Battlefield 3 Performance Analysis

Written by Harry Butler

November 10, 2011 | 07:29

Tags: #bf3

Companies: #bit-tech

Battlefield 3 Performance - 1,920 x 1,080

This is where it gets tough, as 1,920 x 1,080 is not only a demanding resolution, but it's also the most popular among PC gamers. In fact, according to the Steam Hardware Survey, over 20 per cent of users are gaming on 1080p screens.

Battlefield 3

1,920 x 1,080, DirectX 11, Ultra Detail Preset

  • GeForce GTX 590 3GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB
  • GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB
  • GeForce GTX 570 1.3GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 460 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5770 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
    • 82
    • 66
    • 78
    • 61
    • 56
    • 46
    • 49
    • 40
    • 44
    • 34
    • 41
    • 33
    • 39
    • 31
    • 39
    • 31
    • 38
    • 31
    • 37
    • 31
    • 34
    • 26
    • 31
    • 26
    • 31
    • 24
    • 27
    • 21
    • 21
    • 17
    • 24
    • 17
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Frames per Second
  • Average
  • Minimum

It looks as though DICE's claims weren't wrong; with the Ultra preset and its 4x anti-aliasing, even the fastest single-GPU cards are unable to produce a minimum frame rate above 46fps, let alone 60fps. The AMD cards seem to be particularly badly affected by the application of 4x AA, with the HD 6970 2GB managing a minimum frame rate of just 34fps; only 1fps more than the much cheaper GTX 560 Ti 1GB.

Further down the order even potent cards from last year such as the GTX 460 1GB struggle, just surpassing the minimum playable frame rate of 25fps.

Battlefield 3

1,920 x 1,080, DirectX 11, High Detail Preset

  • AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB
  • GeForce GTX 590 3GB
  • GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB
  • GeForce GTX 570 1.3GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 460 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5770 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
    • 124
    • 104
    • 100
    • 78
    • 69
    • 56
    • 68
    • 54
    • 61
    • 50
    • 60
    • 48
    • 60
    • 48
    • 57
    • 47
    • 54
    • 44
    • 49
    • 41
    • 51
    • 39
    • 49
    • 38
    • 41
    • 34
    • 41
    • 32
    • 32
    • 26
    • 32
    • 26
0
25
50
75
100
125
Frames per Second
  • Average
  • Minimum

Switching from the Ultra preset to High drops the 4x AA, and while the image quality is reduced, the performance is much improved, especially for AMD cards. Every card manages a minimum frame rate of above 25fps, with every card from the GTX 560 Ti 1GB managing a passable minimum frame rate of 44fps.

Battlefield 3

1,920 x 1,080, DirectX 11, Medium Detail Preset

  • AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB
  • GeForce GTX 590 3GB
  • GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB
  • GeForce GTX 570 1.3GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 460 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5770 1GB
    • 149
    • 127
    • 124
    • 101
    • 87
    • 72
    • 80
    • 66
    • 78
    • 65
    • 72
    • 59
    • 72
    • 59
    • 71
    • 59
    • 68
    • 55
    • 62
    • 51
    • 63
    • 49
    • 59
    • 49
    • 52
    • 42
    • 51
    • 40
    • 41
    • 33
    • 40
    • 32
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
Frames per Second
  • Average
  • Minimum

The drop to the Medium preset disables much more of BF3's graphical finery, including motion blur and most of the anisotropic filtering. It also switches from HBAO to SSAO, and drops the anti-aliasing post processing to medium, as well as dropping all the detail settings.

The result is noticeably reduced image quality, particularly around edges, but also substantially improved performance. Even at 1080P, we see cards from the GTX 560 Ti 1GB upwards deliver minimum frame rates of at least 55fps, and even low end cards are able to top 30fps.

Battlefield 3

1,920 x 1,080, DirectX 11, Low Detail Preset

  • AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB
  • GeForce GTX 590 3GB
  • GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB
  • GeForce GTX 570 1.3GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6950 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 560 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 460 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
  • GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
  • AMD Radeon HD 5770 1GB
    • 166
    • 135
    • 138
    • 111
    • 99
    • 82
    • 90
    • 73
    • 88
    • 73
    • 82
    • 68
    • 82
    • 68
    • 80
    • 64
    • 78
    • 64
    • 73
    • 63
    • 70
    • 55
    • 67
    • 54
    • 60
    • 49
    • 57
    • 45
    • 48
    • 39
    • 45
    • 36
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
Frames per Second
  • Average
  • Minimum

At the lowest settings, all anti-aliasing, ambient-occlusion and motion blur is disabled, in addition to the low detail presets and a drop to just 2x anisotropic filtering. However, most cards now manage a minimum frame rate of at least 60fps, even at 1080P.
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