Need For Speed PC Performance Review

Conclusion

When looking at Need for Speed’s performance on the PC platform it strange to consider that this game was almost released with a 30FPS limit, as during our whole time testing we had difficulty even getting this game to run at below 60, except when playing at a resolution of 4K.  

Even at 4K Ultra settings we were unable to get Need for Speed to benchmark at under 30FPS with our R9 Fury X and GTX 980Ti, just showing how much PC gamers would have been limited if Ghost didn’t decide to delay the PC version of the game. With this kind of performance Need for Speed is a game for users of 60+Hz monitors, which is pretty strange given that this game runs at 30FPS on both consoles. 

While the visuals in Need for Speed are pretty lackluster in general, the cars are still things of beauty, with the reflection detail and rain making the cars a simple joy to look at in motion. The shame here is that this does not extend any further than their outside appearance, as the game does not have a true cockpit view or any real detail on the inside of the vehicles.

To describe Need for Speed I would call it a pick up and play racing game, offering great in-game performance with very little need to mess with the graphical settings and a much simpler driving experience than games like Project Cars or Dirt Rally.

With the game easily running at 60+FPS on both our high end and mid end setups gamers I can say without a doubt that the game feels great to play, but if you want a more realistic driving experience you should probably look at other racing games like Asseto Corsa or Project Cars.  

The graphical setting in the game are very simple, but do a great job of allowing gamers to increase their performance or increase the games visual fidelity, though with the exception of  AA settings and AO settings these graphical settings have very little visual difference in the game. One change that would have been nice to see in the game would have been the ability to use an alternative Anti-Aliasing option to FXAA or TAA, as it would have been great to have an AA option that didn’t provide a blurring effect on the game, especially given how well the game performs. 

In terms of performance both AMD and Nvidia GPUs are able to deliver respectable game performance, but Nvidia GPUs have a clear lead when running at resolutions lower than 4K, making them the GPU maker of choice when playing Need for Speed. At 4K both our R9 Fury X and GTX 980Ti perform equally well, making both AMD and Nvidia a viable option at this resolution, though Nvidia does have a slight lead. 

In Need for Speed gaming at 60FPS is a pretty easy task if you are running a modern GPU, with us having difficulty getting any of our GPUs running at anything below 60FPS when used at a suitable resolution. Yes the game is not the prettiest in the world, but it is still a significant step above its console counterparts.

 

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