News Horizon Forbidden West PC port analysis: Another game that can exceed 8GB VRAM use

[Admin]

We’ve benchmarked the PC release of Horizon Forbidden West on 22 graphics cards, including most current generation cards along with a few representatives of previous generation hardware. The game runs decently on mainstream hardware at 1080p and medium settings, but the higher settings can quickly tank performance on cards with less than 8GB of memory, and 12GB is necessary for 4K at maximum settings.

Horizon Forbidden West PC port analysis: Another game that can exceed 8GB VRAM use : Read more

 

[usertests]

Nice to see the 7600 XT with some clear wins over the 7600, although it really needs to be compared to the 6700 XT which is/was an alternate choice around the same price. Looks like it could do 1440p60 here with some tweaks.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Nice to see the 7600 XT with some clear wins over the 7600, although it really needs to be compared to the 6700 XT which is/was an alternate choice around the same price. Looks like it could do 1440p60 here with some tweaks.

Given where the 6800 XT lands (ties/slightly exceed 7800 XT), it's clear that there's no architectural advantage for RDNA 3 in this particular game — no surprise as it was made for PS4 and PS5. As such, the 6700 XT will definitely exceed the performance of the 7600 XT. I could test it to prove the point, but there are a couple dozen other GPUs I didn't test because at some point you just have to stop testing and go with what you have.

 

[usertests]

Given where the 6800 XT lands (ties/slightly exceed 7800 XT), it's clear that there's no architectural advantage for RDNA 3 in this particular game — no surprise as it was made for PS4 and PS5. As such, the 6700 XT will definitely exceed the performance of the 7600 XT. I could test it to prove the point, but there are a couple dozen other GPUs I didn't test because at some point you just have to stop testing and go with what you have.

Well, I wouldn't demand you to do more benchmarking. I'll just say that any buyer considering a 7600 XT should be taking a look at the 6700 XT at the same time, since it will often be better. Although the good times may be over if Newegg pricing for the 6700 XT is any indicator.

 

[brandonjclark]

Thanks for the work! I didn't see a 3090 in there, though. I'll extrapolate, nvm!

 

[kealii123]

Man I hope driver updates are coming. Its insane that my $3000, Razer 17 Pro with what was "overpowered" back then, an RTX 2080 Super, run this game so poorly. I'm getting ~40fps on low, 720p. Embarrassing.

Has anyone benchmarked it on a steamdeck yet?

 

[DSzymborski]

DIsappointing of course, but I'm not sure it's *insane*; higher-end laptops are usually pretty horrible from a value standpoint and the 2080 Super is almost a five-year-old GPU.

 

[CelicaGT]

For Nvidia users and @JarredWaltonGPU . Ensure you are not using Reflex Boost, there is a known bug. Reflex works just fine with the release Game Ready driver.

 

[CelicaGT]

Man I hope driver updates are coming. Its insane that my $3000, Razer 17 Pro with what was "overpowered" back then, an RTX 2080 Super, run this game so poorly. I'm getting ~40fps on low, 720p. Embarrassing.

Has anyone benchmarked it on a steamdeck yet?

You have something else going on. I'm able to hit 36fps (1/4 refresh) on a 3050 laptop, mix of low/medium settings with a bit of GPU headroom to spare.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

For Nvidia users and @JarredWaltonGPU . Ensure you are not using Reflex Boost, there is a known bug. Reflex works just fine with the release Game Ready driver.

All testing was done with Reflex On, but not Boost FYI. I also retested without Reflex (other than the "latency only" option) on the 4060 Ti to check things out. Here are the results (1 = 1080p medium, 2 = 1080p very high, 3 = 1440p very high, 4 = 4K very high, 5 = 4K high, 6 = 4K high + quality upscaling, 7 = 4K high + quality upscale + framegen):

HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (1) - AVG: 133.7   99pMIN: 100.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (2) - AVG:  76.7   99pMIN:  35.9
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (3) - AVG:  62.5   99pMIN:  27.9
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (4) - AVG:  34.3   99pMIN:  20.2
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (5) - AVG:  43.4   99pMIN:  33.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (6) - AVG:  52.1   99pMIN:  31.4
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (7)  - AVG:  50.2   99pMIN:  36.9

HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (1) - AVG: 129.9   99pMIN:  95.1
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (2) - AVG:  73.8   99pMIN:  36.2
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (3) - AVG:  54.1   99pMIN:  27.4
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (4) - AVG:  34.1   99pMIN:  21.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (5) - AVG:  44.0   99pMIN:  28.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (6) - AVG:  54.6   99pMIN:  43.4
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (7) - AVG:  48.8   99pMIN:  36.7

If you look at the numbers, clearly the 1% lows ("99pMin") start to show some fluctuations. FrameGen requires Reflex be enabled, and I had a larger than normal delta there as well. GPUs with 12GB or even 10GB seemed to be far more consistent in performance. The 8GB cards on the other hand could get a bit "wonky" at times, and even restarting the game didn't always seem to help.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Man I hope driver updates are coming. Its insane that my $3000, Razer 17 Pro with what was "overpowered" back then, an RTX 2080 Super, run this game so poorly. I'm getting ~40fps on low, 720p. Embarrassing.

Has anyone benchmarked it on a steamdeck yet?

Oh... that's an interesting question. Going to take forever to download over WiFi, but I can give it a shot on the Steam Deck. I often forget I have one of those available, as I mostly use it for M.2 2230 SSD testing.

I would also look at the CPU speed while gaming, and maybe do a full driver clean and reinstall. The 2080 Super laptop GPU does "only" have 8GB of memory, but that shouldn't be a problem at medium/high settings. Might have something configured that's capping your FPS to save power.

 

[CelicaGT]

Just going to put this out there. Best way to run this game is to pick a preset that nets you 60fps solid, tweak a few custom settings to your liking and LEAVE DRS ON. This is probably one of the best implementations I've ever seen, nearly seamless visually and the framerate is rock solid. I'm rolling a 4070Ti and Full Screen, Very High preset, DLSS Dynamic @60FPS is smooth as glass and faultless. I can ditch DLSS and use DLAA and it's looks exactly the same, but with a teensie bit more GPU utilization. I'm just sticking to DLSS Dynamic as it looks exactly the same and my system runs a bit cooler. CPU utilization is pretty light as well, utilizing all eight cores of my 5800X3D which are hovering around the 2.5Ghz rate. GPU utilization is around 70% (varying of course), VRAM sits at about 7.5 GB used. Pretty decent out the door in my opinion, especially considering the quivering mess Zero Dawn was at release.

Edit: OOPS! All @1440p, native resolution.

 

[CelicaGT]

All testing was done with Reflex On, but not Boost FYI. I also retested without Reflex (other than the "latency only" option) on the 4060 Ti to check things out. Here are the results (1 = 1080p medium, 2 = 1080p very high, 3 = 1440p very high, 4 = 4K very high, 5 = 4K high, 6 = 4K high + quality upscaling, 7 = 4K high + quality upscale + framegen):

HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (1) - AVG: 133.7   99pMIN: 100.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (2) - AVG:  76.7   99pMIN:  35.9
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (3) - AVG:  62.5   99pMIN:  27.9
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (4) - AVG:  34.3   99pMIN:  20.2
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (5) - AVG:  43.4   99pMIN:  33.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex Off (6) - AVG:  52.1   99pMIN:  31.4
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (7)  - AVG:  50.2   99pMIN:  36.9

HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (1) - AVG: 129.9   99pMIN:  95.1
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (2) - AVG:  73.8   99pMIN:  36.2
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (3) - AVG:  54.1   99pMIN:  27.4
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (4) - AVG:  34.1   99pMIN:  21.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (5) - AVG:  44.0   99pMIN:  28.3
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (6) - AVG:  54.6   99pMIN:  43.4
HorizonForbiddenWest RTX 4060 Ti Reflex On (7) - AVG:  48.8   99pMIN:  36.7

If you look at the numbers, clearly the 1% lows ("99pMin") start to show some fluctuations. FrameGen requires Reflex be enabled, and I had a larger than normal delta there as well. GPUs with 12GB or even 10GB seemed to be far more consistent in performance. The 8GB cards on the other hand could get a bit "wonky" at times, and even restarting the game didn't always seem to help.

Seeing this, and thinking about my personal experience reinforces my opinion of DRS in this game. Use it. I see some slight graininess now and then on a 3050 LAPTOP with 4GB VRAM and Low/medium settings but I CAN play the game on there at a solid 36fps (1/4 refresh). Not the experience I get on my 4070Ti desktop but I can play on the couch out of town. A win is a win, and the game doesn't make my eyes bleed at those settings on a 15" screen.

 

[palladin9479]

Yep "Very High" AKA "Ultimate Crysis Mode" doesn't really do much but set lots of unnecessary things, notably ridiculous texture sizes. "High" is usually a better setting unless someone is rocking a 4090 with an 8K display.

 

[CelicaGT]

Yep "Very High" AKA "Ultimate Crysis Mode" doesn't really do much but set lots of unnecessary things, notably ridiculous texture sizes. "High" is usually a better setting unless someone is rocking a 4090 with an 8K display.

Pretty much, can't tell the difference unless you pixel peep while the change is made. Only thing I can see is the shadow map changes subtly. I've left mine on Very High for...personal..reasons ..

*Tries vainly to justify overpriced GPU purchase*

 

[TechyInAZ]

Thanks for testing the game Jarred, it was really insightful to see how each different GPU architecture performs in this PS5 title. Its wild how the RTX 3080 10GB is now running into some issues with VRAM capacity, and not just 8GB GPUs. At least it only happens at the Very High settings at 4K.

In my opinion, this is one of the best PC ports ever made. The performance consistency across all areas of the game, combined with all the PC-specific features added put to shame many other titles made exclusively for PC. The graphics are absolutely stunning for a game that doesn't have ray tracing as well.

I've been running the game with an RTX 4070, with Very High settings, 3440x1440, with Reflex off (NULL on Ultra), V-Sync on and G-Sync enabled, and I've been getting a very consistent 70-80FPS running the game at DLSS balanced with 16-18ms input latency. The DLSS implementation in this game is particularly amazing I noticed, the difference between performance, balanced and quality mode are all hard to distinguish. That said, i personally noticed that frame generation has some hitching and artifacting issues, but your mileage will vary.

I wish more games were like this. Its so nice to see a game that is of such high quality and yet performs so well.

FYI, i'm also running the game off of a 2TB Gen 4 NVMe drive, but its running in my Gen 2 x4 PCIe slot. Thankfully the 2GB/s limitation isn't noticeable, only in one intensive part of the game with a ton of cut scenes did i notice a slight hitch here or there. So for you all that are running the game on slow SSD storage, the game still runs pretty good apparently.

 

[Pierce2623]

Man I hope driver updates are coming. Its insane that my $3000, Razer 17 Pro with what was "overpowered" back then, an RTX 2080 Super, run this game so poorly. I'm getting ~40fps on low, 720p. Embarrassing.

Has anyone benchmarked it on a steamdeck yet? say about a Steam Deck as I never use mine anymore but your results look very similar to my ROG Ally.

I can’t say about the Steam Deck as I don’t use mine anymore but your results look very similar to my ROG Ally.

 

[lightofhonor]

Thanks for the work! I didn't see a 3090 in there, though. I'll extrapolate, nvm!

TechPowerUp has the 3090 in their testing. Basically the same as 4070 Super. https://www.techpowerup.com/review/horizon-forbidden-west-performance-benchmark/5.html

 

[Pierce2623]

Pretty much, can't tell the difference unless you pixel peep while the change is made. Only thing I can see is the shadow map changes subtly. I've left mine on Very High for...personal..reasons ..

*Tries vainly to justify overpriced GPU purchase*

I personally skipped “very high” this time as avoiding it lets me also stay on “quality” upscaling to play at 4k/120Hz instead of having to drop down to balanced or whatever.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Well, I wouldn't demand you to do more benchmarking. I'll just say that any buyer considering a 7600 XT should be taking a look at the 6700 XT at the same time, since it will often be better. Although the good times may be over if Newegg pricing for the 6700 XT is any indicator.

But I decided to do it anyway. LOL. I figured two more data points wouldn't hurt, so I tested the RTX 3060 12GB and RX 6700 XT. The 3060 does fine up until 4K, where it just doesn't quite have the compute to be a good experience... but DLSS gets it well above 30. RX 6700 XT meanwhile ends up a solid 10–15 percent faster than the 7600 XT — with a bigger gap at 4K very high, where lack of raw bandwidth appears to hinder the 7600 XT.

 

[CelicaGT]

I personally skipped “very high” this time as avoiding it lets me also stay on “quality” upscaling to play at 4k/120Hz instead of having to drop down to balanced or whatever.

Nice, and I will probably do so as well. I'm finally jumping on the high refresh bandwagon, replacing my aging Acer 140p monitors from 10 ish years ago with a pair of Dell G2427D's (27" 1440p IPS, 165Hz). I'd like to let this 4070Ti stretch its overpriced legs a bit more, though so far it's been pretty great (price inconsiderate).

 

[CelicaGT]

But I decided to do it anyway. LOL. I figured two more data points wouldn't hurt, so I tested the RTX 3060 12GB and RX 6700 XT. The 3060 does fine up until 4K, where it just doesn't quite have the compute to be a good experience... but DLSS gets it well above 30. RX 6700 XT meanwhile ends up a solid 10–15 percent faster than the 7600 XT — with a bigger gap at 4K very high, where lack of raw bandwidth appears to hinder the 7600 XT.

Thanks for this! I've got a buddy (non PC literate but PC gamer) who has a 3060 and is on the fence, assuming it won't be a good gaming experience. I've tried to explain to them that resolution is the great equalizer (they play at 1080p) and that the 3060 should be more than enough for medium or even high. You new data points show just this.

 

[Order 66]

I don't really understand what the fuss is about. Like, I understand that this is yet another game to use more than 8GB of VRAM, but it doesn't seem like it's horribly unoptimized at launch like certain other games. (Jedi Survivor) I mean, It's impressive that a 6800 xt can run it at nearly 4k 60 considering it's current price of ~$400.

 

[thestryker]

I've been pretty pleased with how well this game looks and runs on PC. While I don't play 4k the constant reiteration that waiting for the 12GB 3080 was the right choice is always validating.

It's interesting to me that the ports of console exclusive games seem to generally look great and run better than games which are developed multiplatform (though to be fair this one had to run on the PS4 for base game). I can't help but wonder if it's the time spent optimizing for the set hardware limits which then translates to a better PC experience.

 

[kealii123]

Oh... that's an interesting question. Going to take forever to download over WiFi, but I can give it a shot on the Steam Deck. I often forget I have one of those available, as I mostly use it for M.2 2230 SSD testing.

I would also look at the CPU speed while gaming, and maybe do a full driver clean and reinstall. The 2080 Super laptop GPU does "only" have 8GB of memory, but that shouldn't be a problem at medium/high settings. Might have something configured that's capping your FPS to save power.

From looking at a few youtube videos, people are getting the same FPS as me at 800p, mostly low settings on their steamdecks. Something fishy is definitely going on with my laptop. After work & dinner if I can get the kids down early I'll post my nvidia driver versions, CPU utilization, and screenshot of my FPS