life 2\hl2
For example, C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\[email protected]\half-life 2\hl2
See this for how to run timedemos or make one.
To access the console, right-click on the Half-Life 2 shortcut and select "Properties." Add -console to the end of the shorcut. For example, mine shows up as:
"C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" -applaunch 220 -game "hl2" -console
Here are the timedemos:
Decapitation: Zombies, the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, explosive barrels, and everyting sharp make for a fun time in Ravenholm.
Kleiners: Just a simple conversation in Kleiner's Lab, with a few parts that stress the GPU, but it shouldn't be hard for most systems.
Canal Fun: If it weren't for G-Man showing up, I'd think this were a boat-racing game. Lots of physics calculations going on here.
Lassie:This wouldn't even be a game if you could have a leash on Dog, but it would still stress your CPU and GPU a decent amount.
Bad idea: See how to waste hard-to-find ammo and squad members on striders that you know you're supposed to run from. It's a good mix of CPU and GPU stressing.
Source Video Stress Test: Available in CS:S, this is made by ATI and quite easy for those with the game to access. It's also more optimized (likely for ATI cards) than real timedemos, and doesn't seem to give accurate results for HL2. It does give accurate results for CS:S and it's still better than a synthetic.
CPU-Z, in my signature, can help with the next part for those who don't know their hardware.
When you list your scores, please include the following things:
Operating system and service packs
Video card model and manufacturer
Processor model (e.g. Pentium 4 2.4C, Athlon 64 2800, Athlon XP 2500 Barton, NOT just "AMD 1800MHz" or "Intel 2GHz")
Motherboard manufacturer and model
RAM speed, amount, dual-channel or single-channel, and timings (if you know them)
Driver version (e.g. Catalyst 4.12)
Resolution and settings the test was run on. It's preferable to run it with all the highest settings (for those who can), no AA or AF, and 1024x768. If you run it in DX8.1 or DX7 mode, please say so and state what your video settings were.
To share your results, open up the console with ~ after the timedemo ends, and copy the line that tells you your framerates, or just list the average FPS. An example of the results woud be:
9920 frames 168.395 seconds 58.91 fps 4.703 fps variability
Obviously you don't have to use all the timedemos or even any (just use the CS:S test), but the more you use and post the more you can compare performance with others and locate potential bottlenecks.
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