Don't see 980 dropping below 280x levels there, don't even see it falling behind 290x with similar cpu.
No one said anything about 980 dropping
below 290X's level. If you look at Computerbase's review, the 980 is way more sensitive to CPU speed than 290X. Therefore, the point that Ubisoft made that only AMD CPUs and GPUs will experience adverse performance in Unity is BS as clearly 980 bombs with a slow Intel CPU.
On our forum some members tried to insinuate that in almost all modern games it is AMD GPUs that require the faster CPU to show full potential but it's clearly a case on a game-by-game basis. AC shows the opposite in fact.
When running 4770K with 2 cores @ 3.5Ghz, both 290X and 980 can only manage 30.8 fps. When runnig 4770K with 4 cores @ 2.5Ghz, both 290X and 980 again hit an identical 39.9 fps. When we get to 4770K @ 3.5Ghz with HT disabled, it's only then that the 980 gets a measurable 17% lead (50.2 vs. 43). That's what I mean that with a slower CPU, all of 980's performance advantage is wiped out, but 290X hardly loses much performance in comparison.
At 2560x1600 with the typical IQ reduction of FXAA (blur), 970 itself gets only 31 fps, 780Ti gets <34 fps and 980 manages <37 fps
AVG.
Therefore, it's impossible to maintain 60 fps minimums throughout the entre game with FXAA at 1440P/1600P with even dual 980s. When enabling MSAA, well, no need to comment even.
I am inclined to believe every professional performance data from GameGPU to Computerbase over some PC gamer online that cherry-picks less demanding scenes to show good performance because he isn't objective to the AC Unity game and will defend it at all costs. When someone has a vested interest in the franchise and needs to justify his/her expensive GPU upgrades that happen to be 1% of GPUs that work good enough to run the latest iteration of the said franchise, we have to look at more objective opinions from professionals regarding optimizations and overall performance characteristics.
Far Cry 4 may be the final straw for Ubisoft in PC gaming. Another technical disaster like Unity or Watch Dogs and they'll have a near impossible time restoring their reputation.
Far Cry 4 can't be another low-tech shoddy port with mediocre visuals and huge performance demands. Shots of the pre-release are variable. One screen looks alright.
FC4 will most likely just be FC3+, and nothing more. I don't understand why it's so difficult for modern PC gamers to accept that we are in a period of console ports. With Crytek, DICE and CDPR not releasing any powerhouse games annually, 90% of the games we'll get are going to be console ports. The added features will be whatever AMD and NV throw in via GE or GW. As an added benefit of higher resolution, we'll get sharper textures and some AA modes on the PC. By far and large the game itself will look 90% identical to the PS4 version, especially when it comes to
Ubisoft games as they are all for parity / identical gaming experience (Oct 14, 2014 -- N4G).
Computerbase posted a comparison video of AC Unity on PS4 vs. PC and I suggest you download it or watch it in full screen.
http://www.computerbase.de/2014-11/assassins-creed-unity-grafikvergleich-pc-und-ps4/
^ If you notice, apart from
slightly sharper texures and resolution, which is to be expected on the PC since consoles run at 900P, slightly better/more detailed shadows on the PC, AC Unity is basically
95% identical to the PS4 version! This comparison was ran on a 980 with FXAA on the PC at 1080P and for the life of me
I am not wowed even for a second that a $550 GPU can
barely produce better visuals than a $400 console with an underpowered Jaguar CPU and 7850. It's actually shocking how much of a console port Unity really is. I said from the beginning that Unity was an XB1 game with GW NV code thrown in at the last minute. Heck, even NV's tessellation patch is not ready nearly 1 week after launch. The videos show PS4 and PC providing near identical visuals, while XB1 runs faster than PS4 despite a 40-50% GPU disadvantage. What more needs to be said of Unity?
This is nothing at all like when Crysis 1 came out. When C1 came out, it was 1 full generation ahead of PS3/Xbox 360. There wasn't a single game on those consoles for 5 years to match the graphics of C1. You don't need to be an art or design major to notice that AC Unity is NOT a true next generation PC game. In no way shape or form is it 1 generation ahead of PS4's graphics. The same fate awaits FC4.
That is because there is a big difference between making a next generation game specifically for the PC on a next generation game engine and making a next generation game by targetting PS4/XB1 using a slightly updated last generation game engine. Unfortunately for Ubisoft they do not have any true next generation game engines at their disposal; so naturally it is impossible for them to make a true next generation PC game. All those PC-specific effects that NV provides for free wouldn't even be in the game if it wasn't for GW and this "next generation" PC game would look 99% identical to PS4. :whiste:
Maybe some will say that my expectation of a next generation PC game is too unrealistic. Perhaps, but I expect a generational leap from BF4, Crysis 3, and Metro LL as those are "old games" and I am not seeing it on any game on the PC or PS4/XB1 so far. Clearly AC Unity and FC4 will not be those games. Next year we will get GPUs 40-50% more powerful than 980 but instead of next generation graphics, we seem to be getting next generation performance demands, minus the great AI, graphical and physics leap. Games like Evil Within, Lords of the Fallen, Titanfall, Watch Dogs all have poor performance and average graphics at best. What gives? Star Citizen, Uncharted 4 and Witcher 3 might get there.
--
For anyone paying attention it looks like AC Rogue also bombed. Gamespot -
6/10, IGN
6.8. To get scores that low on those sites implies the game is really not fun to play. This is one of Ubisoft's worst years ever. FC4 is the only game they released this holiday worth buying, but even then
the reviewers are saying it isn't as fun as FC3's islands.
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