DX11: Crysis 2 - High Res Textures

DX11: Crysis 2 - High Res Textures

Crysis 2 then. With the recent DirectX 11 patch and that High Resolution Texture pack (download) we all know one thing, Crysis has become the best looking game to date. DirectX 11 hardware tessellation is the headline feature, but the Ultra Upgrade also introduces soft shadows with variable penumbra, improved water rendering, and particle motion blur and shadowing. Having been originally omitted from CryEngine 3, Parallax Occlusion Mapping has been reintroduced, as has full-resolution High Dynamic Range motion blur, making the games use of camera panning more detailed and defined. To improve performance further, hardware-based occlusion culling has been implemented, resulting in performance improvements from objects and scenery out of view not being rendered.

Above, the time demo we use to measure game performance, this is a generic recording not specifically done with the graphics card solution tested in this article. This is the Times Square level. The test run apply is stringent, harsh and really only suited for high-end DX 11 class graphics cards of 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Crysis 2; we apply everything. Image quality settings:

• DirectX 11
• High Resolution Texture Pack
• Ultra Quality settings
• 4x AA
• Level - Times Square (2 minute custom time demo)

Look at 2560x1600 -- We see that the ARES II immediately shows muscle, that really is very impressive. The card is faster then the GeForce GTX 690 and makes 2560x1600 tremendously playable. Even 4-way GPU Crossfire mode scales well.

And below a comparative chart, results will build up over time of course, any card at 19x12 will get a very rough beating from the game. And also let me just state... DX11 / HQ Texture mode and Ultra settings are not a requirement, but as a PC gamer I expect you like something better than console quality right?