[PC] Watch_Dogs graphical settings

DF is BUSY · May 28, 2014

Just wanted to share screenshots of the differences in the 4 graphical settings that had the most impact on performance in game.

- textures = HIGH, i should have did testing on ULTRA but by the time I realized I said screw it lol
- resolution = 1920x1200; 16:10

AMBIENT OCCLUSION:

(easily distinguishable differences, HBAO LOW added unnecessary shadowing in some places and MHBAO looked close enough to HBAO HIGH with less performance hit)

NO AO

MHBAO

HBAO LOW

HBAO HIGH

REFLECTIONS:

(surprisingly notable differences, if i recall, GTA4 had the same performance hits with these levels too. ULTRA hits too hard for the negligible aesthetic improvement. HIGH is sweet spot)

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

ULTRA

SHADOWS:

(actually had little impact on overall performance, most modern rigs can splurge and keep this at ultra)

LOW

MEDIUM

HIGH

ULTRA

LEVEL OF DETAIL:

(biggest hit on performance with very notable differences between LOW/MED and HIGH/ULTRA)

LOW

MED

HIGH

ULTRA

*edit
ANTI ALIASING:

(i'll let the pictures speak for themselves. for some reason the 4x settings glitched out on me. It'll probably go away once I restart the game but whatever)

OFF

FXAA

SMAA

TEMPORAL SMAA

MSAA2X

MSAA4X

MSAA8X

TXAA2X

TXAA4X

DF is BUSY · May 28, 2014

bump- added AA settings

NvidiaGamer · May 28, 2014

Nice work

Frag_Maniac · May 28, 2014

I've been reading a lot of people with even high end ($700-$800) Nvidia GPUs are having issues with this game. Seems this new engine is having some growing pains. One guy with 2x 580s showed bizarre mirroring of objects, like two sets of counters being rendered in an interior scene, one with messed up textures.

The above screens also show very little difference from one to the other as far as graphics settings go. I've been reading that Wolfenstein: The New Order runs significantly better on Nvidia GPUs, but I'm not sure this game runs so well even on Nvidia spec.

INSTG8R · May 28, 2014

Frag Maniac said:
I've been a reading a lot of people with even high end ($700-$800) Nvidia GPUs are having issues with this game. Seems this new engine is having some growing pains. One guy with 2x 580s showed bizarre mirroring of objects, like two sets of counters being rendered in an interior scene, one with messed up textures.

The above screens also show very little difference from one to the other as far as graphics settings go. I've been reading that Wolfenstein: The New Order runs significantly better on Nvidia GPUs, but I'm not sure this game runs so well even on Nvidia spec.

I have no issues running Wolfenstein on Ultra with just the shadows turned down to 4K. Watchdogs on the other hand is all over the place. I gave up on Ultra Textures and settled on High, it's still erratic but more tolerable. I do agree there seems to very little difference in the looks for all the FPS it eats up

Prima.Vera · May 29, 2014

What's the difference between SMAA and Temporal SMAA? I know it should be evident while moving, but personally except a huge frame drop, I cannot see any difference.

Frag_Maniac · May 30, 2014

INSTG8R said:
I have no issues running Wolfenstein on Ultra with just the shadows turned down to 4K. Watchdogs on the other hand is all over the place. I gave up on Ultra Textures and settled on High, it's still erratic but more tolerable. I do agree there seems to very little difference in the looks for all the FPS it eats up

You have same exact GPU as me. I gave up on Ultra too, but I find I get better FPS if I use 2xEQ AA in CCC.

INSTG8R · May 30, 2014

Frag Maniac said:
You have same exact GPU as me. I gave up on Ultra too, but I find I get better FPS if I use 2xEQ AA in CCC.

I will give that a try. I am currently using SMAA it doesn't seem to make any diff in FPS over FXAA

AphexDreamer · May 30, 2014

Well guys I just bought a new R9 270X and FX8320 and got a free coupon code for Watchdogs! I'm downloading as we speak and can't wait to try out my new GPU. First upgrade since HD5870.

Durvelle27 · May 30, 2014

With my R9 290X

Ultra
2xMSAA
HBAO+High

INSTG8R · May 30, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
With my R9 290X

Ultra
2xMSAA
HBAO+High

HBAO+ is an NV exclusive tech FWIW

Urlyin · May 30, 2014

AphexDreamer said:
Well guys I just bought a new R9 270X and FX8320 and got a free coupon code for Watchdogs! I'm downloading as we speak and can't wait to try out my new GPU. First upgrade since HD5870.

I'm in the same boat Aphex... upgraded to a MSI 780 TI and ASUS VII Hero (4770k).... downloading my free version as well

AphexDreamer · May 30, 2014

Urlyin said:
I'm in the same boat Aphex... upgraded to a MSI 780 TI and ASUS VII Hero (4770k).... downloading my free version as well

Awesome! Mine was all AMD stuff so I got the AMD Coupon codes but the guy at frys was feeling good so he gave me the WatchDogs as well

I guess buying in store can have its perks.

lowrider_05 · May 30, 2014

I can squeeze just about 35-55 fps on ultra with msaa4x @ 1080P.

I even tried to activate the hidden supersampling but got unplayable 30 fps max out of it

DEFEATEST · May 30, 2014

Wowsers you really have to look hard to see differences in all catagories. Keep it on low and enjoy fps?

Durvelle27 · May 30, 2014

INSTG8R said:
HBAO+ is an NV exclusive tech FWIW

Ehhh it's working for me lol

lowrider_05 · May 30, 2014

DEFEATEST said:
Wowsers you really have to look hard to see differences in all catagories. Keep it on low and enjoy fps?

well at least for me there is a HUGE difference between low and ultra just look at water or the sun or windows or distant objects .......

lowrider_05 · May 30, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
Ehhh it's working for me lol

HBAO+ is from NV but always works on AMD too if i can remember correctly.

DEFEATEST · May 30, 2014

lowrider_05 said:
well at least for me there is a HUGE difference between low and ultra just look at water or the sun or windows or distant objects .......

Ya I realize my comment was a bit quick , but Im just going by the above screen shots. I don't own the game . I would hope the difference is huge!

Durvelle27 · May 30, 2014

lowrider_05 said:
HBAO+ is from NV but always works on AMD too if i can remember correctly.

Is the performance hit huge

AphexDreamer · May 30, 2014

Hey so is the first Fixer you encounter a real person or just a demonstration NPC?

I want to know how proud I should feel at taking him down.

Frag_Maniac · May 30, 2014

INSTG8R said:
I am currently using SMAA it doesn't seem to make any diff in FPS over FXAA

That's why I stopped using in game AA, it doesn't scale well at all, and the same goes for many other in game settings.

AsRock · May 30, 2014

AphexDreamer said:
Hey so is the first Fixer you encounter a real person or just a demonstration NPC?

I want to know how proud I should feel at taking him down.

I think it depends if you have it turned on or not.

INSTG8R · May 30, 2014

AphexDreamer said:
Hey so is the first Fixer you encounter a real person or just a demonstration NPC?

I want to know how proud I should feel at taking him down.

First one is NPC. If you fail it, it happens over again, Same guy, same place.

lowrider_05 · May 30, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
Is the performance hit huge

no its not a huge hit, you loose max 5-10 fps

System Name	IVY BRIDGE
Processor	i7 3770K
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
Cooling	PHANTEKS TC14PE
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Audio Device(s)	ASUS XONAR DG
Power Supply	COOLERMASTER V700
Software	WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE x64

System Name	IVY BRIDGE
Processor	i7 3770K
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
Cooling	PHANTEKS TC14PE
Memory	GSKILL ARES DDR3-1600
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE GTX 770 WF OC
Storage	SAMSUNG 830 / GSKILL PHOENIX / SAMSUNG F4 / SEAGATE MOMENTUS / SEAGATE HDD 1.5
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Power Supply	COOLERMASTER V700
Software	WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE x64

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[PC] Watch_Dogs graphical settings

DF is BUSY

DF is BUSY

NvidiaGamer

Frag_Maniac

INSTG8R

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Prima.Vera

Frag_Maniac

INSTG8R

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Durvelle27

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INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester

Urlyin

I still do pencil mods

AphexDreamer

lowrider_05

DEFEATEST

Durvelle27

Moderator

lowrider_05

lowrider_05

DEFEATEST

Durvelle27

Moderator

AphexDreamer

Frag_Maniac

AsRock

TPU addict

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester

lowrider_05

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