Results: 720p And 1080p
Low Details, 1280x720 (720p)
As with many modern titles, Dying Light puts a tremendous amount of stress on PC hardware. Even at 720p, mainstream HTPC-oriented cards buckle under the pressure, dropping to unplayable frame rates. Only the GeForce GTX 750 Ti reaches an impressive 60 FPS minimum, although the Radeon R7 250X and 260X are quite playable, never dropping below 30 FPS.
The Radeon R7 250X is a good starting point for Dying Light, though you're stuck at 720p and low detail settings if you want to maintain at least 30 FPS. Frame time variance is higher than we'd like to see from most of these cards, except for Nvidia's GeForce GTX 750 Ti and 650. This can be a symptom of micro-stuttering. The only board that outright fails is the Radeon HD 6450.
Low Details, 1920x1080 (1080p)
The difference isn't particularly profound, since the frame rates were already low for most of these cards. AMD's Radeon R7 250X maintains a 30 FPS minimum, but just barely. The GeForce GTX 750 Ti remains at the top of the pack, though the Radeon R7 260X closes the gap by a fair amount. Frame time variance is really only a problem for the GeForce GTX 650, though its frame rates are too low to be playable anyway.
Medium Details, 1920x1080 (1080p)
Increasing the detail preset to Medium evens out the playing field a bit; all of the cards we tested at this setting come close to each other. The GeForce GTX 750 Ti holds its own against the GTX 660, while AMD's Radeon R9 270X does not perform as well. Frame time variance continues to be acceptable, although the GeForce cards show slightly better results.
Very High Details, 1920x1080 (1080p)
With the highest detail settings enabled, mid-range cards are forced to their knees. The Radeon R9 285 drops under the 30 FPS mark, and the GeForce GTX 960 pulls past it. What's really interesting, though, is that the Radeon R9 290X also struggles to maintain a minimum frame rate over 30 FPS, battling on the level of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 960. It is apparent that AMD's hardware isn't well-optimized for this game yet. We can only hope that this is one driver revision away from being resolved.