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Digital Foundry - Horizon Forbidden West PC vs PS5: Enhanced Features, Performance Tests + Image Quality Boosts!

GametimeUK

Member
PS5 fans have an incredible version of Horizon. Especially at the PS5 price point. That console puts in absolute work.

And we have the upcoming PC port that is gonna allow PC users to have the best version of the game and future proofing it for generations to come. The upgrades will provide a lot to high resolution display users or people who target high framerates.

Personally I'm itching to try this game on my Ultrawide.

Everyone wins here.

Also if you're a PC guy who has a beastly gaming rig I have no idea why you're so salty about the PS5 users here. I don't mean disrespect, but why bother getting upset when you've got the best version? You've won by default there's no need for debate lol.
 

JimboJones

Member
Right here.
booty GIF
 

GametimeUK

Member
Can vouch. Played GoW 2018 on PS5 then recently went through it again at 4k120fps on my PC. Holy shit was it an unexpected leap.
Madness. I played it on PS4 Pro, seen it on PS5 and have jist recently played through on my 3200 x 1440 Ultrawide myself.

It looks and performs so much better.

(Edit) I also hooked it up to my 4k TV. Crisp AF.
 
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TrebleShot

Member
I’m not sure what there is to brag about if you’ve waited two years to play this game at slightly higher res .

It’s old news and was on ps plus not long ago at no additional cost.

That said I have it ordered via cd keys and interesting in seeing if it has a tangible difference.
 
I hope he makes a direct comparison between ps5 at equivalent settings to 2070 in that video then

I'd stand corrected happily so. but i dont think he will still have guts to do it. game clearly tanks GPU bound performance heavily with PS5 equivalent textures at PS5 output resolutions.
Would be cool for him to do 2 tests with the 2070 one with the 3600 and one with the 7800x3d
 
Might be difficult to do. I thought this game didn't use DRS, but it does. Plus it uses checkerboard rendering on PS5 and I don't know if it's available on PC. If it isn't, it makes a direct comparison effectively impossible.
Is there any sign of drs in feidleity mode? I thought it was only performance mode
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Is there any sign of drs in feidleity mode? I thought it was only performance mode
Apparently, yes but even if there isn’t, it’s a bit useless since it’s locked to 30fps on PS5. Not like you know how high it can go.

Maybe the 40fps mode could be useful.
 
dlss is superior to regular upscaling used on the console version. it is just facts

once PSSR lands on PS5 pro, pro users will act the same way on base model users. don't act like you wouldn't
This is true dlss is a godsend and normally I condemn comparing dlss for quality modes but it makes sense to compare in performance modes tbh I would be a little surprised if pssr is equal to dlss since it will be first iteration
 
Doesn't look much different to the PS5 version. Not sure I'll be picking up this port for my PC since I already own and beta it on PS5. Will wait much later for a heavy price drop.


It doesn't feel worth it for someone like me who already owns the game even though I'm curious to see how it runs on my 4090.
 
Apparently, yes but even if there isn’t, it’s a bit useless since it’s locked to 30fps on PS5. Not like you know how high it can go.

Maybe the 40fps mode could be useful.
I don’t think we should use the 40fps mode if the checkerboard claim is true unless you can do checkerboarding on pc dlss would likely look better but have a higher cost
 
because this game uses heavy sharpening on PS5. they probably didn't port sharpening pass to the PC version
I think the sharpening thing was something they implemented in the updated that fixed the performance modes quality compare how quality mode looked at launch to now
 

shamoomoo

Member
dlss is superior to regular upscaling used on the console version. it is just facts

once PSSR lands on PS5 pro, pro users will act the same way on base model users. don't act like you wouldn't
At a higher resolution,the 2070 at 1440p with DLSS looked comparable as Alex used a few people to see if they notice a difference.
 

shamoomoo

Member
Jeez, those threads always turn into shits.

Both sides suck. PS5 players get too defensive and PC gang act condescending as always.

Can't we do better and just be happy and play fucking games?
This a tech preview threat,the whole point is how this game runs on a variety of PC hardware.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
At a higher resolution,the 2070 at 1440p with DLSS looked comparable as Alex used a few people to see if they notice a difference.
Not really. He said 1800p with DLSS Performance looks far superior. That's a 900p internal res compared to 1600x1800 on PS5.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Damn PS5 showing its worth.

That and a combination of what appears to be so-so pc ports, sure don't seem to be super optimized for pc making that gap seem smaller than it is. I mean a 3070 has quite a bit more horsepower than a ps5, console optimization only goes so far. Does make one pause a little though.
 

ChorizoPicozo

Gold Member
That and a combination of what appears to be so-so pc ports, sure don't seem to be super optimized for pc making that gap seem smaller than it is. I mean a 3070 has quite a bit more horsepower than a ps5, console optimization only goes so far. Does make one pause a little though.
well, thats the issue with PC.
 

yamaci17

Member
That and a combination of what appears to be so-so pc ports, sure don't seem to be super optimized for pc making that gap seem smaller than it is. I mean a 3070 has quite a bit more horsepower than a ps5, console optimization only goes so far. Does make one pause a little though.
the way nixxes handles their ports, you often lose %40-50 of that horsepower due to vram overflows if you use PS5 equivalent/maximum quality textures at high resolutions (ps5 quality mode equivalent resolutions)

you can see in the example below where 3070 loses effectively %50 of its performance with very high textures. it drops to 37-40 fps range with very high textures and goes back to where it should, around 56-60 FPS with high textures. that is a massive %50 performance loss for a texture preset. the "real" 3070 performance is the one with high textures. the performance with very high textures is not representative of what 3070 is capable of, at least from a rasterization perspective.



it is just how Nixxes ports operate. losing %50 of performance will wreck all 8 GB GPUs compared to PS5 as a result.

nixxes is capable of bringing 4070 down to 4060ti level of performance due to VRAM tank:

(4:32)

this is mostly on NVIDIA as they keep underdelivering on VRAM. some games handle it elegantly, like alan wake 2 and avatar, by streaming textures without affecting GPU performance. nixxes however chooses this way for some reason. I'm sure it is what is causing the weird performance scaling on 8 GB cards, exactly like it happened with spiderman and ratchet
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
this is mostly on NVIDIA as they keep underdelivering on VRAM. some games handle it elegantly, like alan wake 2 and avatar, by streaming textures without affecting GPU performance. nixxes however chooses this way for some reason. I'm sure it is what is causing the weird performance scaling on 8 GB cards, exactly like it happened with spiderman and ratchet
This is entirely on NVIDIA. The 1070 came out 8 years ago with 8GB of VRAM. How the fuck are we 8 years later and mid-range chips like the 4060 Ti still ship with 8GB? Hell, even the 4070 only has 50% more RAM than the 1070.

GTX 570: 1.28GB
GTX 670: 2GB
GTX 770: 4GB
GTX 970: 4GB
GTX 1070: 8GB
GTX 2070: 8GB
GTX 3070: 8GB

Fucking 3 generations with 8GB. We should be at the very least at 16GB and the 3070 should have had 12GB.
 

Kenpachii

Member
So basically this game runs on a potato specially with framegen its hard to not get 60 fps on any cpu.

And with DLSS the imagine quality will be a big step forwards.
 
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ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
True, but in a battle: Great vs Far Superior

I'm going to pick the latter of the two.

I have no idea why some folks prefer the lower fidelity version, but whatever makes them happy. The only time I play on lower fidelity is when i play on portable or multiplayer.
 

Mithos

Gold Member
So based on this do I need to upgrade hardware?

Ryzen 3800x, RTX 2060 Super

My requirement is not high according to me.
1080p (native), 60fps (1% lows), High/Ultra.
 

yamaci17

Member
So based on this do I need to upgrade hardware?

Ryzen 3800x, RTX 2060 Super

My requirement is not high according to me.
1080p (native), 60fps (1% lows), High/Ultra.
you might need slight dynamic resolution to hit 60 fps (900p or sorts) considering DLSS is better than this game's native solution, you will have good fidelity regardless
 
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So based on this do I need to upgrade hardware?

Ryzen 3800x, RTX 2060 Super

My requirement is not high according to me.
1080p (native), 60fps (1% lows), High/Ultra.
2060 is past its expiration date, so I suggest you start there.... Replace it for a 3070 (Ti if you can find one for a nice price) and it will net you a nice big fps boost. :)
That and newer DLSS support which also gives you extra performance.

I recently said goodbye to my 2070 Super and welcomed a 4070 Super as its successor.

Didn't do shit about my memory and processor. And my processor is around 10% faster then yours. Always start with the GPU.
 
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Mithos

Gold Member
2060 is past its expiration date, so I suggest you start there.... Replace it for a 3070 Super or Ti and it will net you a nice big fps boost. :)
That and newer DLSS support which also gives you extra performance.

I recently said goodbye to my 2070 Super and welcomed a 4070 Super as its successor.

Didn't do shit about my memory and processor. And my processor is around 10% faster then yours. Always start with the GPU.
Sadly everything is priced outside my budget (us$480-550).
Second hand 3070/Ti around here is like us$400-500 (and I'm not paying this for second hand stuff), and a new 4070 is like us$700+
 
Sadly everything is priced outside my budget (us$480-550).
Second hand 3070/Ti around here is like us$400-500 (and I'm not paying this for second hand stuff), and a new 4070 is like us$700+
Hmmm thats shit... Dont know if you tuned your GPU with the Nvidia control panel? Tinkering with stuff there could give you a few fps extra.
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
Sold my PS5 copy. The game will unlock in 1 hour or so. Looking forward to compare the two versions and especially Burning Shores cuz that thing is way worse in terms of image quality than the base game based on screens that I made. Looks like this port is way better than the first one at launch, that's good to hear, but I still need to check how goot in runs on my rig at native 4K:messenger_relieved:
 

Xyphie

Member
So based on this do I need to upgrade hardware?

Ryzen 3800x, RTX 2060 Super

My requirement is not high according to me.
1080p (native), 60fps (1% lows), High/Ultra.

2070 Super and 2080 which he uses in the video are like only 15-20% better than your card, if you lower a couple of settings or use DLSS Balanced instead of Quality you should be home free for 60 fps.
 
Summary incoming.



  • On a NVMe drive and a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, the game load a little faster on PC (5.95s) vs PS5 (6.83s)
  • The game does use DirectStorage but not GPU decompression due to issues with driver scheduling and it being too restrictive
  • Shader pre-compilation takes a minute on a Ryzen 5 3600 and 28.13 seconds on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D
  • The game sitll pre-compiles shaders in the background when in-game on extra CPU threads. He has not seen stutters but does not rule them out
  • Minor graphical upgrades compared PS5. AF on PS5 is usually 4x but variable, on PC, you can increase it up to 16x
  • Better LOD and distant terrains on PC at Very High settings compared to PS5
  • 1800p with DLSS Performance (900p internal) looks better than PS5's Performance Mode
  • 1440p with DLAA also looks better than PS5's Performance Mode
  • 1440p with DLSS and DSR set to 60fps on a 2070 looks comparable to PS5's Performance Mode
  • An RTX 3070 at 1440p High Settings isn't quite enough to reach 60fps, dipping to the 50s, but with DRS, it stays at 60fps
  • An RTX 3070 at 1800p DLSS DRS 60 and High Settings is good enough for a 60fps experience
  • An RTX 2070S at 1440p DLSS DRS 60 and High Settings is good enough for a 60fps experience but has drops into the 50s. Recommends a 2080/S for a locked 60fps
  • 8GB GPUs are usually fine at 1440p but exhibit some issues at 1800p after or during cutscenes or after fast traveling, fps can drop hard and the game page files
  • Ryzen 5 3600 is good enough for 60fps most of the time but when it gets hectic, it can drop to the upper 50s
  • Minor issues with the opening sequence playback where the video is a bit stuttery because it does not target 30fps like on PS5
  • No word on DLSS Frame Generation and no FSR Frame Generation option at the moment
  • Optimized settings video coming in later

Besides changing the aspect ratio is there an actual fov option for this console port?
 

Ozriel

M$FT
I remember when Cerny was mocked for the "useless faster SSD" after the Road to PS5 video...

I guess he's laughing now....

When did said mockery occur?

As far as I remember, that was certainly one aspect of the PS5 design that was very well received, and - if anything - expectations were even higher than current reality we’ve seen.
 
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