Quick test: Battlefield V in DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 with ten graphics cards

After traveling between a myriad of different battlefields and time periods, DICE returns to World War II with the latest edition of the Battlefield game series. Battlefield V takes over from Battlefield 1, the predecessor that took place during the First World War, and spins on, among other things, “War Stories” where the player gets to experience the war from several different angles and events.

However, the focus is again on the multiplayer mode, in which large open maps with vehicle battles are interspersed with tighter ditons with more infantry focus. The popular “Conquest” mode returns from its predecessors and is joined by the all-new “Grand Operations” and “Tides of War”. In addition, the more or less mandatory battle royale mode “Firestorm” will be released in the spring of 2019.

Under the hood of the game, the graphics engine Frostbite 3 can once again be seen, which has made itself known for being able to draw really realistic environments and destructible buildings. The engine supports the graphics interfaces DirectX 11 and DirectX 12, and will via a future update get one of the first implementations of DirectX Raytracing which enables ray tracing in real time for, among other things, more realistic reflections.

For this article, we focus on graphics performance in the game’s multiplayer mode with the graphical interfaces DirectX 11 and DirectX 12. The goal is to figure out which interface this time rolls best with modern graphics hardware.

The platform for the tests is SweClocker’s usual test system for graphics card tests based on a Core i7-8700K that is overclocked to 4.7 GHz. The drivers used are Geforce Drivers 416.81 for Nvidia and Radeon Software 18.11.1 for AMD – both with pronounced optimizations for Battlefield V.

The measurements are made in the multiplayer mode “Conquest” with 64 players on the map Fjell 652. The frame rate is measured using the OCAT software three times in sequences of three minutes per graphics card, and then an average of these runs is used. As multiplayer modes in games are extremely dynamic, it is difficult to get completely consistent results in performance measurements, which should be taken into account when reviewing the numbers.

Due to the time required for the test method, we limit ourselves to the resolution of 2,560 × 1,440 pixels with the preset detail mode “Ultra”. The game client Origin also has a limit on how many graphics cards can be rotated per day before the game is blocked, which means that we have to set a hard limit on ten different models for this test (five cards per account).

First out is the DirectX 11 interface, where all Nvidia models end up at an unusually low level compared to the red team’s contribution. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 lands just behind the Geforce RTX 2080 FE with a few single frames. Despite somewhat dubious figures, almost all of them are above 60 FPS despite the highest level of detail in high resolution.

With the “Future Frame Rendering” setting enabled, there will be completely different numbers for the DirectX 11 interface, where these are much more similar to previous Battlefield titles with the Frostbite 3 engine. The Nvidia cards get a performance boost of over 40 percent compared to our previous results, while AMD’s Vega cards step up with approximately 25 percent higher performance.

With the DirectX 12 interface, the numbers look significantly better for all Nvidia cards, where all take a step up with over 30 percent higher frame rate. This means that the Radeon RX Vega 64 and RX Vega 56 are further back in the list, behind all the cards from Nvidia. All indications are that something is amiss with DirectX 11 at the moment, something that was also seen in Shadow of the Tomb Raider when the editors tested the game title.

With the new tests from DirectX 11 with the “Future Frame Rendering” function activated, the DirectX 12 tests no longer look as impressive. All cards lose performance in the test set against the DX11 and in further subjective tests together with a screen with a high refresh rate and G-Sync, the DX12 does not feel as fluent as its older interface brother.

We also tested activating “Future Frame Rendering” for the game’s DirectX 12 mode and got rather negative results. Slightly lower frame rate was measured at the same time as our subjective assessment of the experience deteriorated with more notches and sudden dips in frame rate.

Summarized thoughts

Battlefield returns to World War II, the conflict that was the starting shot for the studio DICE success. For those who are used to the game series, the title will feel familiar as the nearest predecessor Battlefield 1 is based on the same engine, and contains similar weapons despite a world war before.

At this point, the Frostbite 3 engine is very polished and can deliver both highly detailed textures together with a high frame rate. In terms of performance, it is clear that the DirectX 11 mode is somewhat broken, where the Nvidia cards are punished extra severely. When the slider is switched to the newer DirectX 12, the green layer can stretch the legs, resulting in a comfortable lead.

The game is set to DirectX 11 in its basic version, despite the somewhat dubious performance. Since none of the cards lose any power with the more modern interface, the user can just as easily switch to DirectX 12, especially if there is a graphics card from Nvidia in the computer. This could also be a problem with the driver rather than the game engine, and it remains to be seen if there will be improvements in the future.

After continuing the tests at home and discovering what the “Future Frame Rendering” setting actually affects, it is clear that DirectX 11 mode is the strongest graphics interface in Battlefield V, which is contrary to what we first got out of our measurements with the setting turned off.

“Future Frame Rendering” is a function that has been introduced as an actual menu item in Battlefield V, and has previously been set via, for example, the game’s console in previous titles. With the function activated, which is the basic mode when installing Battlefield V, a number of frames are rendered on the processor to make them ready to be taken care of by the graphics card when it is finished with its current frame.

While this pre-rendering can significantly increase the frame rate, the function can also result in higher input lag, where movements with the mouse are not perceived as equally responsive. However, the problem arises mainly at lower frame rates, and at higher ones it becomes difficult to notice any difference if you are not extremely sensitive.

The feature makes no positive difference to DirectX 12 mode, as it already minimizes that interface overhead between the processor and the graphics card. Here, however, we noticed rather than deterioration with “Future Frame Rendering” activated, with, among other things, more notches and flow as a result.

For more reading on “Future Frame Rendering”, we recommend this thread on Reddit. We can definitely recommend experimenting with this setting to see which mode suits you best. It is worth noting, however, that the function is switched on during installation for both Battlefield V and Battlefield 1.

► Read the review of Battlefield V on FZ.se.

Regarding the DirectX 12 mode, we did not discover any oddities with the interface during our first tests together with the usual screens in the test lab. In further tests at home with a G-Sync screen, however, significantly worse flow was experienced with DirectX 12, which made us go back to DirectX 11 for a better experience.

The content of DirectX 11 compared to DirectX 12 is that the first mode feels more well-polished. At the same time, we want to recommend testing both modes and see how the flow on your own machine at home reacts.

How performance will be affected ray tracing is difficult to say as the game has not currently received support for the technology. Recently, however, DICE went out and announced that ray tracing will be launched soon, which makes Battlefield V first out with the rendering technology.

Meanwhile, the game works great in the editorial tests with the slider set to DirectX 11 and provides plenty of performance to fight on all sides of the war. As usual, grand battles are also offered both on land and in the air. The game will be launched on a broad front on November 20, but can already be played via the subscription service EA Access and Origin Access.

Have you started playing Battlefield V? How do you experience the game so far? Share in the comments!