TVs. Consoles. Projectors and accessories. Technologies. Digital TV

Grand Theft Auto V: performance testing of the PC version of the game. Grand Theft Auto V. Graphics. Settings Guide. Performance Testing Benchmark Results: Performance Comparison

Very often, PC owners wonder how much faster will my computer be after the upgrade? You can only get an answer to it by conducting an assessment test. However, there are a lot of games and benchmarks, and little time for testing, so in this article we have compiled current programs that allow you to evaluate the performance of a PC.

Getting ready for testing

Before testing anything, you need to prepare - install the system from scratch, install the WHQL version of the drivers for your video card. Don't forget to update DirectX version, as well as Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Visual C++:
  • (Download )
  • (Download )
  • (Download )
  • (Download )

A prerequisite for the successful functioning of any game is the availability of the latest drivers for all devices in the system. Download the utility Driver Updater to easily and quickly download the latest drivers and install them with one click:

  • download Driver Updater and run the program;
  • scan the system (usually it takes no more than five minutes);
  • update outdated drivers with one click.
It is necessary to test a PC in real conditions, and a working computer sometimes contains hundreds of programs and runs slower because of this. Loaded with programs in background OS, with a cluttered registry and a loaded disk subsystem can eat 1-2 frames per second and add time to draw the frame. All this also needs to be taken into account when testing.

Another important question - choosing a program for testing. Most modern ones allow you to monitor several important parameters at once, but they can also slow down performance. Let's list the main ones:


FRAPS(download for )

The most popular program in the world to monitor game parameters. Has virtually no impact on gameplay, is supported by almost all games, and writes all tracked data to a file. It has only two drawbacks - a small number of updates (FRAPS may not work in new games), as well as incompatibility with the now proliferating low-level APIs.


MSI Afterburner(download for | | )

Also a popular program that, in addition to monitoring the operating parameters of games and all computer components, allows you to change the characteristics of the video card. Disadvantages include difficulty in setting up, as well as incomplete compatibility with games and the possibility of conflicts with the system/drivers/Gordon Freeman's left heel.


BandiCam(download for )

Young competitor to FRAPS. Very powerful and simple program in terms of monitoring, it is often updated and works quite stably. However, it loads the PC more during operation, which can distort the gameplay.

Benchmarks

These are specialized programs for testing computer performance in 3D applications, which are also called “synthetics,” and allow you to find out the performance of any PC in absolute terms. You can always compare the results of your car with the data of millions of other testers.

In addition, benchmarks do not require installation specialized programs and show the load on all computer elements in real time. However, the disadvantages of these programs include the fact that no one plays them, that is, the result in games can differ noticeably in both directions from what you intend to benchmark. That's why it's "synthetic".

The list of leading benchmarks is as follows:

3DMark(download for | | | )

3DMark with support for DirectX 12 and 4K resolution is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. The history of 3DMark goes back more than 10 years, and Futuremark specialists have always delighted the audience with memorable graphics. It happened this time too - 3DMark (2013) will be remembered for its stunning Fire Strike demo test and four graphics profiles, after running each of which you will evaluate the performance of your own video card.


3DMark 11(download for )

We deservedly gave second place to another Futuremark product. Released in 2011, the benchmark may not be as complex as 3DMark (2013), but it is still capable of bringing weak systems to their knees - and you can also run a whole range of tests, for example, on physics or data exchange speed.


Unigine Heaven(download for )

One of the most beautiful (in its time) benchmarks, specially designed for testing the capabilities of DirectX 11. Latest version allows you to evaluate the performance of current video cards using modern technologies.


FurMark(download for )

The so-called “donut”, which heats your system until it burns out. No, seriously, computer hardware manufacturers don't even recommend using it. However, FurMark allows you to check the cooling capabilities of your video card and what its temperature will be under maximum load.


Catzilla(download for )

A newcomer to the world of benchmarking, which gained a lot of attention thanks to a memorable demo test starring a huge cat. In addition, the program will identify problems affecting the performance of your PC and give advice on how to eliminate them.

Often there shouldn’t be any problems with these programs - I downloaded, installed and ran a couple of tests, except that their full functionality will only be available in the paid version.

Games

Below we offer you a list of current games, after playing which you can evaluate how much faster your new or improved computer is than your old one. The games were selected taking into account the following parameters:
  • Optimization - games with poor optimization are not included in our list, since they will slow down even on a powerful or weak PC.
  • Size - you must admit, it’s unpleasant to download 50, or even 70 GB from the Internet, just to test the operation of the PC for an hour.
  • Crysis 3

    (related=9405=Getting ready to melt your computer in the final part of the Crytek trilogy)Crytek's brainchild was released more than two years ago, but still remains one of the most visually polished projects, which, in addition, loads even modern video cards and processors to the limit.

    Distinctive feature Crysis 3 - superbly crafted vegetation, as well as locations replete with details. If you are ready to visit the jungle that has grown up on the site of modern New York, as well as fight with enemies during one of the most resource-intensive missions, “Take the Safety Off,” then prepare 11 GB of hard drive space.

    Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

    Released at the end of 2014 Shadow of Mordor is remembered by many players for its excellent graphics. In some places she gives way Crysis 3 (there are few such moments), which is compensated by the open game world, textures high resolution and high quality models.

    Taking up 25 GB of hard drive space, Shadow of Mordor on the Nurn map will not only show off its wonderful combat system and high-quality weather effects - it will heat your hardware white-hot without leaving free space in RAM or video memory.

    Metro: Last Light Redux

    (related=10866=We analyze one of the best post-apocalyptic films of this year)Third place went to the 4A Games project, which in 2013 won a number of awards from an overwhelming number of gaming publications. We also praised Metro: Last Light is not only for its plot and gameplay. The game has amazing graphics and very high quality locations.

    Just like the original Metro 2033, Last Light at one time turned out to be very demanding on computer hardware, so the game is perfect for testing modern hardware, and it will push not only the video card, but also the processor. Well, for testing you can choose maps such as “Sunset” or “Dead City”.

    Tomb Raider

    (related=9586=Surviving in a harsh world with young Lara Croft)The fourth game on our list is an open-world action game, so you can test your PC right after the prologue. Tomb Raider will primarily load your processor, as the game has a naturalistic physical model, based on mass and weight control, the properties of fire, water, wind and various materials.

    The game also boasts cool visual effects, high-quality implementation of vegetation, the TressFX function, and an abundance of motion capture elements. In general, a real hit from Crystal Dynamics, and with excellent graphics too! Well, how can you pass by?

    BioShock Infinite

    (related=10024=Soaring above the clouds in the new masterpiece from Irrational Games)Fifth on our list is BioShock Infinite is one of the most successful releases of 2013, winning many awards; even the excitement from just waiting for this game is still remembered. So if you are not afraid to drown in masterpieces, then prepare about 20 GB.

    As for visual capabilities, then BioShock Infinite boasts quality characters, memorable locations, and challenging, numerous enemies. All this puts a good load on all PC elements, especially during the missions “Battleship Harbor” or “Thorough Square”.

    Far Cry 4

    Released in autumn 2014 Far Cry 4 turned out to be very memorable from a visual point of view. Here you have an open world full of dangers, excellent character models, high-quality textures, wonderful effects, and so on. Once you get through the prologue, you'll immediately appreciate the visual quality.

    Well, your computer will probably appreciate all these delights in its own way -

    It"s been nearly two decades, but I can still remember wreaking havoc in the original Grand Theft Auto and GTA 2 like it was yesterday . Both games were a blast but Rockstar really blew our minds when it shifted from bird"s-eye visuals to a fully 3D game engine and environment with GTA III in 2001, allowing players to experience open world mayhem across Liberty City from a third-person perspective.

    Having found a winning formula, Rockstar followed up with two more crime simulators: Vice City arrived a year later and then San Andreas two years after that, both of which were powered by Criterion's RenderWare engine (like GTA III) while 2008's GTA IV is more of a true successor with larger gameplay changes and graphics based on Rockstar's own engine (RAGE).

    Rockstar has made many improvements to the PC version, including increased resolution and graphical detail, denser traffic, greater draw distances, upgraded AI, new wildlife, and advanced weather and damage effects.

    Advanced Graphics Enabled

    Test System Specs

    • Intel Core i7-5960X (3.00GHz)
    • x4 4GB Kingston Predator DDR4-2400 (CAS 12-13-13-24)
    • Asrock X99 Extreme6 (Intel X99)
    • Silverstone Strider Series (700w)
    • Crucial MX200 1TB (SATA 6Gb/s)
    • Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X (4096MB)
    • Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 (4096MB)
    • Gigabyte Radeon R9 285 (2048MB)
    • Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X (3072MB)
    • HIS Radeon R9 270X (2048MB)
    • HIS Radeon R9 270 (2048MB)
    • HIS Radeon R7 265 (2048MB)
    • HIS Radeon HD 7970 GHz (3072MB)
    • HIS Radeon HD 7970 (3072MB)
    • HIS Radeon HD 7950 (3072MB)
    • HIS Radeon HD 7870 (2048MB)
    • HIS Radeon HD 7850 (2048MB)
    • Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X (12288MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 (4096MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 (3584+512MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 (2048MB)
    • Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan (6144MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti (3072MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 (3072MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2048MB)
    • Palit GeForce GTX 760 (2048MB)
    • Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti (2048MB)
    • Gainward GeForce GTX 680 (2048MB)
    • Gainward GeForce GTX 660 Ti (2048MB)
    • Gainward GeForce GTX 660 (2048MB)
    • Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    • Nvidia GeForce 350.12 WHQL
    • AMD Catalyst 15.4 Beta

    advertising

    IN this review Summary testing of video cards and processors will be carried out in the game Grand Theft Auto 5. You can read the review on it by following this link.

    System Requirements

    Minimum system requirements:

    • Operating system: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2* (*Nvidia series video card is recommended to run);
    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5 GHz;
    • Video card: Nvidia 9800 GT 1 GB / AMD HD 4870 1 GB (DX 10, 10.1, 11);
    • RAM: 4 GB.
    • Operating system: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1;
    • Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2 GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4 GHz (8 CPUs);
    • Video card: Nvidia GTX 660 2 GB / AMD HD 7870 2 GB;
    • RAM: 8 GB.

    advertising

    Summary testing of video cards

    Test configuration

    Tests were carried out on the following stand:

    • CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K ( Ivy Bridge, D2, L3 8 MB), 1.0 V, Turbo Boost/ Hyper Threading - off - 3500 @ 4600 MHz (1.25 V);
    • Motherboard: GigaByte GA-Z77X-UD5H, LGA 1155, BIOS F14;
    • CPU cooling system: Corsair Hydro Series H105 (~1300 rpm);
    • RAM: 2 x 4096 MB DDR3 Geil Black Dragon GB38GB2133C10ADC (Spec: 2133 MHz / 10-11-11-30-1t / 1.5 V), X.M.P. - off;
    • Disk subsystem: 64 GB, SSD ADATA SX900;
    • Power unit: Corsair HX850 850 Watt (standard fan: 140 mm inlet);
    • Frame: open test stand;
    • Monitor: 27" ASUS PB278Q BK (Wide LCD, 2560x1440 / 60 Hz).

    Video cards:

    • Radeon R9 290X 4096 MB - 1000/5000 @ 1130/5800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 290 4096 MB - 947/5000 @ 1120/5800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 285 2048 MB - 920/5500 @ 1100/6500 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 280X 3072 MB - 1000/6000 @ 1150/7000 MHz (Gigabyte);
    • Radeon R9 280 3072 MB - 933/5000 @ 1100/7000 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 270X 2048 MB - 1050/5600 @ 1170/6800 MHz (MSI);
    • Radeon R9 270 2048 MB - 925/5600 @ 1130/6800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R7 265 2048 MB - 925/5600 @ 1150/6800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R7 260X 2048 MB - 1100/6500 @ 1200/7200 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R7 260 1024 MB - 1000/6000 @ 1200/6800 MHz (MSI);
    • Radeon R7 250X 1024 MB - 1000/4500 @ 1150/6000 MHz (Gigabyte);

    • GeForce GTX 980 4096 MB - 1126/7012 @ 1320/8000 MHz (Palit);
    • GeForce GTX 970 4096 MB - 1050/7012 @ 1330/8000 MHz (Zotac);
    • GeForce GTX 960 2098 MB - 1126/7012 @ 1350/8000 MHz (Gigabyte);

    • GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3072 MB - 876/7000 @ 1110/7700 MHz (MSI);
    • GeForce GTX Titan 6144 MB - 837/6008 @ 970/7200 MHz (Gigabyte);
    • GeForce GTX 780 3072 MB - 863/6008 @ 1000/7200 MHz (Palit);
    • GeForce GTX 770 2048 MB - 1046/7000 @ 1260/7800 MHz (Zotac);
    • GeForce GTX 760 2048 MB - 980/6008 @ 1200/7000 MHz (ASUS);
    • GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2048 MB - 1020/5400 @ 1160/6600 MHz (GigaByte);
    • GeForce GTX 750 2048 MB - 1020/5000 @ 1150/6200 MHz (Palit).

    Software:

    • Operating system: Windows 7 x64 SP1;
    • Video card drivers: Nvidia GeForce 347.88 WHQL and AMD Catalyst 15.3 Beta.
    • Utilities: Fraps 3.5.9 Build 15586, AutoHotkey v1.0.48.05, MSI Afterburner 4.1.0.

    Testing tools and methodology

    For a more clear comparison of video cards and processors, the game used as a test application was launched in resolutions of 1920 x 1080 and 2560 x 1440.

    The utilities Fraps 3.5.9 Build 15586 and AutoHotkey v1.0.48.05 were used as performance measurement tools. The minimum and average FPS values ​​were measured in the game. VSync was disabled during tests.

    Test segment video:

    Monitoring RAM and video memory usage

    The components were tested with the following graphics settings:

    • Version 1.0.
    • DirectX 11.
    • Anti-aliasing – FXAA 3HQ.
    • Motion blur is enabled.
    • The quality of the shadows is high.
    • The quality of the textures is very high.
    • Texture filtering quality – anisotropic x16;
    • Viewing distance – 100;
    • Detail depth – 100;
    • Traffic flow – 100;
    • Physics mod 2.0 – disabled.

    Before we begin testing video cards and processors, we will monitor the use of RAM and video memory in this game.

    advertising

    Video memory usage and RAM

    Video memory (standard settings)



    RAM

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs
    MB

    Test results: performance comparison

    Now let's move on directly to testing graphics accelerators.

    Summary diagrams of test results for single video cards

    advertising

    1920x1080

    Denomination

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs


    Overclocking

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs

    2560x1440

    Denomination

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs


    Overclocking

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs

    Minimum and average FPS

    The fifth serialized part of Grand Theft Auto, having successfully emptied the wallets of console players, came back after a long delay. personal computers. A large open world and a trio of crazy bandit heroes await those who are ready to share their adventures. But today we will not talk about how GTA 5 can entertain the player, and not about the gameplay features. We will talk about performance and fine-tuning graphics parameters.

    GTA V offers a diverse game world with completely different locations - business districts of the metropolis, slums, industrial complexes, mountain ranges, forests and deserts. Huge scale, great variety and detailed elaboration of the environment. You can enjoy some of the views in the lower screenshots in a resolution of 2560x1440.




    The game pleases with good clear textures and relief surfaces, for which parallax mapping is actively used. Even ordinary lawns have a relief structure, rather than using the usual hand-drawn texture.



    As a clear illustration of the work of parallax mapping, we present a screenshot, which at the same time clearly shows the operation of the effect of changing the depth of field, which is actively used in the game.


    Thanks to this lens effect, they blur backgrounds, allowing you to achieve a more natural perception of the overall panorama.


    The time of day and weather in the game change. All objects cast regular soft shadows away from the sun. Cute sunrises and sunsets are complemented by rainbow effects.


    The range of drawing objects is very high. By default, there is a clear change in detail clarity as you move away from the camera. When using additional settings, the effect is leveled out. This will be discussed in more detail below.


    General physics of object interaction at a level traditional for such games. The environment is mostly static, but pillars and storefronts break. In story missions that involve big explosions, GTA 5 puts on a pretty good show with a lot of scraps. Control and physical model of car behavior are at the usual GTA level, without any complications. In particular, only very serious damage affects the behavior of the machine. Externally, the cars look great - they shine in the sun, reflecting all the surrounding buildings and lights on a smooth glossy surface.


    The water surfaces look nice, but nothing more. In Watch Dogs, the water was more beautiful and more alive.


    If we make a general comparison of graphics with Watch Dogs, we can feel the technological advantage of the Ubisoft game. But GTA V has a more meticulous attention to detail and more external variety.

    In the computer GTA versions 5 many graphic settings. Not all of them are understandable to the average player. The name of some does not always directly indicate the effect they have on the overall quality of the picture. Sometimes the very meaning of the settings is lost due to the loose translation of specific names. We will help you understand all their diversity. Let's see how individual parameters affect the image and how this affects performance. Based on the results, it will be possible to draw conclusions about which settings are most critical for performance, which ones have a big impact on visual beauty, and which ones don’t. Such information will be relevant for owners of mid-level and lower video cards. Based on our guide, you can select optimal ratio parameters that allow you to increase productivity with minimal loss of picture quality.

    Those who want to get the most out of the game will not be forgotten either. There will be a comparison of different anti-aliasing modes. Let's find out which of them are the most successful and which are the most resource-intensive. Let's study the impact of "additional image settings", which allow you to raise the graphics bar above the level that the game offers by default.

    Test configurations

    Main test stand:

    • processor: Intel Core i7-3930K ([email protected] GHz, 12 MB);
    • cooler: Thermalright Venomous X;
    • motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Formula/Battlefield 3 (Intel X79 Express);
    • memory: Kingston KHX2133C11D3K4/16GX (4x4 GB, DDR3-2133@1866 MHz, 10-11-10-28-1T);
    • system disk: WD3200AAKS (320 GB, SATA II)
    • power supply: Seasonic SS-750KM (750 W);
    • monitor: ASUS PB278Q (2560x1440, 27″);
    • GeForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 350.12;
    • driver for other Radeons: ATI Catalyst 15.4 beta.
    This system was used to test the performance of different graphics modes.

    For processor tests, an additional test bench with the following configuration was used:

    • processor #1: Intel Pentium G3258 (3.2 GHz nominal, 3 MB);
    • processor No. 2: Intel Core i7-4770K (3.5 GHz nominal, 8 MB);
    • motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary (Intel Z97);
    • memory: GoodRAM GY1600D364L10/16GDC (2x8 GB, 1600 MHz, 10-10-10-28-2T);
    • system disk: ADATA SX900 256 GB (256 GB, SATA 6 Gbit/s);
    • power supply: Chieftec CTG-750C (750 W);
    • monitor: LG 23MP75HM-P (1920x1080, 23″);
    • operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64;
    • GeForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 350.12.
    Testing methodology

    Testing was carried out using the built-in benchmark, which includes five test scenes. The average fps for each scene was taken into account and the final average was calculated. To reduce the error, four benchmark runs were performed. Please note that test results are not displayed in the game; all data is saved at c:\Users\Username\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\Benchmarks as a text file.


    The logs also record the minimum fps for each test scene. But these values ​​are too unstable and differ with each new run. Moreover, even in the case of real “lags”, noticeable to the naked eye, these values ​​differed little from the minimum fps on cards that produced a smooth picture. We ended up using Fraps for additional monitoring. And the minimum fps on the graphs is the average minimum value based on the results of each of the four runs of the benchmark, recorded by the program.

    When considering the impact of settings on performance, one video card will be used - a non-reference GeForce GTX 760 2GB with frequencies at the level of standard versions. The testing procedure is as follows: take the configuration maximum settings graphics without anti-aliasing at a resolution of 1920x1080, one of the parameters is changed, performance is tested at different levels quality of this parameter, comparative visual materials are provided demonstrating the difference in picture quality. Then all parameters are reset to initial maximum value, and the change of another parameter with the corresponding tests begins.

    Actively ignores restrictions, which allows you to use the most difficult parameters. All tests were carried out in DirectX 11 rendering mode, since this API has long been the main one even for budget graphic solutions. But the game also supports DirectX 10.1 and DirectX 10.

    The order of studying individual parameters corresponds to their order in the game menu. An exception is made for shadow settings, of which there are several, and they are interconnected to a certain extent. After considering the main graphics parameters, we will move on to the additional ones, where we will gradually enable all the points together.

    The next stage of the article is comparison tests different AMD video cards and NVIDIA at high quality graphics. At the end there will be testing of processor dependence using Intel CPUs of different price categories.

    Antialiasing Modes

    The game supports FXAA and MSAA anti-aliasing. Users of GeForce video cards also have access to TXAA anti-aliasing. The latter is activated after enabling MSAA in the settings as an additional option. Urban surroundings and industrial landscapes are always replete with straight lines, so that the stepped edges of objects are clearly visible here. The stepped outlines of the car against the background of the light road surface are no less visible. So you can’t do without antialiasing. You can evaluate the effect of activating different anti-aliasing methods in comparison with the mode without anti-aliasing in the lower screenshots.






    The color saturation of the car in the foreground changes slightly due to the subtle fog effect. We do not pay attention to this, carefully study the surrounding objects and elements. For greater clarity, let’s compare identical fragments of each screenshot.


    I would like to immediately note good quality FXAA works, which does not happen in all games. The worst effect of smoothing “steps” at the boundaries of objects is obtained by MSAA in 2x mode, which is quite expected. Switching multisampling to 4x mode improves the picture. Moving to TXAA provides even smoother edges. And from this point of view, this mode is the most effective. But with it, the overall picture becomes a little blurry, and the clarity of details is lost. Compare the road surface, grass and tiles in large screenshots - the difference is most clearly visible in these elements. The relief texture of grass with TXAA is completely lost. FXAA gives a clearer picture.

    MSAA 4x provides the best balance between edge smoothing and clarity. Note the crane and neighboring house in the background. With MSAA they are clearer, even the inscription on the poster shows through, which is not at all visible with FXAA.

    Let us also note that the game has interesting parameter"MSAA for reflections." It is logical to assume that it affects the smoothing of the edges of reflections, which are most often visible on the surface of cars. In practice, we did not detect any difference in reflections with and without MSAA 4x. Perhaps we are talking about reflections on other surfaces. It is possible that the effect of this smoothing itself is weakly expressed.


    It's time to take a look at how all these modes affect performance. Experienced video card - GeForce GTX 760.


    Activating FXAA relative to the mode without anti-aliasing gives fps drop only by 4%. Enabling MSAA 2x relative to the mode without anti-aliasing on the test card gives a performance drop of 21% at the minimum setting and up to 30% at the average game frame rate. Switching to MSAA 4x gives a 16% reduction compared to the simpler multisampling mode. TXAA 4x is heavier by another 3-4%. If we additionally enable an anti-aliasing mode for reflections of similar quality to MSAA 4x, then we get a frame rate at the same level as the TXAA mode, which is 46-57% lower entry level without AA.

    FXAA gives good visual effect and has minimal impact on performance. MSAA is slightly better in terms of clarity, but the performance penalty is significant. Such a serious decrease in fps may also be due to insufficient memory. Even without anti-aliasing, the game shows that around 2.5 GB will be used at 1920x1080 resolution.

    Population

    Three points are related to the density of people on the city streets. These are Population Density, Population Variety and Distance Scaling. Each has its own scale with 10 gradations. The first two points are quite obvious - they regulate the number of people on the streets and the use of various models for them. Distance Scaling probably sets the distance at which they appear. We gradually reduced all parameters from maximum to half (we will count this as 100% and 50%). Based on the results of several minutes of playing in different modes, we can state a minimal difference in the number of people on the streets. Presumably this also affects the traffic density on the roads. You don’t notice any of this unless you deliberately concentrate on a given task.

    Below left is a screenshot of the mode when all parameters are at maximum. On the right is an image of a similar location with all three parameters reduced to 50%.



    We did not lower these parameters to zero, since even changing from 100% to 50% did not give any significant difference in the frame rate, which is clearly visible in the bottom graph.


    Reducing “population” and “diversity” has no effect. Changing the distance leads to a slight increase in fps. The result is expected, because a weak adjustment of population density will not affect workload GPU. This is more relevant for central processor. Reducing these parameters can have a positive effect on weak CPUs. On more or less modern systems You can immediately set them to maximum.

    Texture quality

    It's time to experiment with Texture Quality. As noted above, with Ultra quality in Full HD without anti-aliasing, the game already consumes up to 2.5 GB of video memory. It is logical to assume that graphic cards those with 2 GB may experience problems because of this. And reducing the quality of textures for ordinary users will seem like the most obvious solution to improve performance. But is this true? Let's figure it out now.

    First, let's compare the image quality at the highest, high and standard texture levels.


    Texture Quality Very High



    Texture Quality High



    Texture Quality Normal


    There are not differences in everything. The first screenshots show a gradual decrease in the clarity of environmental elements - patterns on the carpet and sofa, paintings on the wall, a slight change in the texture of jeans. In the second scene, the difference in the quality of the textures of the sidewalks and the road surface is striking.


    The impact of texture quality on overall performance is minimal. When switching from maximum to high it is almost not noticeable. Switching to standard mode gives a ridiculous gain of a couple of percent, and this despite the fact that in this mode, video memory consumption finally drops below the 2 GB level. So texture quality can be set to the highest level even on average video cards.

    Shader quality

    Next up is the Shader Quality parameter. Three levels - from standard to very high. In theory, using simpler shaders should have a dramatic effect on the quality of all surfaces


    Texture Shader Very High



    Texture Shader High



    Texture Shader Normal


    In fact, changing this parameter only affects the surface of the earth. When reduced from maximum to high, the effect of embossed surfaces becomes weaker. In normal mode, the ground and grass completely lose volume - everything is flat. And even the clarity of surfaces decreases sharply, as if the quality of textures is reduced.


    The difference between Very High and High is less than 3%. Switching to the simplest mode gives a noticeable increase in performance, at a level of 12-14% relative to High. Moreover, for the first time we see an increase in the minimum fps when a specific graphics parameter is reduced. Therefore, it is quite critical to overall performance. But the image quality suffers greatly from the minimum level of shaders. It only makes sense to use a standard shader level on very weak video cards.

    Reflection quality

    This parameter (Reflection Quality) affects all reflective surfaces - cars, shop windows, windows, etc. Four quality levels. You can evaluate their influence on the overall picture in the lower screenshots. We remind you that the remaining graphics parameters are at the maximum level without anti-aliasing. Half of the screenshots are in 1920x1080 resolution, half in 2560x1440.



    It should be noted that highly detailed reflections fully correspond to real objects in the environment. This is not Watch Dodgs, when the windows of buildings reflected not the opposite side of the street, but some kind of image that was standard for everyone.


    Reflections also have a significant impact on performance. The most dramatic effect is the decrease in quality from the highest level to very high - an increase in fps at the level of 8-11%. Moreover, again there is an increase in the minimum fps, which is the most critical. There is a small difference in frame rate between the standard level and the high level, but the image is completely different. So we do not recommend lowering this parameter to a minimum.

    Water quality

    Everything is quite obvious. Changing Water Quality affects the display of water. Three quality levels, which can be assessed in the lower screenshots.


    Higher water quality regimes do not affect the overall performance in any way. Enabling the simplest mode for displaying it allows you to win up to 3%.

    Particle quality

    Parameter that regulates the number of particles. The original is called Particles Quality. Its influence is quite obvious, but there are not enough particles in the game, except for sparks and fragments during collisions or explosions. There are no wind-driven leaves or newspapers in GTA 5. So it is not easy to notice the difference between the maximum particle level and the minimum.

    Here we will do without comparative screenshots. And even in testing we will limit ourselves to extreme values ​​- very high level and standard.


    Minimal difference. So it makes sense to reduce this parameter only on very weak systems.

    Grass quality

    The Grass Quality parameter affects the display of grass. Four discrete values ​​- from standard level to ultra. For comparison, we combined fragments of the same frame from the built-in gaming benchmark into one image.


    Lowering the grass quality by one value slightly affects its density. A further decrease is accompanied by the disappearance of shadows from ferns. In the easiest mode, large grass disappears. The parameter does not affect the density and quality of the bush in any way, nor does it affect moss and small grass, which is implemented using relief texturing technologies.


    Significant impact on minimum fps. Therefore, the quality of the grass is very important for overall productivity. Switching from maximum quality to very high allows you to increase the minimum fps by 12%, the next decrease gives an increase of another 8%. Between the extreme quality settings (Ultra and Normal) there is a difference of 29% in the minimum parameter and 9% in the average game frame rate.

    Introduction

    In this review, we will conduct a summary test of video cards and processors in the PC version of the game Grand Theft Auto V. You can read the review on it by clicking on this link.

    System Requirements

    Minimum system requirements:

    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2400 MHz or AMD Phenom 9850 @ 2500 MHz.
    • RAM: 4 GB.
    • Video card: Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT 1024 MB or AMD Radeon HD 4870 1024 MB.
    • Operating system: Windows Vista (SP2) Windows 7 (SP1) and Windows 8/8.1 (64-bit only).
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 @ 3200 MHz or AMD FX-8350 BE @ 4000 MHz.
    • RAM: 8 GB.
    • Free space on HDD: 65 GB.
    • Video card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2048 MB or AMD Radeon HD 7870 2048 MB.

    advertising

    Summary testing of video cards

    Test configuration

    Tests were carried out on the following stand:

    • CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K (Devil's Canyon, L3 8 MB), Turbo Boost / Hyper Threading - off - 4000 @ 4700 MHz;
    • Motherboard: GigaByte GA-Z97X-UD5H, LGA 1150, BIOS F8;
    • CPU cooling system: Corsair Hydro Series H105 (~1300 rpm);
    • RAM: 2 x 4096 MB DDR3 Geil Black Dragon GB38GB2133C10ADC (Spec: 2133 MHz / 10-11-11-30-1t / 1.5 V), X.M.P. - off;
    • Disk subsystem No. 1: 64 GB, SSD ADATA SX900;
    • Disk subsystem No. 2: 1 TB, HDD Western Digital Caviar Green (WD10EZRX);
    • Power unit: Corsair HX850 850 Watt (standard fan: 140 mm inlet);
    • Frame: open test bench;
    • Monitor: 27" ASUS PB278Q BK (Wide LCD, 2560x1440 / 60 Hz).

    Video cards:

    • Radeon R9 290X 4096 MB - 1000/5000 @ 1130/5800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 290 4096 MB - 947/5000 @ 1120/5800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 285 2048 MB - 920/5500 @ 1100/6500 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 280X 3072 MB - 1000/6000 @ 1150/7000 MHz (Gigabyte);
    • Radeon R9 280 3072 MB - 933/5000 @ 1100/7000 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R9 270X 2048 MB - 1050/5600 @ 1170/6800 MHz (MSI);
    • Radeon R9 270 2048 MB - 925/5600 @ 1130/6800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R7 265 2048 MB - 925/5600 @ 1150/6800 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R7 260X 2048 MB - 1100/6500 @ 1200/7200 MHz (Sapphire);
    • Radeon R7 260 1024 MB - 1000/6000 @ 1200/6800 MHz (MSI);
    • Radeon R7 250X 1024 MB - 1000/4500 @ 1150/6000 MHz (Gigabyte);

    • GeForce GTX 980 4096 MB - 1126/7012 @ 1320/8000 MHz (Palit);
    • GeForce GTX 970 4096 MB - 1050/7012 @ 1330/8000 MHz (Zotac);

    • GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3072 MB - 876/7000 @ 1110/7700 MHz (MSI);
    • GeForce GTX Titan 6144 MB - 837/6008 @ 970/7200 MHz (Gigabyte);
    • GeForce GTX 780 3072 MB - 863/6008 @ 1000/7200 MHz (Palit);
    • GeForce GTX 770 2048 MB - 1046/7000 @ 1260/7800 MHz (Zotac);
    • GeForce GTX 760 2048 MB - 980/6008 @ 1200/7000 MHz (ASUS);
    • GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2048 MB - 1020/5400 @ 1160/6600 MHz (GigaByte);
    • GeForce GTX 750 2048 MB - 1020/5000 @ 1150/6200 MHz (Palit).

    Software:

    • Operating system: Windows 7 x64 SP1;
    • Video card drivers: Nvidia GeForce 350.12 WHQL and AMD Catalyst 15.4 Beta.
    • Utilities: Fraps 3.5.9 Build 15586, AutoHotkey v1.0.48.05, MSI Afterburner 4.1.0.

    Testing tools and methodology

    For a more clear comparison of video cards and processors, the game used as a test application was launched in resolutions of 1920 x 1080 and 2560 x 1440.

    The utilities Fraps 3.5.9 Build 15586 and AutoHotkey v1.0.48.05 were used as performance measurement tools. Measured in game minimum And average FPS values. VSync was disabled during testing.

    Graphics technologies

    Grand Theft Auto V was developed in close collaboration between Rockstar North and Nvidia. Especially for the release of the game, the Californian giant released new version GeForce Game Ready 350.12 WHQL drivers. They included optimization for the long-awaited PC version of Grand Theft Auto V, new SLI and 3D Vision profiles. This driver update is recommended for all owners of GeForce GTX video cards.

    Grand Theft Auto V supports the following technologies: 3D Vision, 4K Surround, Dynamic Super Resolution (DSR), GameStream, GeForce Experience - which sets optimal graphics settings in one click, G-SYNC, Multi Frame Sampled Anti-Aliasing (MFAA) , Percentage Closer Soft Shadows (PCSS), SLI and TXAA.

    Test segment video:

    Monitoring RAM and video memory usage

    advertising

    The components were tested with the following graphics settings:

    • Version Update 2.
    • DirectX 11.
      • FXAA anti-aliasing is enabled.
      • Anisotropic filtering - X16.
      • Ignore suggested memory limit - enabled.
      • The population of the city is maximum.
      • The diversity of the population is maximum.
      • The focusing scale is maximum.
      • The quality of the textures is very high.
      • The quality of the shaders is very high.
      • The quality of the shadows is very high.
      • The quality of reflections is as high as possible.
      • MSAA anti-aliasing for reflections is disabled.
      • The water quality is very high.
      • The quality of the particles is very high.
      • The quality of the grass is standard.
      • Soft shadows - as soft as possible.
      • Special effects settings are as high as possible.
      • The degree of motion blur is maximum.
      • Depth of field effect - enabled.
      • The quality of complex shading (AO) is high.
      • The quality of tessellation is very high.

    When conducting of this testing the built-in benchmark was not used. The decision to exclude him from the review took a long time and painfully.

    Right after the release of Grand Theft Auto V it didn't work at all. Or rather, it launched and even produced fragments of test scenes in chunks, but the whole thing was spoiled by plot inserts that constantly “leaked” into the benchmark. In other words, the result was a “vinaigrette” of plot and benchmark scenes that were completely unsuitable for testing.

    Update 1 corrected this issue, after which the benchmark started working normally. However, another problem appeared: everything GeForce video cards they lied shamelessly. Such testing, even with a big stretch, cannot be called objective.

    advertising

    Update 2 “cured” the above problem, and all video cards successfully passed five scenes of the built-in benchmark. But again a problem appeared with GeForce accelerators. When automating the testing process using a script, I change “settings.xml” to the same file with the necessary settings. Thus, without going to the settings menu, you can automatically install the settings necessary for testing. The problem appeared precisely when running the benchmark. To activate it, you need to go to the graphics settings menu in the game itself. And it is at this moment that she swears at the lack of video memory for most Nvidia video cards. Moreover, GTAV automatically resets the settings to nominal values.

    Attempts to run benchmark from command line using the file “commandline.txt” and adding the command “-Benchmark” to the game launcher shortcut did not lead to anything.

    As a result, it was decided to abandon the use of the benchmark, since four precious days were lost, and manual testing could take an indecently long time.

    Also, I didn't specifically use additional settings graphics, since they used huge resources of video cards. At the same time, the performance of the accelerators decreased by an amount that was not so proportional to the improvement in image quality.

    Before we begin testing video cards and processors, we will monitor the use of RAM and video memory in this game.

    advertising

    Video memory and RAM usage

    Video memory (standard settings)



    RAM

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs
    MB

    Test results: performance comparison

    Now let's move on directly to testing graphics accelerators.

    Summary diagrams of test results for single video cards

    advertising

    1920x1080

    Denomination

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs


    Overclocking

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs

    2560x1440

    Denomination

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs


    Overclocking

    Please enable JavaScript to see graphs

    Minimum and average FPS


    Related publications