[section_title title=Performance]
Performance
Computer setup:
CPU:Â Intel, i7-4770k @ 4.4ghz
Motherboard:Â ASUS H81-Plus
RAM:Â 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 @ 1866MHz
GPU:Â Sapphire 290x Tri-X 4gb
PSU:Â Corsair CX750m
Just like Civilization VI we’ve changed our reviews slightly. We’ll be taking a closer look at what settings are available and more complete breakdown of how games run on our test machine listed above. So let’s take a closer look at what options are available for tweaking.
The Pre-set options are presented across two different sliders to help you customise around the largest bottlenecks with your GPU. Memory impact alters resolution and anti-aliasing, while performance is all about the effects themselves.
With a system that is in excess of the recommended specs it should be a matter of cranking everything up to high/ultra and then conquering the world. Except that the inbuilt benchmark show differently. Testing across 4k, 1440p and 1080p there are were a couple of things that stood out.
The biggest shock was that minimal settings seem broken. The averages were definitely the best, but 99th Percentile framerates were worse across every resolution compared to medium settings, at 1080p this was a difference of 16fps.
Running at Ultra while the most punishing on GPU also gave the closest results between the various resolutions. From 33fps at 1080p to 26fps at 4k, so close to a playable framerate, and one that was achieved with a slight downgrade to high on the memory slider.
What is impressive is the range of machines that can play Civ VI due to the sheer wealth of options available. Setting everything to the lowest possible produced a 30fps framerate on an AMD based laptop at 1366 x 768. Jumping up to 1080p was too much for it and it plummeted to 15fps, technically still playable but it’s not a pleasant experience.
