Benchmark Results: Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X
H.A.W.X. will never challenge Flight Simulator X for realism, but this flight simulator delivers very pretty DirectX 10 graphics and hectic dogfights. Thanks to automatic image stabilization, daredevil flight maneuvers are rendered perfectly, and contribute mightily to the fun of the game. In our testing, DirectX 10 crashed under 8xAA, causing the screen to go black. Switch to DirectX 9 instead, and the game works at 8xAA, and enjoys frame rates up to 50% higher.
The graphics differences are huge when you step back to DirectX 9 though, as the sunlight effects are sharply reduced and the haze over landscapes and cities is missing. For our tests, we used DirectX 10 and the High setting, to achieve maximum graphics quality. We used the test sequence Mission: Glass Hammer over Rio to measure FPS. Frame rates were good overall, but AA reduces 3D performance by as much as 50%.
