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Far Cry Primal Notebook Benchmarks

Stone Age with modern technology. While the fourth iteration was placed in an imaginary region somewhere close to the Himalayas, “Far Cry Primal” jumps back more than 10000 years. We checked the hardware requirements for surviving in the wilderness.

For the original German article, see here.

Graphics

As with the predecessor, “Far Cry Primal” is based on Ubisoft Montreal's own Dunia 2 engine. Therefore, the graphics quality is very similar to the previous title. Not only does “Far Cry Primal”  convinces with sharp textures, nice illumination and rich vegetation but the details of the figures and animals are also pretty good. However, there is still room for improvements in terms of effects. Besides the water presentation, the flames are rather second-rate.

However overall, the technology leaves a good impression. “Far Cry Primal” certainly does not have to hide behind other first-person shooters or action blockbusters like “Call of Duty Black Ops 3”, “Rise of the Tomb Raider” or “Just Cause 3”. The title cannot quite match the graphics quality of “Star Wars Battlefront” (Frostbite 3 engine).

Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal

The graphics menu is a positive aspect. Changes to the settings are accepted without a restart and “Far Cry Primal” also offers several presets that adjust the overall quality with just one click. If you want to have control over all settings, you will find around 10 individual options in the sub-menu "Quality Settings". Unfortunate: Unlike many competitors, the title only supports the anti-aliasing modes FXAA and SMAA. High-quality versions like MSAA and TXAA are missing completely and have to be enforced via drivers.

Speaking of drivers: We did not have any problems with Nvidia devices with the brand-new ForceWare 362.00. Currently, many players are having problems with launch issues, errors and crashes.

Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal

We only had a problem with the activation limit of the gaming platform Uplay (is required for the installation), which – similar to Origin – allows only a certain number of new systems per day. This means that we have to add benchmarks for AMD devices over the next few days.

Otherwise, the technology leaves a sophisticated impression and we did not encounter any serious graphics errors or bugs during the tests. Compared to “Far Cry 4”, we even noticed some small improvements. For instance, you can now skip the annoying intro videos. Subjectively, the loading times are slightly shorter. Another surprise is the moderate file size. While other titles from 2015 and 2016 occupy more than 30 GB, “Far Cry Primal”  needs only 16 GB.

Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal

The title does not seem to have very high requirements in terms of processor. As long as the CPU is somewhat up to date, the limiting factor will usually be the graphics card. The processor only had a certain influence with minimum settings on our Intel test systems. As far as we can say, graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia are pretty much on par.

Video Settings
Video Settings
Quality Settings
Quality Settings
Advanced Setttings
Advanced Setttings

Benchmark

We really have to praise the integrated benchmark that runs for almost one minute and shows a camera flight through a heavily vegetated valley. Based on our experience, the frame rate of the benchmark represents actual gameplay very well, so the results are very meaningful. You can enjoy “Far Cry” with anything above 35 fps if occasional stutters are not an issue for you.

Note: The VRAM indicator at the end of the benchmark (see video) should not be trusted. For starters, the value varies from one benchmark run to another, and there are also strange outliers in both directions on some systems. We still checked all presets in FHD with a GeForce GTX 960M (2 GB VRAM). Here are the average results of two runs:

  • Low @70% VRAM load
  • Medium @80% VRAM load
  • High @82% VRAM load
  • Very High @84% VRAM load
  • Ultra @94% VRAM load

Results

As with most first-person shooters, the hardware requirements are quite high. The minimum requirements are already pretty steep. You need at least a mid-range GPU to play “Far Cry Primal” with a notebook. Only a GeForce GT 750M or 940M, manages somewhat smooth game play at 1280x720 pixels and Low preset. Users with older or less powerful entry-level GPUs or mainstream chips like the GeForce GT 740M or HD Graphics 4600 will probably regret the purchase.

Low
Low
Medium
Medium
High
High
Very High
Very High
Ultra
Ultra
Low
Low
Medium
Medium
High
High
Very High
Very High
Ultra
Ultra

You will need a serious gaming notebook if you want to play the title at 1920x1080 pixels. Low details require at least a GeForce GTX 860M and medium settings at least a GTX 960M. You should use a GeForce GTX 870M or better for high graphics settings, while the preset Ultra requires a modern high-end chip (GTX 970M or better).

Currently, 3840x2160 is not smoothly playable on any mobile chip with good graphics settings. Even desktop chips like the GeForce GTX 980 are not powerful enough for a combination of 4K and High. We will have to wait and see if the performance can be improved via updates. All our benchmarks were performed with the official retail version, including day 1 patch (1.1.0).

Far Cry Primal
    3840x2160 High Preset AA:SM     1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:SM     1920x1080 High Preset AA:SM     1920x1080 Medium Preset AA:SM     1920x1080 Low Preset     1280x720 Low Preset
AMD Radeon R9 Fury, 4790K
XFX Radeon R9 Fury Pro
37 (33min) fps ∼37%
68 (52min) fps ∼46%
91 (69min) fps ∼59%
102 (74min) fps ∼59%
115 (84min) fps ∼68%
116 (84min) fps ∼61%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 6700K
Desktop PC
29 (27min) fps ∼29%
63 (49min) fps ∼42%
88 (75min) fps ∼57%
99 (85min) fps ∼57%
118 (101min) fps ∼69%
135 (102min) fps ∼71%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
20 (18min) fps ∼20%
46 (36min) fps ∼31%
62 (53min) fps ∼40%
69 (59min) fps ∼40%
82 (70min) fps ∼48%
98 (75min) fps ∼51%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
16 (15min) fps ∼16%
36 (28min) fps ∼24%
50 (44min) fps ∼32%
56 (49min) fps ∼32%
66 (59min) fps ∼39%
86 (66min) fps ∼45%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
14 (13min) fps ∼14%
30 (23min) fps ∼20%
41 (35min) fps ∼27%
46 (38min) fps ∼27%
54 (45min) fps ∼32%
85 (65min) fps ∼45%
AMD Radeon R7 370, 4790K
MSI Gaming R7 370 2GB
13 (9min) fps ∼13%
33 (23min) fps ∼22%
47 (39min) fps ∼31%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, 6700K
Desktop PC
12 (11min) fps ∼12%
32 (23min) fps ∼21%
46 (40min) fps ∼30%
51 (46min) fps ∼29%
59 (54min) fps ∼35%
110 (93min) fps ∼58%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M, 6700HQ
MSI GE72 965M Ti
10 (9min) fps ∼10%
29 (22min) fps ∼19%
41 (35min) fps ∼27%
46 (40min) fps ∼27%
53 (48min) fps ∼31%
78 (59min) fps ∼41%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
11 (10min) fps ∼11%
25 (19min) fps ∼17%
34 (29min) fps ∼22%
39 (33min) fps ∼23%
45 (38min) fps ∼26%
76 (58min) fps ∼40%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, 4720HQ
Schenker XMG A505
9 (8min) fps ∼9%
22 (17min) fps ∼15%
32 (27min) fps ∼21%
36 (32min) fps ∼21%
42 (38min) fps ∼25%
77 (65min) fps ∼40%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
8 (7min) fps ∼8%
18 (14min) fps ∼12%
26 (22min) fps ∼17%
29 (25min) fps ∼17%
34 (29min) fps ∼20%
59 (46min) fps ∼31%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ
MSI PE60 2QD
19 (14min) fps ∼13%
26 (23min) fps ∼17%
29 (26min) fps ∼17%
61 (51min) fps ∼32%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, 4340M
Schenker M504
6 (5min) fps ∼6%
15 (12min) fps ∼10%
22 (20min) fps ∼14%
25 (23min) fps ∼14%
29 (27min) fps ∼17%
56 (49min) fps ∼29%
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ
MSI CX72 6QD
12 fps ∼8%
14 fps ∼8%
30 (27min) fps ∼16%
AMD Radeon R9 M280X, FX-7600P
Asus N551ZU-CN007H
19 (16min) fps ∼13%
26 (19min) fps ∼17%
29 (20min) fps ∼17%
40 (30min) fps ∼21%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 4702MQ
Schenker M503
9 (7min) fps ∼6%
12 (11min) fps ∼8%
13 (12min) fps ∼8%
16 (14min) fps ∼9%
29 (23min) fps ∼15%
NVIDIA GeForce 940M, 5700HQ
MSI GP62 2QD
12 (11min) fps ∼8%
13 (13min) fps ∼8%
15 (15min) fps ∼9%
30 (27min) fps ∼16%
NVIDIA GeForce 920M, 2970M
MSI CX61 2QC 2970M MS-16GD
21 (18min) fps ∼11%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M, 4200M
HP Envy 15-j011sg
9 (8min) fps ∼6%
10 (9min) fps ∼6%
11 (10min) fps ∼6%
21 (19min) fps ∼11%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M, 4200M
MSI CX61-i572M
6 fps ∼4%
6 fps ∼3%
15 fps ∼8%
Intel HD Graphics 4600, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
7 (6min) fps ∼4%
8 (7min) fps ∼5%
15 (12min) fps ∼8%

Overview

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >Far Cry Primal
 Far Cry Primal (2016)
low
1280x720
Low Preset
med.
1920x1080
Medium Preset
SMAA
high
1920x1080
High Preset
SMAA
ultra
1920x1080
Ultra Preset
SMAA
4K
3840x2160
High Preset
SMAA
NVIDIA Titan RTX
116
104
95
88
88
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop)
139n2
125.5n2
115.5n2
107n2
90n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super (Desktop)
119
106
97
90
74
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop)
123n2
111.5n2
101n2
93.5n2
69.5n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)
157
136
129
121
64
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal
102
91
83
78
62
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super (Desktop)
125n2
112.5n2
103n2
96n2
64.5n2
AMD Radeon VII
125
111
101
94
69
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (Desktop)
120
108
99
89
59
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop)
125n3
113n3
103n3
95n3
59n3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop)
154
141
125
106.5n2
49.5n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop)
118n2
107n2
98n2
90.5n2
55.5n2
AMD Radeon RX 5700 (Desktop)
120
107
98
91
52
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop)
119
107
97
91
50
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
115n7
104n7
94n7
87n7
49n7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile
157
138
125n3
107n3
49n3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (Desktop)
98
41
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
124
111
101
94
40
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
156n3
131n3
116n3
94n3
41n3
PosModel< PrevNext >Far Cry Primal
low med. high ultra 4K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q
92
87
41
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile
118n3
103n3
88.5n8
82.5n8
37n5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (Desktop)
124
113
102
88
41
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super (Desktop)
129
115
106
86
40
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
154
126
112
83
40
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q
92
76
34
AMD Radeon R9 Fury
116
102
91
68
37
AMD Radeon R9 Nano
143
112
98
71
36
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
135
99
88
63
29
AMD Radeon RX 590 (Desktop)
122
106
96
68
34
AMD Radeon RX 580 (Desktop)
110.5n2
91n2
82n2
61n2
30.5n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
153
107
94
68
32
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
127.5n2
94.5n2
84.5n2
69.5n2
28n2
AMD Radeon RX 570 (Desktop)
124
96
85
59
29
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
133
95
85
59
28
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
116n5
87n5
76n7
59n7
25n4
AMD Radeon RX 580 (Laptop)
85
75
69
55
25
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (Desktop)
120
80
70
51
22
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
112
100
80
54.5n2
27
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
81
71
53
22
PosModel< PrevNext >Far Cry Primal
low med. high ultra 4K
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
54
26
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M
98n3
71n3
63n3
46n3
20.5n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
115
60
53
37
16
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
53
40
17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
135
61
54
41
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
90n4
56n4
49.5n4
36n4
16
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
103
67
59
42
17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
125
57
51
38
15
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
94.5n2
48n2
42n2
30.5n2
AMD Radeon R7 370
47
33
13
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
85
46
41
30
14
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
110
51
46
32
12
AMD Radeon RX 460 (Desktop)
106
48
43
29
13
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M
93.5n4
45.5n4
40.5n4
28n4
11n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M
76
39
34
25
11
AMD Radeon HD 8970M
101
50
44
35
AMD Radeon Pro 460
74
35
32
21
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
72n4
33.5n4
29.5n4
21.5n4
9n2
AMD Radeon Pro 555
76
31
28
AMD Radeon Pro 455
70
32
30
20
PosModel< PrevNext >Far Cry Primal
low med. high ultra 4K
NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 (Desktop)
67.5n2
30.5n2
27n2
19.5n2
7n2
NVIDIA GeForce MX150
61n2
27.5n2
24n2
18
AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100
30
11
10
7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
59
29
26
18
8
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
53.5n4
24.5n4
22n4
16.5n4
AMD Radeon Pro 450
29
26
17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
56
25
22
15
6
AMD Radeon R9 M280X
40
29
26
19
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M
29
13
12
9
NVIDIA GeForce MX130
39
18
16
12
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
32n5
14n5
13n4
10n2
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000)
32
16
14
NVIDIA GeForce 940M
29n2
13
12
AMD Radeon R7 M445
27
12
10
AMD Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop)
31
14
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M
21
10
9
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650
32
15
NVIDIA GeForce 930M
27
Intel Iris Graphics 550
26.5n2
13n2
10
AMD Radeon 530
21
11
PosModel< PrevNext >Far Cry Primal
low med. high ultra 4K
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
28
13
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX
24
11
9
Intel Iris Graphics 540
22n3
11n3
8
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge)
15
9
8
NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M
21
10
AMD Radeon R7 (Kaveri)
10
5
AMD Radeon R7 M460
22
10
8
7
AMD Radeon R7 M360
20n2
9n2
7.5n2
7
NVIDIA GeForce 920M
21
AMD Radeon R7 M440
20.6
9.9
8.9
AMD Radeon 520
21
9
8
Intel UHD Graphics 630
24.5n2
Intel HD Graphics 630
19
Intel HD Graphics 530
16
AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge)
13
8
Intel UHD Graphics 620
19
Intel HD Graphics 620
18n2
9n2
8
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
13.5n2
7
Intel HD Graphics 5600
16
8
AMD Radeon HD 8650G
17
PosModel< PrevNext >Far Cry Primal
low med. high ultra 4K
NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
15
AMD Radeon R5 M330
19
9
8
5
AMD Radeon R5 M430
19
9
AMD Radeon R5 M255
22
10
8
NVIDIA GeForce 910M
16
8
7
5
Intel HD Graphics 520
15n2
7n2
6
4
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M
15
6
6
Intel HD Graphics 4600
13n2
6n2
Intel HD Graphics 615
12
5
Intel HD Graphics 515
11
5
Intel HD Graphics 610
11
Intel HD Graphics 4400
12
Intel HD Graphics 505
3
Intel HD Graphics 5300
8
3
AMD Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L)
10
5
Intel HD Graphics (Haswell)
9
(-) * Smaller values are better. / n123 Number of benchmarks for this median value / * Approximate position

 

Legend
5Stutters – This game is very likely to stutter and have poor frame rates. Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, average frame rates are expected to fall below 25fps
May Stutter – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, stutters and poor frame rates are expected.
30Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 25fps
40Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 35fps
60Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 58fps
May Run Fluently – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, fluent frame rates are expected.
?Uncertain – This graphics card experienced unexpected performance issues during testing for this game. A slower card may be able to achieve better and more consistent frame rates than this particular GPU running the same benchmark scene.
Uncertain – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game and no reliable interpolation can be made based on the performances of surrounding cards of the same class or family.
The value in the fields displays the average frame rate of all values in the database. Move your cursor over the value to see individual results.

Test Systems

Desktop PCs

Custom Nvidia Custom AMD

Mainboard

Asus Z170-A Asus Z97-Deluxe

Processor

Intel Core i7-6700K (Skylake) Intel Core i7-4790K (Haswell)

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 (4 GB GDDR5), PNY GeForce GTX 950 (2 GB GDDR5) XFX Radeon R9 Fury (4 GB HBM), Sapphire Radeon R9 290X (4 GB GDDR5), Sapphire Radeon R9 280X (3 GB GDDR5), MSI Radeon R7 370 (2 GB GDDR5)

Memory

2x 8 GB DDR4-2133 2x 4 GB DDR3-1600

Storage 1

Crucial MX100 SSD (256 GB) Intel SSD 530 (240 GB)

Storage 2

Crucial M500 SSD (480 GB) OCZ Trion 100 SSD (480 GB)

Storage 3

OCZ Trion 100 SSD (480 GB) -

Storage 4

OCZ Trion 150 SSD (960 GB) -

Operating System

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Schenker Notebooks

Schenker W504 Schenker XMG A505 Schenker M504 Schenker M503 Schenker S413

Mainboard

Intel HM87 Intel HM87 Intel HM86 Intel HM86 Intel HM87

Processor

Intel Core i7-4700MQ (Haswell) Intel Core i7-4720HQ (Haswell) Intel Core i5-4340M (Haswell) Intel Core i7-4702MQ (Haswell) Intel Core i7-4750HQ (Haswell)

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M (8 GB GDDR5), GTX 970M (6 GB GDDR5), GTX 880M (8 GB GDDR5), GTX 870M (6 GB GDDR5), GTX 860M (4 GB GDDR5) Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M (2 GB GDDR5) Nvidia GeForce GTX 850M (2 GB DDR3) Nvidia GeForce GT 750M (2 GB DDR3) Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200

Memory

2x 4 GB DDR3-1600 2x 4 GB DDR3-1600 2x 4 GB DDR3-1600 2x 4 GB DDR3-1600 2x 8 GB DDR3-1600

Storage 1

Samsung SSD 840 EVO (250 GB) Micron M600 SSD (128 GB) Intel SSD 520 (240 GB) Intel SSD 520 (240 GB) Crucial M4 SSD (256 GB)

Storage 2

Seagate Laptop Thin SSHD (500 GB) HGST Travelstar 7K1000 HDD (1000 GB) - - -

Operating System

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Windows 10 Home 64-bit Windows 7 Pro 64-bit Windows 7 Pro 64-bit Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

MSI Notebooks

MSI GE72 MSI PE60 MSI GP62 MSI CX61 MSI CX61

Mainboard

Intel HM170 Intel HM170 Intel HM86 Intel HM86 Intel HM86

Processor

Intel Core i7-6700HQ (Skylake) Intel Core i7-6700HQ (Skylake) Intel Core i7-5700HQ (Broadwell) Intel Celeron 2970M (Haswell) Intel Core i5-4200M (Haswell)

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M 2016 (2 GB GDDR5) Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M (2 GB GDDR5) Nvidia GeForce 940M (2 GB DDR3) Nvidia GeForce 920M (2 GB DDR3) Nvidia GeForce GT 720M (2 GB DDR3)

Memory

1x 8 GB DDR4-2133 2x 4 GB DDR4-2133 1x 8 GB DDR3-1600 1x 8 GB DDR3-1600 1x 8 GB DDR3-1600

Storage 1

Toshiba THNSNJ128G8NU SSD (128 GB) Toshiba MQ01ABF050 HDD (500 GB) WDC Scorpio Blue HDD (1000 GB)

Storage 2

WDC WD10JPVX HDD (1.000 GB) / OCZ Trion 100 SSD (480 GB) - - - -

Operating System

Windows 10 Home 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

other Notebooks

HP Envy 15 Asus N551ZU

Mainboard

Intel HM87 AMD K15.1

Processor

Intel Core i5-4200M (Haswell) AMD FX-7600P (Kaveri)

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce GT 740M (2 GB DDR3) AMD Radeon R9 M280X (4 GB GDDR5)

Memory

1x 8 GB DDR3-1600 2x 4 GB DDR3-1600

Storage 1

Samsung SSD 830 (256 GB) HGST Travelstar 5K1000 (1000 GB)

Storage 2

- -

Operating System

Windows 10 Home 64-bit Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit

4K Monitors

Nvidia driver AMD driver Intel driver

2x Asus PB287Q

ForceWare 362.00 Crimson 16.2.1 15.40.10.64.4300

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Florian Glaser, 2016-03- 7 (Update: 2016-03- 7)