Quake 3 1.29f Speed Tests: Mac OS X vs. Classic w/ GeForce3 Michael Flaminio Id Software released the latest point release for Quake 3. Version 1.29f makes numerous improvements to the popular 3D shooter. Basic improvements deal with enhancements in networking to make online gaming more efficient. Also added is a new updating function in addition to weeding out methods used for cheating. Release 1.29f is the first release that runs natively within Mac OS X. The release as been widely anticipated as it's expected that a Mac OS X version would improve performance for Mac gamers. Combined with Mac OS X features such as symmetric multiprocessing and improved OpenGL 3D graphics, Mac OS X promises great things for 3D games. With a release of the Classic version of 1.29f, we can now better compare performance between Quake 3 on both OS 9 and OS X. The good news is, our tests show a significant improvement in both single and multiple processor modes for Mac OS X over Mac OS 9 for 1.29f. I ran benchmark tests for three different areas of the 1.29f release. I wanted to compare running the release under Mac OS 9, Mac OS X and Mac OS X using dual processors. Quake 3 has an option to turn symmetric multiprocessing on and off. Not surprisingly, a noticeable difference in speed can be found between these settings. These tests use a dual 533 G4 with an nVidia GeForce3 graphics accelerator running Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X 10.0.4. All tests were done using standard configurations for Fastest, Normal and Highest Quality. I additionally used the popular Locki script. All tests used the built-in Demo with 1.29f. Performance between Mac OS X and Classic was actually pretty dramatic. Using the Highest Quality setting, I found an improvement of over 56%. Using the more CPU intensive Fastest test found an improvement of 51%. When testing the symmetric multiprocessing option, I found an increase of 28% and 33% within Mac OS X for the highest and fastest settings. These tests suggest that about half of the overall speed increase is located in Mac OS X's multiprocessing abilities. Still, with the multiprocessing option turned off, the OS X version came in 39% and 29% faster for the highest and fastest ends of the spectrum. Quake 3 1.29f - Mac OS X/Mac OS 9 Benchmarks in Frames per Second   Locki Fastest Normal Highest OS X SMP On 96.1 105.9 103.0 94.1 OS X SMP Off 73.4 73.1 68.1 67.8 Classic 84.3 52.2 45.7 41.6 Beyond performance, I found 1.29-2 for Mac OS X to have a few problems. The most notable issues are in the menu system and screen resolutions. I found that 1.29 to freeze when I attempt to edit the Player and Options menu within the configuration area of the game. I also found a severe resolution problem that appears to be related the fastsky option. When fastsky was enabled, my screen would strobe, making it rather unplayable. When the option was disabled, the game played normally. Even though the Classic version is not yet completed, I found it worked fairly well. I haven't come across any particular problems yet with the Classic version. I tested each of these settings multiple times to ensure accuracy. It's probably worth noting that one of the Mac OS X tests turned out to be quite low compared to the rest. I can't explain this. As with other Mac OS X oddities, Quake 3 may run better once OS X has been running for a while. Wrap-up I have to say I was actually a little surprised at these results. The Mac OS X version runs much faster than I thought it would. A large part of this is due to the Mac's dual processors. I can only wonder what will happen when Quake 3 becomes optimized for the G4's AltiVec unit.