How We Tested Final Fantasy XV
Test Configuration
| OS | |
| Operating System | Windows 10 x64 Pro 1709 (16299.125) |
| Graphics Drivers | The game was tested using the latest public drivers available at the time we ran our benchmarks:Nvidia GeForce Game Ready 391.01AMD Radeon Adrenalin Edition 18.3.1 |
| Game | The most up-to-date version of the game was tested at the time we ran our benchmarks:Final Fantasy XV 1.0.0.0 |
We recently updated our test configuration to better reflect mid-range gaming in 2018. This time around, we picked an AMD Ryzen-based platform, honing in specifically on the 1600X as a great option for enthusiasts looking to save some money.
Steam's survey of hardware and software configurations offers us a view of the most prevalent components and settings (the data comes from February 2018):
- 8GB of RAM are found in 45% of gaming PCs. Our system has 16GB, similar to almost 40% of surveyed gamers.
- Full HD resolution is used by 76% of gamers, while 8% are still running at 1366x768. QHD is used by only 3.4% of gamers, and 4K remains anecdotal. With the game developer's recommendations in mind, we will test exclusively at 1920x1080.
- Quad-core CPUs are installed in more than two-thirds of surveyed systems (72% to be exact). In anticipation of the coming months, we're using a mid-range six-core processor.
Graphics Card Selection
We chose 10 graphics cards for this test, representing mainly entry-level and mainstream options. Here are the competing cards:
Test Procedure
All performance data is collected using the PresentMon tool and our own custom front-end.
In order to accurately represent performance, each graphics card is warmed up to a stable temperature before measurements are collected. Most newer GPUs employ mechanisms to optimize clock rates based on variables like power and temperature. So, tests run during the warm-up period would convey better performance than you'd see in the real world. We therefore execute the benchmark sequence once to warm up the card prior to gathering official data. For graphics settings, we tested the game at Full HD resolution, with two different graphics presets (Medium and High).
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