Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 PC Performance Review
Introduction – Space Marine 2 has arrived on PC
It’s finally here! Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has arrived!
Over a decade has passed since the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, and even now, it remains one of the best games based in the 40K universe. Now, Space Marine 2 has launched on PC and consoles, complete with PVP, a full campaign, and co-op missions. Unlike the original, Space Marine 2 comes to us from Saber Interactive, with the game using the company’s Swarm Engine.
Technologically, Space Marine 2 shares its DNA with World War Z, a co-op zombie shooter that saw players fight against huge hordes of foes. This tech is a match made in heaven for Space Marine 2’s Tyranid invasion, which can see seemingly countless enemies on screen.
Today, we will examine the PC version of Space Marine 2. This game will be updated over time with new content and features, so some of the information in this article will eventually become outdated. For example, future game updates will add DLSS 3 and FSR 3 Frame Generation and ultrawide monitor support.
Review Contents
- CPU Performance
- Memory Performance
- Preset Scaling – Low to Ultra
- DLSS Upscaling
- FSR Upscaling
- AMD Fluid Motion Frames
- 1080p
- 1440p
- 4K
- Conclusion
GPU Drivers
When testing Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 on PC, we used the newest Nvidia and AMD GPU drivers available at the time of the game’s launch. These drivers were AMD’s Fluid Motion Frames 2 Preview Driver for Space Marine 2 and Nvidia’s GeForce 560.94 driver for Windows 10/11.
Test Setup – OC3D’s New Test Rig
Last year, OC3D started conducting new game testing and GPU reviews on a new test system. Thanks to Corsair, Intel, and ASUS, we have created a new testing system that will allow us to properly test new graphics cards and the newest PC releases. This system features Intel’s i9-13900K processor and a ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming motherboard, with all other components coming from Corsair.
Our new test system is powered, cooled, and operated using Corsair components. The OS we will be using is Windows 11, and the case we will be using is Corsair’s airflow-optimised iCUE 5000T.
System Specs
Below are the full specifications of our new GPU/Games testing system and links to all the components we used.
OC3D GPU/Games Test System Specifications (Affiliate Links below)
CPU – Intel i9-13900K
Cooling – Corsair iCUE H150i Elite CAPELLIX XT
Motherboard – ASUS ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WiFi
Memory – Corsair Vengeance 2x16GB (32GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory
Storage – Corsair MP600 PRO NH 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
Case – Corsair iCUE 5000T RGB
Power Supply – Corsair HX1500i
OS – Windows 11
Nvidia GPUs Tested
When testing new games, we like to use a large number of graphics cards to see how well titles run on both old and new PC hardware configurations. To do this, we use a large selection of AMD and Nvidia graphics cards, including recently released graphics cards from Nvidia’s RTX 40 series to older GeForce graphics cards like Nvidia’s RTX 2060.
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Gaming
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4070 WindForce
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Eagle
- Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Eagle
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER Founders Edition
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
AMD GPUs Tested
On the Radeon side of the GPU spectrum, we are currently able to test the following selection of GPUs, which include both RX 7000 and RX 6000 series GPUs.
- Radeon RX 7900 XT
- Radeon RX 6800 XT
- Radeon RX 6800
- Radeon RX 6700 XT
- ASUS ROG Radeon RX 6600 XT Strix
- PowerColor RX 6600 Fighter
