Shadow of the Tomb Raider PC Performance Review

PC system requirements

When compared to Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn’t appear to demand much more powerful hardware from PC gamers, recommending systems with similar GPU configurations to its predecessor while asking for more modern CPUs and a larger amount of both DRAM and system storage.  

Judging from recent statements on the matter, the game is designed to play at around 1080p 60FPS at high settings when playing the game on “Recommended” hardware, which should offer players a clear indication of how well their systems will perform. 

MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
Processor: i3-3220 INTEL or AMD Equivalent
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 660/GTX 1050 or AMD Radeon HD 7770
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 40 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K, 3.40 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 3.20 GHz
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 480, 8GB
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 40 GB available space

 

GPU Drivers

For Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we will be using optimised drivers from both AMD and Nvidia. For AMD, we will be using the company’s Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.9.1 drivers. On the Nvidia side, we will be using the company’s Geforce 399.24 “Game Ready” driver. 

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 uses Intel’s X99 platform, containing an Intel 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.