Rise of the Tomb Raider: Performance Analysis

on Jan 29th, 2016,

Test System

Test System - VGA Rev. 41
Processor:	Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.5 GHz (Skylake, 8192 KB Cache)
Motherboard:	ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Intel Z170
Memory:	G.SKILL 16 GB Trident-Z DDR4 @ 3000 MHz 15-16-16-35
Storage:	WD Caviar Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB
Power Supply:	Antec HCP-1200 1200W
Cooler:	Cryorig R1 Universal 2x 140 mm fan
Software:	Windows 10 64-bit
Drivers:	NVIDIA: 361.75 WHQL AMD: Catalyst 16.1 WHQL
Display:	Acer CB240HYKbmjdpr 24" 3840x2160

Benchmark scores in other reviews are only comparable when this exact same configuration is used.

We used the latest public Steam release version of Rise of the Tomb Raider (not a press pre-release).

Graphics Memory Usage

Using a GTX Titan X, which has 12 GB of VRAM, we tested the game's memory usage. As you can see, the game always uses 6-7 GB of VRAM. This may sound shocking at first, but the game also runs very well with cards that don't have as much memory - just look at the performance charts. It seems as though Crystal Dynamics' engine will happily use as much VRAM as it can, but is very well optimized to make do with much less without sacrificing framerates.