Larian Studios recently unveiled Divinity: Original Sin 2, a role-playing game. The sequel to the successful first part once again delighted fans of classic party-based RPGs with a rich story and thoughtful turn-based combat. The game also received updated graphics. System requirements have also grown, they can not be called low. Therefore, we decided to talk more about performance in the game. Let’s compare different graphics cards from AMD and NVIDIA to find out the optimal solutions for Ultra-graphics at different resolutions.

The game is based on the Divinity Engine 2 and is designed to work under the DirectX 11 API. Divinity: Original Sin 2 demonstrates excellent elaboration of locations. High detail and rich colors create an attractive picture.

Zooming the camera does not spoil the feeling, but allows you to better see all the nuances, objects and detailed character models.

All this is flavored with beautiful combat effects from magic. Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful isometric RPG.

Let’s find out which graphics accelerators allow you to play at maximum graphics quality. Let’s compare a group of AMD and NVIDIA video cards in three resolutions.

The list of test participants is as follows:

The GeForce GTX 1050 and Radeon RX 560 are represented by the MSI Aero series models, which will be discussed in detail in a separate review shortly. The Radeon R9 270X and Radeon R9 270 replace the predecessor Radeon HD 7870. All graphics cards were brought to standard frequencies in order to match the reference solutions of their series as closely as possible. The Radeon RX Vega 64 started with the stock BIOS in normal balanced mode, which is active by default. All participants are tested in overclocking.

The test bench configuration is as follows:

• processor: Intel Core i7-6950X (3.0@4.1 GHz);
• cooler: Noctua NH-D15 (two NF-A15 PWM fans, 140 mm, 1300 rpm);
• motherboard: MSI X99S MPower (Intel X99);
• memory: G.Skill F4-3200C14Q-32GTZ (4×8 GB, DDR4-3200, CL14-14-14-35);
• system drive: Kingston SSDNow KC400 (256 GB, SATA 6Gb/s);
• secondary drive: Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 (1 TB, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200 rpm);
• power supply: Seasonic SS-750KM (750 W);
• monitor: ASUS PB278Q (2560×1440, 27″);

• operating system: Windows 10 Pro x64;
• GeForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 385.69;
• Radeon Driver: AMD Crimson Edition 17.9.3.

For testing, an identical sequence of actions was performed, which combines the use of magic and a walk through a detailed village. The procedure is shown below.

Performance measured by Fraps. It was performed from seven repetitions and above.

Ultra presets selected for 1920×1080 resolution.

All low-end representatives of NVIDIA demonstrate 40 fps and above; among AMD representatives, only the Radeon R9 270X succeeds. The new Radeon RX 560 video adapter shows the lowest results, losing more than 16% to the GeForce GTX 1050. The latter turns out to be as close as possible to the results of the GeForce GTX 960. In the middle class, the Radeon RX 580, Radeon RX 480 and GeForce GTX 780 Ti have similar results. A few percent faster than the GeForce GTX 1060. Unexpectedly, the Radeon RX Vega 64 accelerator performed poorly, which is associated with incomplete GPU loading at low resolutions. With increasing load with increasing resolution, this problem is leveled, and Vega shows a smaller gap with the competitor in the face of the GeForce GTX 1080.

Overclocking will not be superfluous for younger video cards. GeForce GTX 960 at higher frequencies easily overcomes 50 fps. The GeForce GTX 1050 and GeForce GTX 950 also approach this level, along with the Radeon R9 270X. The accelerated Radeon RX 560 delivers 40 fps.

The video memory load in the test scene is about 1.8 GB, and in general the game will have enough 2 GB for the usual Full HD format. More memory will be required at higher resolutions.

Let’s look at the capabilities of older video adapters at a resolution of 2560×1440.

The results of the Radeon RX 580, Radeon RX 480 and GeForce GTX 780 Ti are about the same, and the GeForce GTX 1060 still holds a slight advantage of a few percent. All of them provide good frame rates, approaching 60 fps when overclocked. The GeForce GTX 1080 is confidently leading. Radeon RX Vega 64 is in second place. The lag behind the NVIDIA flagship for the newcomer AMD is already smaller, but still large — from 16% in average fps to 22% in minimum.

The final test for top-end graphics cards will be testing in 4K mode with maximum graphics quality.

In the hardest mode, the difference between the flagships is reduced to 7-13%. The GeForce GTX 1080 has the best performance, overclocking increases them by 12-13%. Radeon RX Vega 64 due to overclocking compensates for the lag behind the competitor with initial frequencies. The video memory load in the test scene is still less than 3 GB.

conclusions

Divinity: Original Sin 2 has excellent modern graphics and a very beautiful picture for an isometric game. Modern budget graphics cards can provide Ultra-quality at 1920×1080, but not all of them produce comfortable frame rates. More than 40 fps will be provided by the GeForce GTX 1050, the results will be even better on the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or with the old GeForce GTX 960. The lowest performance is for the Radeon RX 560, the economic versions, whose core frequencies are below 1200 MHz, will be especially bad. The GeForce GTX 1060 is more powerful than the Radeon RX 580, but the difference between them is not critical, both rivals allow you to play even at a resolution of 2560×1440. It is worth noting the good results of the old flagship GeForce GTX 780 Ti, which is only 8-10% weaker than the GeForce GTX 1060 and no worse than the Radeon RX 480.

The GeForce GTX 1080 delivers maximum performance at high frame rates. The rival Radeon RX Vega 64 is seriously behind the leader in simple modes, but as the resolution increases, the gap is significantly reduced. As a result, both video adapters adequately cope with 4K resolution.

We’ll continue to take a close look at performance in this fall’s top games. So expect new tests and stay with us!