The King Engine has struck again. The Capcom graphics engine, used in a slightly improved version in Resident Evil 3 (here our review), not only offers a high level of detail, but in its PC version it adapts very well to different hardware.
We tried it on three AMD video cards and the results show how the engine works great also on latest generation entry level GPUs and at resolutions higher than Full HD. A remarkable result, which allows even those who do not have monstrous hardware to play without giving up on the graphic front.
Test system
To test Resident Evil 3 we used three AMD video cards, one Radeon RX 5500 XT in the 8 GB RAM version, one RX 5600 XT with 6 GB and one 8 GB RX 5700 XT, all based on Navi architecture at 7 nm . There RX 5500 XT it can be found online at a price between 230 and 250 euros depending on the offers and includes 22 Compute Units, for a total of 1408 Stream Processors clocked at 1845 MHz.
We then have the RX 5600 XT, a GPU costing around 310 euros online, which offers 36 Compute Units and 2304 Stream Processors at a frequency between 1720 and 1740 MHz. Not all models manage to achieve this clock, in our case we used the Sapphire variant . Finally there is the RX 5700 XT, with 40 Compute Unit and 2560 Stream Processor, clocked at around 1755 MHz, which in practice easily reaches 1800 MHz during use.
The test PC instead consists of an AMD Ryzen 3900X processor, with 16 GB of RAM at 3400 MHz, M.2 Corsair MP600 SSD on PCIex 4.0 slot and a ROG PG27UQ monitor.
Settings and benchmarks
The minimum requirements of Resident Evil 3 are quite basic, but given the results of the benchmarks, we are not surprised at all. To play you need an Intel i5-4460 or AMD FX-6300 processor, NVIDIA GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x video card with 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of system RAM. The recommended ones include an Intel i7-3770 or AMD FX-9590 processor and an NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD RX 480 video card, while the 8 GB of system RAM remains unchanged.
We don't know how RE3 runs with minimal configuration but the graphic settings menu is quite full of options, just enough for adapt Resident Evil 3 to the most disparate hardware. You can leave the graphic settings to play but it is better to choose them manually: you can adjust the quality of the textures, shadows, reflections, volumetric lights and particle effects, as well as choose the type of Anti-Aliasing and adjust the occlusion environmental.
For our tests we used the maximum allowed settings on all three video cards, choosing TAA as the Anti-Aliasing system, which has less impact on performance.
Before proceeding with the analysis, we specify that Resident Evil 3 does not have an internal benchmark, so we decided to carry out the benchmarks in an open area rather rich in detail, with fire, enemies and lighting effects present in good quantity. The data collected therefore do not refer to the general gaming experience, but to the specific area where we did the tests.
As can be seen from the graph, the results show excellent performance with each of the GPUs under consideration. What amazes is above all the behavior of the small AMD house, the RX 5500 XT, which even manages to approach the threshold of 30 fps in 4K, a figure that must however be interpreted. Is it possible to play in 4K with the RX 5500 XT? Actually not entirely, because during our test we detected drops in the frame rate in some areas, especially in the presence of many lighting effects.
The fact remains that AMD's entry level card manages the 1440p very well and is doing great in 1080p. Positive feedback with the 5600 XT, with all the resolutions, although we have noticed sporadic and sudden drops in the 4K frame rate with DirectX 11 active, which do not occur using DirectX 12. Finally, the 5700 XT, which is still proven once a reliable card on the front of the frame rate, even in 4K.
The performances of these cards show a Re Engine in excellent shape therefore, moreover its ability to adapt to different hardware was already clear at the time of Resident Evil 2, good for PC players who can thus use the Capcom title even without a Latest generation GPU.
