Tomb Raider Performance Test: Graphics & CPU

Although this twelvemonth'southward Tomb Raider reboot made our latest list of most predictable PC games, I must acknowledge that information technology was ane of the games I was to the lowest degree looking forward to from a operation perspective. Previous titles in the franchise have received mixed to positive reviews, just gameplay aside, their visuals weren't exactly listen-bravado so nosotros've never bothered doing a functioning review on i -- until at present, anyhow.

Every bit with the last few entries, Crystal Dynamics developed the new Tomb Raider 89 using the Crystal Engine -- admitting a heavily modified version. Being a multiplatform release, we were naturally worried nearly the game beingness geared toward consoles with PC being an afterthought, which has become increasingly mutual (Dead Space 3 comes to mind as a recent case) and mostly results in lackluster graphics.

Those concerns were at least partially alleviated when we learned that the PC port was being worked on past Nixxes Software BV, the same folks who handled the PC versions of Hitman: Absolution and Deus Ex: Homo Revolution, both of which were great examples of what we expect from decent ports in terms of graphical quality and customization. Hitman in particular really stressed our higher-cease hardware.

We were as well relieved to learn that Tomb Raider supports DirectX 11, which brings access to rendering technologies such every bit depth of field, high definition ambient occlusion, hardware tessellation, super-sample anti-aliasing and contact-hardening shadows. Additionally, compared to the diluted panel versions, the PC build offers ameliorate textures also equally AMD's TressFX real-time hair physics system.

The result should be a spectacular looking game that pushes the limits of today'southward enthusiast hardware -- key give-and-take being "should," of course -- and then let's move on and run into what the Tomb Raider reboot is fabricated of.

Testing Methodology

We'll exist testing 27 DirectX 11 graphics menu configurations from AMD and Nvidia roofing a wide range of prices from the affordable to the ultra-expensive. The latest drivers volition exist used, and every card will be paired with an Intel Core i7-3960X to remove CPU bottlenecks that could influence loftier-cease GPU scores.

Nosotros're using Fraps to mensurate frame rates during xc seconds of gameplay footage from Tomb Raider'south first level, the checkpoint is called "Stun." The examination begins with Lara running to escape from a cave system.

Our Fraps exam ends but earlier Lara exits the cave, which is ironically where the built-in benchmark begins. We decided to test a custom section of the game rather than the stock benchmark because this is how we volition test Tomb Raider in the future when reviewing new graphics cards. Using Fraps as well allows united states to record frame latency operation, though for this particular article we didn't include those.

Frame timings weren't included for two reasons: it's not easy to display all that data when testing 27 different GPUs, and nosotros feel Nvidia needs more fourth dimension to meliorate their drivers. We'll include frame fourth dimension performance for Tomb Raider in our side by side GPU review.

Nosotros'll examination Tomb Raider at three common desktop display resolutions: 1680x1050, 1920x1200 and 2560x1600 using DX11. Nosotros are also testing using the three peak quality presets that includes Ultimate, Ultra and High. No changes volition be made to the presets.