Far Cry 5 PC Performance Review

PC system requirements

Far Cry 5 offers a massive leap in graphical fidelity over its predecessor, abandoning the hardware limitations of last-generation consoles to take advantage of the hardware contained on today’s consoles and PCs.  

Ubisoft has released a range of detailed hardware requirements for Far Cry 5, detailing resolution and framerate targets for the hardware in question, giving gamers a lot more data than they are typically used to. This level of detail is great for those of us who want a good idea of how this game will run before their purchase, especially if they know how their current hardware compares to what is listed below. 

MINIMUM CONFIGURATION:

OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5-2400 @ 3.1 GHz or AMD FX-6300 @ 3.5 GHz or equivalent
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD R9 270 (2GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
SYSTEM RAM: 8GB
Resolution: 720p
Video Preset: Low

RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION (60 FPS):

OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-4770 @ 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 @ 3.2 GHz or equivalent
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290X (4GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
SYSTEM RAM: 8GB
Resolution: 1080p
Video Preset: High

4K 30 FPS CONFIGURATION:

OS: Windows 10 (64-bit version only)
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X @ 3.6 GHz or equivalent
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD RX Vega 56 (8GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
SYSTEM RAM: 16GB
Resolution: 2160p
Video Preset: High

4K 60 FPS CONFIGURATION:

OS: Windows 10 (64-bit version only)
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.0 GHz or AMD Ryzen 7 1700X @ 3.4 GHz or equivalent
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 SLI or AMD RX Vega 56 CFX (8GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better)
SYSTEM RAM: 16GB
Resolution: 2160p
Video Preset: High/Ultra

  

Testing Methodology

OC3D is a website that is dedicated PC hardware, so you better believe that we test every game on a wide range of hardware configurations. This commitment to variety means that we will be using both Intel and AMD based testbeds as well as a range of GPU offerings from both Nvidia and Radeon. 

Our primary test system is based on Intel’s X99 platform, using a Core i7 6850K at a fixed clock speed of 4GHz. This testbed will use 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 memory and will be powered and cooled by an HX1200i PSU and an H110i AIO liquid cooler respectively, with everything sitting inside a Corsair 460X chassis. In this system, we are using an ASUS Strix X99 motherboard. 

 

Game Test Rig
Intel i7 6850K @4.0 GHz
ASUS X99 Strix
Corsair Vengeance LP 4x8GB DDR4 3200MHz
Corsair HX1200i
Corsair H110i GT
Windows 10 x64 “Creators Update”

 

Secondary Ryzen Test System

Aside from our standard X99 test system we also have a testbed based on AMD’s Ryzen 7 1700X CPU, which will sit at a clock speed of 4GHz be housed in an ASUS Crosshair VI Hero motherboard. This system will use Corsair’s 3200MHz Vengeance White LED memory and is contained inside another Corsair 460X chassis. 

This extra system will allow us to see if any games offer a performance advantage to AMD’s Ryzen or Intel’s Core series processors.  

 

AMD Ryzen Game Test Rig
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X @ 4.0GHz
ASUS X370 Crosshair VI Hero
Corsair Vengeance LED 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHz
Corsair 460X System Chassis
Corsair RMi650
Corsair H115i
Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition
Windows 10 x64 “Creators Update”

 

 

GPU Selection

No gaming test suite would be complete without a selection of GPUs, which in this case covers Nvidia’s GTX 10-series and 9-series and AMD’s RX Vega, RX 400 and R9 300 series graphics cards. We have replaced our RX 480 GPU with its RX 580 equivalent, giving us a fairer comparison point between AMD/Nvidia’s modern graphics card lineups. 

Geforce GTX 10-series

– Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition
– Nvidia GTX 1070 Founders Edition
– ASUS GTX 1060 Strix Gaming OC

Geforce GTX 900-series 

– ASUS GTX 960 Strix 

       

AMD RX Vega Series

– AMD RX Vega 56

AMD RX 500 Series

– AMD RX 580 Strix OC

AMD GCN GPUs

– ASUS R9 380 Strix

Keyboard & Mouse

To control this setup, we will be using Corsair Strafe RGB keyboard with Cherry MX Silent keys alongside a Corsair M65 RGB mouse, matching the general theme of this RGB illuminated system.  

Cherry MX Silent Keys are ideal for gaming, coming with similar characteristics as Cherry MX Red keys, but with quieter operation. This comparative silence will help keep players immersed in their games, without the distracting clicks that are present in other Cherry key switches.