Far Cry Primal Video Card Performance Review @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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Far Cry Primal Video Card Performance Review - A new game in the Far Cry series is out on the PC called Far Cry Primal. We will run FCP through its paces on six video cards including SLI and CrossFire with the latest drivers and game patch to see what it takes to push these pixels. We will discuss this games stripped down graphics quality compared to Far Cry 4 and what it means for gaming.
 
Impressive scaling on crossfire. It's good to see AMD start topping some charts in game performance, it leaves hope for the future. I hope you guys do one of these for The Division.
 
It's disappointing that they got rid of so many of the graphical features that made Far Cry 4 stand out. This alone will make me wait a while to get the game. Luckily the game performs well across the board and it's great to see AMD cards with a clear lead.
 
in b4 someone claims anti AMD bias because you're not adding a title to your suite that clearly shows AMD in the lead
 
Considering the mess that FC4 was with multi-GPU setups on release, it's good to see the scaling here, especially with AMD.

After the messes of the last couple big console ports to PC, not surprising at all that Ubisoft took the path of least resistance by disabling more advanced features. I fear this is the way things are going, unfortunately...
 
So the 230MB is just like a standard amount that is use no mater what?
 
I recall a while back you guys used to do more extreme resolution testing like eyefinity and surround. Was there any particular reason you stopped? I'm just wondering because I'm a heavy surround user and I'm thinking my build might be starting to be behind and I'm thinking about upgrading. I'm not an expert is 4k a better or too similar a test? Imagine somebody out there is using 4k surround.
 
Just AMD's luck another game comes around that their cards show a "very clear performance advantage from top to bottom" but the games visual quality doesn't score a high enough grade to be put into [H] video cards normal tests....Figures lol..I cant say i blame ya as the game looks like total shit
 
primetime said:
Just AMD's luck another game comes around that their cards show a "very clear performance advantage from top to bottom" but the games visual quality doesn't score a high enough grade to be put into [H] video cards normal tests....Figures lol..I cant say i blame ya as the game looks like total shit
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It should be noted, AMD also had an advantage in FC4, and we included that game for a very long time, until it was replaced by newer games.
 
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piscian18 said:
I recall a while back you guys used to do more extreme resolution testing like eyefinity and surround. Was there any particular reason you stopped? I'm just wondering because I'm a heavy surround user and I'm thinking my build might be starting to be behind and I'm thinking about upgrading. I'm not an expert is 4k a better or too similar a test? Imagine somebody out there is using 4k surround.
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the pixel count for 4K is much higher than the surround setup that was originally being used for reviews(5760x1200 i think it was), so 4K's the next logical step up.
 
The Crossfire scaling is really nice to see. It's also nice to see a "AAA" game launch with multi-GPU support out of the gate. That seems rather rare these days. I'm rather disappointed in the game itself however. When I first heard about it I liked the idea of the setting and what they could do with it, but everything I've seen and heard about it since release has just been disappointing. Primal feels like a game that should have been a $20 stand-alone DLC release like Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon was. Stripping out graphics options from the same engine is ridiculous, it really shows how little time Ubisoft gave the studios to make this game. Guess Ubisoft wanted to attempt to bolster their $60 "AAA" open world line up this year since they're not releasing a big Assassin's Creed title.
 
Impressive showing by AMD. Hopefully they can keep this up, and get some more competition in the market.

Now if only those CPUs...
 
this article has me looking again at cfx - 80% scaling is pretty good
 
Basically it's Far Cry 4+ minus NV GameWorks.

GW for the cinematic 30 fps experience is good for gaming?

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Not bad performance for a visually great looking game.

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What's that? Are those light shafts without NV Godrays that tank performance?

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Sometimes GPU performance killing features aren't needed to make a great looking AAA game.
 
holy shit is that an in game pre-rendered movie or an in game cutscene?
 
It's all in-game gameplay.

Some would say that getting great performance for excellent visual is a sign of good optimization and its something to be proud about or celebrated, because gamers are enjoying a visually stunning game even on modest hardware. Folks remember the Alien Isolation review from [H] awhile back? The devs were praised for excellent performance and great visuals.
 
So why exactly is this game getting shafted on Steam User reviews? My first instinct was either poor performance or poor graphics, but in this case it seemed to be neither...
 
chenw said:
So why exactly is this game getting shafted on Steam User reviews? My first instinct was either poor performance or poor graphics, but in this case it seemed to be neither...
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UPlay servers couldn't cope at release day, so folks were not able to verify the DRM and so the game would not launch. Lots of the negative reviews come from the "error screen simulator 2016" mantra due to this reason.

The Division also had this problem at release.
 
Ok, The Division I can understand, that game is basically MMORPG so servers are doing a lot of work. But uPlay DRM seem to be a shocker (then again, Ubi...)

I might have a go at this after things settle down, how's the gameplay and story so far?

(You are right about not needing GPU killer features for good looking game, wish there were more of it).
 
I like it, more than FC4 because 4 was not much different to 3 and Blood, typical FPS stuff. Primal is very different, due to the setting obviously, and this difference makes it very fresh.

The Division is also pretty good. Something is happening at Ubisoft, because they are suddenly releasing good looking games that run well with relatively few bugs on release... highly strange given their past histories. lol
 
From the screenshots I did see Division looks quite good, unfortunately due to the online gaming community gone more toxic than I can tolerate, I haven't given it much thought, I just focus on SP games with a few exceptions.

And... I am waiting on Pascal before I start diving into AAA games, my 970's are not really aging well... :p
 
chenw said:
From the screenshots I did see Division looks quite good, unfortunately due to the online gaming community gone more toxic than I can tolerate, I haven't given it much thought, I just focus on SP games with a few exceptions.

And... I am waiting on Pascal before I start diving into AAA games, my 970's are not really aging well... :p
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Your 970 is not aging well and you still looking to buy pascal LOL

Anyways i just came here because once again kyle is famous in reddit

HardOCP Releases Far Cry Primal Video Performance Review. AMD cards wipe the floor with Team Green. • /r/Amd

The game looks great despite the bad reviews everywhere.
 
wantapple said:
Your 970 is not aging well and you still looking to buy pascal LOL

Anyways i just came here because once again kyle is famous in reddit

HardOCP Releases Far Cry Primal Video Performance Review. AMD cards wipe the floor with Team Green. • /r/Amd

The game looks great despite the bad reviews everywhere.
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Yeah, by the time I decided I had enough with my 970's (they did well for what's it was worth), it was too close to 2016 for me to take a dive for 980ti, so I decided to wait until Pascal (if 1080 or its equivalent turned up disappointing, I'll wait for the 1080ti equivalent, if any).
 
chenw said:
Yeah, by the time I decided I had enough with my 970's (they did well for what's it was worth), it was too close to 2016 for me to take a dive for 980ti, so I decided to wait until Pascal (if 1080 or its equivalent turned up disappointing, I'll wait for the 1080ti equivalent, if any).
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Maybe give Polaris a chance. Given how well 2013 GCN GPU like R290/X have aged (gracefully, or like wine, getting better over time)...
 
I don't get the drama elsewhere about this place being ambivalent about the game and/or not adding it to the test suite. It's playable at max settings on every single card tested. Even 4k is borderline on a single card. Why on earth would that be a valuable addition?
 
Stryke1983 said:
I don't get the drama elsewhere about this place being ambivalent about the game and/or not adding it to the test suite. It's playable at max settings on every single card tested. Even 4k is borderline on a single card. Why on earth would that be a valuable addition?
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I feel the same way. The game looks incredible and all but from what I've seen it looks similar to Far Cry 4 on a technical level but without the GameWorks effects which I thought really added to the visual quality of it. Also, looking at older benchmarks of Far Cry 4 it runs better on a 980Ti at 1440p Ultra Quality with Enhanced Godrays, Simulated Fur, and HBAO+ than Far Cry Primal does which has none of the GameWorks effects. I found this interesting and ironic.
 
Could we get some screen shot comparisons to justify "stripped downgraphicsl quality"? It appears that Ubisoft found a way to maintain or even increase visual fidelity while moderately improving performance. The top $650 GPUs cannot even get 30fps locked at 4K, I'm not sure how that isn't demanding enough for you.
 
Bahanime said:
Maybe give Polaris a chance. Given how well 2013 GCN GPU like R290/X have aged (gracefully, or like wine, getting better over time)...
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I would, but unfortunately one of my monitor is G-Sync lol (but ironically, my other monitor is FreeSync XD)

I'll wait for them though. I am in no particular rush (if I was, I would have gotten 980ti instead).
 
AzixTGO said:
gameworks is rubbish.

eg. fallout lighting runs like crap, vs lighting in division. Fallout overall probably runs worse

PCSS and the other nvidia shadow tech is inconsistent in effect and looks worse than high at times. The performance hit is not worth it

HBAO+ and VXAO often look similar and sometimes worse than regular implementations of AO, but they run worse than SSAO etc.

I get that people seeing these as special features might give them the impression its better, but comparisons do not show them as better. The only thing that is fact is that they use more PC power.
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As with any effect, it's all in how the developers use it.

You can't really claim "often" or "sometimes" with VXAO. It's only been used in Rise of the Tomb Raider so far.
 
To everyone above, R.E. the visuals.

Far Cry Primal is a visual downgrade from Far Cry 4, I stand by that. All the features I mentioned that were in Far Cry 4, are not in Far Cry Primal, that is a fact.

The visuals feel hollow to me, compared to Far Cry 4. I've been using Far Cry 4 for over a year now, so I have a pretty good idea how that game feels visually, and this one doesn't add up. It's not the worse looking game, and at 4K, and from a distance, it looks ok. Up close, examining each feature, it doesn't add up.

It is missing things that modern games visually have today, and this one just flat out doesn't, point of fact. It is a game that could have been released several years ago, visually, it doesn't represent or come near to the features implemented today in games like Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hitman, and other DX12 forward looking games that we will be adding to our gaming suite. Those games are better addtions to our gaming suite as they push the gaming industry forward, so we will be adding them, this game, Far Cry Primal, does not. I stand by my analysis.
 
Just wondering why Dying Light is in the test suite when it performs better and imo looks worse compared to this? Even Fallout 4 looks pretty bad without mods but I can understand that because lot's of peeps are playing it.

Maybe you could test the Division next. Hitman could also be tested but it's graphics are not really anything spectacular.
 
Osjur said:
Just wondering why Dying Light is in the test suite when it performs better and imo looks worse compared to this? Even Fallout 4 looks pretty bad without mods but I can understand that because lot's of peeps are playing it.

Maybe you could test the Division next. Hitman could also be tested but it's graphics are not really anything spectacular.
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It takes time to disseminate new games into our testing suite. It doesn't happen over night, there is a process. Dyling Light was added a long time ago, when it came out, and has worked great for us over the course of its lifespan. It did use to be demanding, and IMO does hold up in visual quality. One of the things it was known for was its long view distances, which really tested out VRAM capacity on cards. Over the course of time, performance has gotten a lot better in it, to now it isn't an issue. I agree its lifespan is at its end of use for us now, but before we can remove it, we have to have other games ready to take its place.

We just added Rise of Tomb Raider. We will be adding Hitman, once we figure out the game. We are also considering The Division, which I've yet to play. All good things in time. We don't take adding new games lightly, it isn't just me that uses them, but we have a team, and I have to make sure they are able to use the game in the way we need and instruct them on the use of all the graphics features, which means I have to learn the game and how it works.
 
Brent_Justice said:
To everyone above, R.E. the visuals.

Far Cry Primal is a visual downgrade from Far Cry 4, I stand by that. All the features I mentioned that were in Far Cry 4, are not in Far Cry Primal, that is a fact.

The visuals feel hollow to me, compared to Far Cry 4. I've been using Far Cry 4 for over a year now, so I have a pretty good idea how that game feels visually, and this one doesn't add up. It's not the worse looking game, and at 4K, and from a distance, it looks ok. Up close, examining each feature, it doesn't add up.

It is missing things that modern games visually have today, and this one just flat out doesn't, point of fact. It is a game that could have been released several years ago, visually, it doesn't represent or come near to the features implemented today in games like Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hitman, and other DX12 forward looking games that we will be adding to our gaming suite. Those games are better addtions to our gaming suite as they push the gaming industry forward, so we will be adding them, this game, Far Cry Primal, does not. I stand by my analysis.
Click to expand...

So, it looks worse than Far Cry 4 and judging by the benchmarks it even runs worse. Sounds like the game isn't optimized well to me.
 
they just released a new patch 1.2.0

patch notes are pretty big

1.2

Stability and Performance
- Improved performance and stability
- Fixed low occurrence specific crashes

Gameplay
- Improved the overall difficulty of a mission
- Fixed an edge case issue where the XP is not updated
- Fixed issue where the kills from companion animals does not update under specific condition
- Fixed a bug where a weapon switched automatically when using the speed boost
- Fixed a rare issue where the player is vulnerable when trying to heal
- Fixed a low occurrence issue where the player is unable to loot
- Fixed an issue where the player can be teleport outside the mission zone when riding any animals
- Fixed issues with Hardsave not functional if the user performs specific action
- Fixed a trophy update issue when taming one of the beasts
- Fixed a player’s movement issue when capturing an outpost
- Fixed a 2 seconds freeze when player pauses the game during few specific animations
- Fixed a waterfall effect issue during a cinematic
- Fixed an edge case issue where the player cannot pet smaller companions
- Fixed an issue where the “heal beast” and “ride” actions does not always work on sloping terrain
- Fixed a blood trail visual issue when using the hunting vision

Lighting and FX
- Fixed some lighting issues in specific areas

Wildlife and AI
- Improved the AI navigation in a specific outpost
- Fixed low occurrence navigation issues with the companions
- Fixed some edge case animation issues with animals and companions

Missions/Activities/World
- Fixed Missions and Activities blockers when performing specific actions
- Fixed few spawning issues with the players and specific animals
- Fixed an issue where the player can complete one of the mission twice
- Fixed issues where the player can’t climb a vine when performing certain actions
- Fixed edge case issues where the player can remain stuck if he interacts with stones and plants
- Fixed an issue where the player is unable to fast travel
- Fixed objective issues when performing specific actions
- Fixed edge cases navigation issues in the World

Menu/UI/Map
- Added an option to not show enemies in the minimap
- Added a button to disable the HUD option
- Added new tutorial page to match description and picture
- Fixed an issue where a button is misplaced in the reward stash
- Fixed some displaying issues with the HUD and the World Map
- Fixed an issue where a fail prompt does not appear under specific conditions
- Fixed an issue where the XP prompt remains present on the HUD
- Fixed icons issues in specific activities
- Fixed few minor issues where a waypoint is not displayed properly
- Fixed an issue where the outpost counter does not update
- Added a visual guideline for one of the achievements

Audio
- Fixed a sound issue with burning fire during the playgo
- Added a missing SFX during a specific Quick Time Event attack
- Added a missing Audio line during a cinematic

Localization/Text
- Fixed issues when subtitles go past menu borders in some languages
- Fixed an issue where collectibles text can be overlapped by an event notification
- Added missing subtitles when skipping a cinematic
- Fixed incorrect messages appearing on screen after specific actions

PC:

- Improved 4K and UHD resolution support
- Multi-GPU configuration fixes for both SLI and CFX
- Improved the lighting FX for water surfaces
- Fixed wrong behavior after certain controls customization
- Minor PC UI fixes
 
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