VGA performance FullHD - WQHD and Ultra HD
Graphics (VGA) performance Recording Level and IQ settings
We use a time based measurement based upon framerate recording. The test is a representative yet VERY stringent on the GPU. Our rather hefty settings are:
For our initial graphics performance tests we apply the Quality settings as shown above (which pretty much are the best settings you can apply) though at 2xMSAA. Small tip, as spotted in our forums:
Change the DeferredFXQuality option to PC located in Docs > My Games > Watchdogs > xxxx > GamerProfile.xml) from console to PC
<CustomQuality>
<quality ResolutionX="1920" ResolutionY="1080" EnvironmentQuality="ultra" AntiPortalQuality="pc" PostFxQuality="ultra" TextureQuality="pc" TextureResolutionQuality="high" WaterQuality="ultra" ParaboloidReflectionQuality="ultra" DepthPassQuality="pc" VegetationQuality="ultra" TerrainQuality="ultra" GeometryQuality="ultra" LodDitheringQuality="pc" ShadowQuality="ultra" ShadingQuality="high" RoadQuality="pc" EditorQuality="pc" ParticlesQuality="ultra" DeferredFxQuality="pc" HDR="1" SuperSampling="0" HighPrecisionNormal="1" RenderSplashes="1" RenderRain="1" MotionBlurQuality="pc" SSAOQuality="hbao+_high" DepthOfFieldQuality="pc" AntiAliasingQuality="temporalsmaa" id="_runtime" />
</CustomQuality>
This offers slightly better looking graphics.
So excited as we where we started the game, selected Ultra textures and Ultra image quality settings. Then we applied a modest 2x MSAA and tested in three resolutions.
- Full HD (1920x1080)
- WQHD (2560x1440)
- Ultra HD (3820x2160)
Our test system is based on a power hungry six-core Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition Sandy Bridge-E based setup on the X79 chipset platform. This setup is overclocked to 4.60 GHz on all cores. Next to that we have energy saving functions disabled for this motherboard and processor (to ensure consistent benchmark results).
Here are some results:
So after testing six cards we immediately halted testing. The game was a mess, the results all over the place with many anomalies and offsets, Ultra Quality settings at Ultra HD would even use up to 6+ GB on the graphics memory. Ultra HD became a stutter-fest especially in-game at road at crossings and with cars passing by. Changing settings in-game would not kick in either, so each change on AA or Quality or resolution required us to log out of the game, then start it up again. Testing these six cards at three resolutions took 4 hours. You will notice that 2560x1440 high-end cards starting at GTX 780 Ti would be usable.
