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Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag PC performance thread

H

hlhbk

Member
Seeing as the PC version is live I think this thread is pretty important for people on the fence about buying the PC or next gen console versions. I will post my specs and performance later today, but for those who already have and are playing the game please post your specs/game settings/performance below. Also please note anything you have done to make the game run better if there are performance issues.

Also be sure to check out:

Nvidia Geforce AC4 performance guide
 
Runs OK for me. 35-60 FPS at High/Max settings/FXAA @ 1080p. Using the latest nVidia drivers.

The game looks pretty laughable at times, so I'm chalking it up to poor optimisation.

i7 920 @ 3.8 GHZ
6GB RAM
GTX580 OC

On most games I can use VSync and still get a variable framerate, but if I enable VSync in this game, it locks to either 30 or 60, depending on the situation.

Weird.
 
hlhbk said:
Seeing as the PC version is live I think this thread is pretty important for people on the fence about buying the PC or next gen console versions. I will post my specs and performance later today, but for those who already have and are playing the game please post your specs/game settings/performance below. Also please note anything you have done to make the game run better if there are performance issues.
Click to expand...

GTX 780 @ 1254MHz/1750MHz quad-pumped
16GB DDR3 1600MHz
i5 2500k @ 4.5GHz

Everything on Ultra/Very High/Max except for Environment Quality on High -- Performance is great except for the Environment Quality setting. It looks like it renders a lot more foliage on Very High than on High, or applies physics to individual leaves, but that shit tanks my FPS.

Nvidia Black Flag Performance Article said:
Environment Quality: Adjusts medium and long range fidelity, density and visibility of foliage, rocks, and other terrain features, and adjusts the close-range density of bushes. The example below compares Very High to Very Low, and the individual images show each setting, from highest to lowest.
Click to expand...

Otherwise I get 60 locked all the time. And here's the official guide from Nvidia on performance: http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag-graphics-and-performance-guide

Truant said:
On most games I can use VSync and still get a variable framerate, but if I enable VSync in this game, it locks to either 30 or 60, depending on the situation.
Click to expand...

It feels like this has an internal frame-lock like some other titles. Try playing with Environment Quality, that seems to have the largest performance hit for me (not including the TXAA performance hit.)
 
My code arrives on Friday.

Hope this works OK. My first AC game on the PC (I've played all ACs on 360 until now).

*fingers crossed*
 
hlhbk said:
Andy a word of warning be careful, as the mods could view that as advertising your site. I have however added it to the OP. Reading through it looks like I made a mistake getting a 670 over a 680 :(
Click to expand...

I think I posted it first, he's good. It's totally useful knowledge, even if it came from him.
 
Performance is a lot worse than AC3.

i5-750
4gig RAM
5850

Just like reports were saying. Changing just about any setting leaves the game at the same FPS. Obviously turn off Vsync because if the game is under 30, it will lock at 20, and so forth.

But yea. another garbage port. Really wished I had saved my money.
 
i7 4770 @ 3.4 GHz
GTX 670, 8GB RAM

Getting around 30-40 with everything on very high. 60 if I disable AA and AO. With Vsync on, it locks to 30 unless I'm near a wall or in some place where it isn't rendering much. Then it goes all over the place.
 
So does Vertical sync help with the framerate or leaving it unlocked better?

My specs
FX 4100
Gtx 760, 8gb RAM
Framerate between 30-50, but I do suffer some dips into the low 20's. I think it's my CPU sbut I'm upgrading to Intel tomorrow, so hopefully I get better performance.
 
Yeesh, glad I waited on this one, don't think my 670 would deliver a decent experience.

Have any of the AssCreed games ran well on PC or is it just 3 & 4 that are busted?
 
hlhbk said:
Andy a word of warning be careful, as the mods could view that as advertising your site. I have however added it to the OP. Reading through it looks like I made a mistake getting a 670 over a 680 :(
Click to expand...

If it were a marketing fluff piece I wouldn't have linked it :) As for your 670, overclock it and you'll hit 680 speeds.
 
Gav47 said:
Yeesh, glad I waited on this one, don't think my 670 would deliver a decent experience.

Have any of the AssCreed games ran well on PC or is it just 3 & 4 that are busted?
Click to expand...

I don't know if they patched 3 post-launch at some point, but I played through it a couple weeks ago and it was great on my 670.
 
Do NOT use Vsync. Like I said. if the framerate goes to 29, it will lock it at 20. If you can't stand the screen tearing use D3Doverrider or something.



Also. Changing the textures from high to normal literally does NOTHING to the fps... lmao wow
 
Gav47 said:
Yeesh, glad I waited on this one, don't think my 670 would deliver a decent experience.

Have any of the AssCreed games ran well on PC or is it just 3 & 4 that are busted?
Click to expand...

I don't recall any major problems with AC2 or AC Brotherhood.
 
AndyBNV said:
If it were a marketing fluff piece I wouldn't have linked it :) As for your 670, overclock it and you'll hit 680 speeds.
Click to expand...

I don't even begin to know how to safely OC a video card, and considering how much a 670 is I am scared to overheat it. Do you have a guide on how to do that along with normal temps at load?
 
I just did a lot of testing, and basically going from very high to high for environments added from 10 to 20 fps to the game on my pc. It's now basically locked at 60 fps.
Seems like very high enables a lot of tesselation of stuff, and it kills performance.
So now on my i7 4820 @4.5Ghz with a 770oc with 4GB RAM, I get 60 fps in Havana with these settings: env high, texture high, smaa, shadow high, reflection normal, motion blur on, hbao+, god rays low, volumetric fog on
 
Truant said:
Runs OK for me. 35-60 FPS at High/Max settings/FXAA @ 1080p. Using the latest nVidia drivers.

The game looks pretty laughable at times, so I'm chalking it up to poor optimisation.

i7 920 @ 3.8 GHZ
6GB RAM
GTX580 OC

On most games I can use VSync and still get a variable framerate, but if I enable VSync in this game, it locks to either 30 or 60, depending on the situation.

Weird.
Click to expand...

Double buffered vsync? Have you tried something like D3DOverrider?
 
mileS said:
Do NOT use Vsync. Like I said. if the framerate goes to 29, it will lock it at 20. If you can't stand the screen tearing use D3Doverrider or something.



Also. Changing the textures from high to normal literally does NOTHING to the fps... lmao wow
Click to expand...

Um, why would it? Textures don't have a big impact on performance unless you're starved for VRAM. In which case your card is probably tanking on performance anyways...
 
Gav47 said:
Yeesh, glad I waited on this one, don't think my 670 would deliver a decent experience.

Have any of the AssCreed games ran well on PC or is it just 3 & 4 that are busted?
Click to expand...

1 + 2 trilogy ran fine on pc besides some engine related shadow issues.

anvil engine is just shit in general, but i'm betting this will be fine after a few patches and driver updates.
 
chickdigger802 said:
1 + 2 trilogy ran fine on pc besides some engine related shadow issues.

anvil engine is just shit in general, but i'm betting this will be fine after a few patches and driver updates.
Click to expand...

honestly I am sad to hear about the performance issues. AC4 ran so much better on PS3 than AC3 did and with all the claims from Nvidia and Ubi (along with how great of a port Rayman Legends was) I actually bought into the hype the PC version would be great. :(
 
hlhbk said:
I don't even begin to know how to safely OC a video card, and considering how much a 670 is I am scared to overheat it. Do you have a guide on how to do that along with normal temps at load?
Click to expand...

Download EVGA Precision X: http://www.evga.com/precision/

It's very easy. Start by pushing everything up slightly, play the game for 5 mins, if it's stable up it again slightly, and so on. Depending on your GPU cooler you could get a massive boost. Plenty of guides out there too. E.g. http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_680_overclock_guide,2.html
 
Win 8.1 x64
2600k@4.6
16GB RAM
680 2GB SLI

Using the 331.65 drivers this morning performance was pretty good. Everything maxed including highest TXAA level I will dip below 60 at times when looking around the first island/jungle area. Knocked it down to FXAA and get a perfect 1080p60. Played to the first future segment.

So far this game is much better optimized than AC3, I get good CPU usage across all cores this time around. Game could look a bit better, swimming in the water is laughable at best. Water itself looks good and most textures are quality. It's Assassin's Creed in a much more interesting setting. Good job, Ubi.
 
It runs pretty well with vsync turned off, although the screen tearing in the first person sections is terrible. Also, SMAA looks like butt.
 
hlhbk said:
honestly I am sad to hear about the performance issues. AC4 ran so much better on PS3 than AC3 did and with all the claims from Nvidia and Ubi (along with how great of a port Rayman Legends was) I actually bought into the hype the PC version would be great. :(
Click to expand...

with how broken every game on pc is for these cross gen titles... the launch crunch is spread everywhere lol.

But it seems like even it being a bit underwhelming, you can get ps4 like performance at the very least with a mid/high end machine.


don't see any catalyst beta drivers for this yet, hmmm
 
Damian. said:
Win 8.1 x64
2600k@4.6
16GB RAM
680 2GB SLI

Using the 331.65 drivers this morning performance was pretty good. Everything maxed including highest TXAA level I will dip below 60 at times when looking around the first island/jungle area. Knocked it down to FXAA and get a perfect 1080p60. Played to the first future segment.

So far this game is much better optimized than AC3, I get good CPU usage across all cores this time around. Game could look a bit better, swimming in the water is laughable at best. Water itself looks good and most textures are quality. It's Assassin's Creed in a much more interesting setting. Good job, Ubi.
Click to expand...

Well reading up on my current video card my EVGA GTX 680 FTW is apparently OCed to be almost as fast as a 680. I sure hope I can get near that performance.
 
Are some parts locked at 30fps? I've only just started the game, and got a GTX 770 2GB. Everything maxed, apart from no AA (I'm a monster, with poor eyes, and can't notice the difference). Sometimes it's 50~60, but the other bits it's locked at 30. Doesn't inch higher, but doesn't drop lower either.
 
yatesl said:
Are some parts locked at 30fps? I've only just started the game, and got a GTX 770 2GB. Everything maxed, apart from no AA (I'm a monster, with poor eyes, and can't notice the difference). Sometimes it's 50~60, but the other bits it's locked at 30. Doesn't inch higher, but doesn't drop lower either.
Click to expand...

turn off vsync
 
yatesl said:
Are some parts locked at 30fps? I've only just started the game, and got a GTX 770 2GB. Everything maxed, apart from no AA (I'm a monster, with poor eyes, and can't notice the difference). Sometimes it's 50~60, but the other bits it's locked at 30. Doesn't inch higher, but doesn't drop lower either.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem until I put Environment Quality down to low, at which point lots of foilage disapperas and I get a constant 40+ fps. I ended up turning off v-sync as I couldn't stand the fluctuating framerate from 60 in some areas and a flat 30 in others. I might try the D3Doverrider someone suggested a few posts up.

i5-2500K OC'd to 4.0Ghz
GTX 570
8gigs ram
 
HD6850
Quad 2.66 ghz
4 GB DDR2

900p
Everything high
Very high shadows
SMAA

Looks a bit blurry at times, but I manage 30fps and the game looks great overall.
 
Performance seems a little rough...wouldn't be so bad if there was a frame limiting option...at least it would be superior to the PS4 version in that case. Do any driver level solutions work for limiting the framerate to 30?

I have the game on PS4 and will probably keep playing it there (mostly due to the price...got it for $40 and can trade it in for $40 in December) but I wouldn't mind picking it up for PC down the road. At least it sounds like it's GPU limited here, rather than CPU limited like AC3. At least this one should run at a locked 60fps with future hardware.

Oh, and that's the first time I see an NVidia performance guide. Pretty cool! I hope they make more of those.
 
Can Crusher said:
HD6850
Quad 2.66 ghz
4 GB DDR2

900p
Everything high
Very high shadows
SMAA

Looks a bit blurry at times, but I manage 30fps and the game looks great overall.
Click to expand...

What does "Quad 2.66 ghz" mean?

There's a massive difference between at a Core 2 Quad processor and a Sandy Bridge or beyond processor even at the same clock speeds.
 
FX-8320
8GB RAM
560Ti 1GB

FPS is all over the place, even on all low it goes from 30-40, really need to upgrade my GPU.
 
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