Lost Planet 2 is a game that uses a lot of DirectX 11 features, like tessellation (to round out the edges of polygonal models), displacement maps (added to the tessellated mesh to add fine grain details), DirectCompute soft body simulation (to introduce more realism in the “boss” monsters), and DirectCompute wave simulation (to introduce more realism in the physics calculations in water surfaces; when you move or when gunshots and explosions hit the water, it moves accordingly). We reviewed the video cards using Lost Planet 2 internal benchmarking features, choosing the “Benchmark A” (we know that “Benchmark B” is the one recommended for reviewing video cards, however, at least with us, results were inconsistent). We set graphics at “high,” anti-aliasing at “4x” and DX11 at “full.” The results below are the number of frames per second generated by each video card.
Cooler Master is releasing today a mini-tower case supporting microATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, the N200, which comes with a terrific price tag. Let’s check it out.
The NAXN is the latest power supply series from Enermax, and the 750 W model comes with 80 Plus Bronze certification and modular cabling system. Let’s see if it is a good pick.
The Nightjar is a series of fanless power supplies from SilverStone, with the 80 Plus Bronze certification. Let’s see if the new 500 W model is a good option.
The XFX Radeon R7 250 is an intermediate video card from the Radeon value/mid-range R7 series, with 1 GiB of GDDR5 memory. Let’s test it and see if it is a good card for casual gaming.