Call of Duty: Vanguard: A PC Performance Deep Dive
Call of Duty: Vanguard, the latest installment in the popular franchise, landed on PC this past Friday, bringing with it the roar of World War II-era combat and a fresh take on the classic Call of Duty formula. But before you dive into the trenches, it’s important to know whether your PC can handle the war effort. This article will break down the PC requirements, graphics settings, and performance benchmarks of Call of Duty: Vanguard, offering a detailed look at how the game runs on various PC configurations.
PC Requirements: Can Your Rig Handle the Frontline?
Call of Duty: Vanguard offers four different sets of PC system requirements, ranging from the bare minimum to the ultra 4K experience. This allows players with varying PC specs to join the fray, though you’ll want to ensure your rig meets at least the minimum specifications for a smooth gaming experience.
Minimum PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)
- CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300
- RAM: 8GB
- Video Memory: 2GB
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470
- DirectX: 12
- Storage: 36GB at launch (Multiplayer and Zombies only)
Recommended PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64-bit (latest update)
- CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
- RAM: 12GB
- Video Memory: 4GB
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580
- DirectX: 12
- Storage: 61GB at launch
Competitive PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64-bit (latest update)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
- RAM: 16GB
- Video Memory: 8GB
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 / Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
- DirectX: 12
- Storage: 61GB at launch
Ultra 4K PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64-bit (latest update)
- CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
- RAM: 16GB
- Video Memory: 10GB
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- DirectX: 12
- Storage: 61GB at launch
Note: It’s worth noting that these are just guidelines, and you may be able to achieve satisfactory performance with slightly different hardware configurations. Furthermore, the "competitive" specs are specifically targeted for players who want a high refresh rate experience, ensuring a smooth and responsive gameplay experience.
Graphics Settings: Fine-Tuning Your Visual Experience
Call of Duty: Vanguard provides a plethora of graphics settings that allow you to customize your visual experience, balancing performance and fidelity. The game gives you a good degree of control over your visual preferences, allowing you to tailor the game to your hardware and visual preference.
- Presets: You can choose from five different quality presets: Lowest, Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. Each preset adjusts the overall visuals, allowing for quick adjustments to your desired balance between performance and graphical quality.
- Render Resolution: This setting controls the definition of the 3D scene rendering. A lower value increases performance, while a higher value improves image quality. A higher value can significantly impact your VRAM, so choose wisely based on your hardware.
- Texture Resolution: Affects the sharpness and detail of textures in the game world. A higher setting will require more VRAM, but provides a visually richer experience.
- Texture Filter Anisotropic: Controls how textures are sampled when viewed at an angle. Higher settings improve the quality of textures, but can impact performance.
- Shader Quality: Governs the quality of lighting and other effects. Higher settings improve the visual fidelity but can demand more from your GPU.
- Tessellation: Adds additional detail to models and surfaces. This feature, while visually appealing, can strain your hardware and affect performance.
- Screen Space Shadows: Influences the detail of shadows. Higher settings improve the visual realism but can impact performance.
- Shadow Map Resolution: Controls the quality of shadows. Higher settings increase the resolution of the shadows, providing a more detailed and immersive experience.
Upscaling Technology: FidelityFX Super Resolution
Vanguard incorporates FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0, AMD’s spatial upscaling technology, which can boost frame rates at the cost of minimal image quality degradation. This option is useful for players who want to achieve higher frame rates without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.
- FidelityFX Super Resolution offers four different presets – Performance, Balanced, Quality, and Ultra Quality – each impacting the performance and sharpness of the image.
- FidelityFX CAS: Offers a sharpening enhancement on top of FidelityFX Super Resolution. This feature is recommended for a clear and sharp visual experience.
Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: Smooth Out Your Gameplay
Vanguard also supports Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, a technology designed to minimize system latency, leading to a more responsive and smoother gameplay experience. It effectively reduces input lag, ensuring that your actions translate into gameplay with minimal delay.
- Reflex Low Latency: Offers three options – Off, On, and On + Boost.
- On: Optimizes system latency, providing a smoother and more responsive gameplay feel.
- On + Boost: Further enhances performance by increasing GPU clock frequencies, utilizing more power from your GPU.
Benchmarking Performance: Putting It To The Test
Our PC testing rig consisted of an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super GPU with 6GB VRAM, a 1080p 144Hz monitor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. We used the latest drivers for both the Nvidia card and Windows.
Campaign Performance:
- Lowest Preset: Average of 115fps, peaking at 190fps. Dips to 135fps during intensive moments like explosions.
- Low Preset: Average of 96fps, peaking at 118fps, with dips to 79fps during intense action.
- Medium Preset: Average of 60fps, peaking at 108fps. A smooth experience with minimal dips.
- High Preset: Average of 54fps, peaking at 86fps, with dips to 43fps during battles.
- Ultra Preset: Average of 50fps, peaking at 68fps, with dips to 41-43fps during combat.
Multiplayer and Zombies Performance:
- High Preset: Zombies Mode averaged 64fps, with peaks at 88fps, and a minimum of 53fps. Multiplayer mode averaged 71fps, peaking at 80fps, and reaching 57fps during heavy actions.
*Note: These results are indicative and may vary depending on your specific hardware and in-game settings.
Should You Buy Call of Duty: Vanguard on PC?
Call of Duty: Vanguard offers a compelling experience for PC players, with its thrilling campaign, tactical multiplayer, and the engaging Zombies mode. Its performance will largely depend on your hardware, but with a capable PC, Vanguard delivers a visually stunning and immersive World War II experience.
- Budget considerations: If your PC meets the minimum system requirements, you can expect a playable experience, especially at lower settings. Players with higher-end PCs can indulge in the visual fidelity of the high and ultra presets.
- Crossplay support: Vanguard embraces crossplay, allowing PC players to connect and engage with friends on consoles like Xbox and PlayStation.
- Storage requirements: Vanguard is relatively light on storage, especially when considering other Call of Duty titles. It requires a reasonable amount of storage, making it a more appealing option for players with limited hard drive space.
Overall, Call of Duty: Vanguard offers a thrilling and immersive World War II experience on PC. While your gaming experience will depend on your PC’s capabilities, the game’s performance on various configurations is generally solid. With its compelling gameplay, robust graphics options, and crossplay support, Vanguard deserves a place in the arsenal of any Call of Duty fan.