In Game Performance
So the main idea with this article was to take a more detailed look at gaming performance, in our CPU review of Ryzen there were some concerns about lower in game performance when compared to the 7700K. I only tested with three games and our testbench was running an RX480, while a very good card, it wasn’t really on par with what a lot of people might be getting with high-end CPUs. So below I have tested our entire video card test suite along with a stack of other requested games including a few of the most popular eSports titles. The idea is to both get a better look at the performance between both CPUs and to also see if the performance differences make any difference. It’s going to be a lot to get through though so hang on.
For my first test, I tested in DOOM. Most of our tests are using built in benchmarks but DOOM is on of the few games that doesn’t have one and doing an average run using Fraps wasn’t possible as well so I tested in the opening room facing the altar as there are a lot of effects going on while still being repeatable (after killing the monsters in the room). I tested at all three resolutions with the detail on ultra and running on Vulkan. The end result of all of that testing was a little anti-climatic with both CPUs ending up with the exact same FPS across the board.
|
DOOM |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
200 |
200 |
|
1440p |
171 |
171 |
|
4k |
84 |
84 |
Next, I went right for Ashes of the Singularity, a benchmark that brings just about every video card to its knees and that also showed huge gaps between the CPUs in my initial testing. The developer was also one of a few quoted talking about future patches to increase Ryzen performance. I tested using the built-in benchmark at the Crazy setting for detail in DX12 mode. I used both the GPU and CPU-focused benchmarks on taking a look at the differences as well. So what was the end result? Well, they obviously haven’t patched for that extra performance because at both 1080p and 1440p the 7700K had a huge performance gap and even at 4k there was 5 FPS. The Ryzen CPU did still manage to get 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p so it isn’t going to break the game for anyone running a 1080Ti, but it does seem crazy to leave that extra performance on the table.
|
Ashes of the Singularity |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
GPU Focused Benchmark |
||
|
1080p |
||
|
Average Framerate |
83.6 |
64.0 |
|
Average CPU Framerate |
101.5 |
64.0 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average Framerate |
69.7 |
60.4 |
|
Average CPU Framerate |
108.0 |
62.3 |
|
4K |
||
|
Average Framerate |
57.4 |
53.2 |
|
Average CPU Framerate |
109.2 |
60.9 |
|
CPU Focused Benchmark |
||
|
1080p |
||
|
Average Framerate |
40.6 |
31.6 |
|
Average CPU Framerate |
40.6 |
31.6 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average Framerate |
40.3 |
31.7 |
|
Average CPU Framerate |
40.3 |
31.6 |
|
4K |
||
|
Average Framerate |
40.4 |
31.1 |
|
Average CPU Framerate |
41.0 |
31.1 |
For Sniper Elite 3 I tested using the in game benchmark using the Ultra quality setting. This is a perfect example of a very CPU limited game when running the 1080 Ti at 1080p and the 7700K did what it has done in the other tests as well and performed well across all three resolutions. At 4k the two CPUs had similar results with the R7 1700 even having a higher peak FPS.
|
Sniper Elite 3 |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
||
|
Average FPS |
237.3 |
204.8 |
|
Maximum FPS |
751.3 |
522.4 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average FPS |
184.3 |
173.5 |
|
Maximum FPS |
599.3 |
491.7 |
|
4k |
||
|
Average FPS |
118.2 |
117.3 |
|
Maximum FPS |
195.1 |
216.9 |
For Sniper Elite 4, my most recently beat game I didn’t have an in game benchmark to use so I tested in the first map San Celini Island to make it easy for anyone to get to. Testing from the spawn location. There will be more demanding areas in the game without a doubt, but to keep it easy to replicate this is the area I went with. I tested at Ultra detail again. The end result had the R7 1700 with its first FPS lead at 1080p and the other two results matched.
|
Sniper Elite 4 |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
148 |
152 |
|
1440p |
120 |
120 |
|
4k |
73 |
75 |
For Middle-Earth, I tested using the built-in benchmark at Ultra for the detail. I couldn’t test at all three of our test resolutions, though. It would only let me scale down to 1440p or test at 4k, a result I always have. None of the other optional resolutions were close. As for the results they were closer with just about 10 FPS on both results with the 7700K taking both resolutions.
|
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average FPS |
145.08 |
135.80 |
|
Maximum FPS |
316.04 |
221.31 |
|
Minimum FPS |
59.12 |
69.72 |
|
4k |
||
|
Average FPS |
84.02 |
76.10 |
|
Maximum FPS |
118.58 |
124.03 |
|
Minimum FPS |
60.10 |
52.82 |
For Total War: ROME II I set the detail to Ultra and then tested at all three resolutions using the built-in benchmark on the forest test. At 1080p and 1440p the 7700K ran away with it with a 40 FPS lead in both and 10 FPS at 4k.
|
Total War: ROME II |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
155.1 |
109.4 |
|
1440p |
142.1 |
101.3 |
|
4k |
92.2 |
82.6 |
For Tomb Raider, Laura Craft helped me test both of the CPUs with the built in benchmark. I had the settings set to Very High and I turned v-sync off as well. What I found was the game was playable at all three resolutions but in all three the 7700K did perform better, especially at 1080p where it had an extra 30 FPS. Not that you need to worry about FPS gaps when you are running at 200+ FPS.
|
Tomb Raider |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
||
|
Average FPS |
231.3 |
200.7 |
|
Maximum FPS |
300 |
284.0 |
|
Minimum FPS |
194 |
126.0 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average FPS |
173.2 |
131.6 |
|
Maximum FPS |
194 |
172.0 |
|
Minimum FPS |
146 |
106.0 |
|
4k |
||
|
Average FPS |
94.3 |
77.0 |
|
Maximum FPS |
116 |
96.0 |
|
Minimum FPS |
88 |
66.0 |
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was tested at all three resolutions using the in game benchmark. I set the detail to Ultra and let it run. In all three resolutions, the two CPUs came in surprisingly close to each other.
|
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
||
|
Average FPS |
91.7 |
89.8 |
|
Maximum FPS |
70.4 |
66.4 |
|
Minimum FPS |
117.1 |
118.8 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average FPS |
65.8 |
63.5 |
|
Maximum FPS |
50.9 |
47.4 |
|
Minimum FPS |
82.5 |
79.6 |
|
4k |
||
|
Average FPS |
37.3 |
35.6 |
|
Maximum FPS |
26.4 |
24.4 |
|
Minimum FPS |
46.7 |
45.9 |
The new Hitman was also tested using the built-in benchmark tool. I tested in DX12 with detail at Ultra. The two CPUs were close at 4k where the GTX 1080 Ti was the limitation but as the FPS dropped the gap between the two opened up with it being as wide as 50 FPS at 1080p. The FPS lows were surprisingly low in all of the tests but even there the 7700K had an advantage.
|
HITMAN |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
||
|
Average FPS |
149.03 |
97.21 |
|
Maximum FPS |
351.79 |
255.26 |
|
Minimum FPS |
4.19 |
2.56 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average FPS |
128.80 |
98.79 |
|
Maximum FPS |
376.84 |
232.43 |
|
Minimum FPS |
11.64 |
7.37 |
|
4k |
||
|
Average FPS |
77.11 |
74.64 |
|
Maximum FPS |
222.03 |
151.19 |
|
Minimum FPS |
9.98 |
6.76 |
I tested Thief on the Very High-quality setting with v-sync turned off to prevent any FPS caps. I tested using the built-in benchmark at all three resolutions. What I found was more of the same really. At 1080p and 1440p the 7700K stomped the 1700 and at 4k where the GPU was the limitation, the gap was much closer but still in the 7700K’s favor.
|
Thief |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
||
|
Average FPS |
141.2 |
105.2 |
|
Maximum FPS |
198.0 |
198.0 |
|
Minimum FPS |
97.6 |
66.0 |
|
1440p |
||
|
Average FPS |
120.1 |
97.7 |
|
Maximum FPS |
164.2 |
129.4 |
|
Minimum FPS |
99.0 |
67.6 |
|
4k |
||
|
Average FPS |
70.3 |
65.0 |
|
Maximum FPS |
101.0 |
89.6 |
|
Minimum FPS |
59.4 |
53.7 |
Getting into the popular eSports titles that I don’t normally get to test because of how often they update I took a look at DOTA 2. For this test, without a repeatable benchmark, I tested by going to mid and getting average numbers when CSing early in the game. This does mean that you can expect lower numbers when getting into fights, but repeatable numbers were the most important goal. Setting your video settings to match is a little tougher. You have to set the detail to best looking then go to advanced to turn everything from auto to high. You have to force your resolution not let it run on auto as well. The result was impressive numbers across all three resolutions with the 7700K unsurprisingly being faster in all three.
|
DOTA2 |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
193 |
168 |
|
1440p |
181 |
161 |
|
4k |
179 |
147 |
CS:GO is another eSports title that runs great on everything and again there isn’t a built-in benchmark. So I tested with the following setup. Everything set to the highest detail, not auto. I tested offline with a bot match on the Cache Map for repeatability. These were the averages on a 30 second run through the map. The 7700K had a lead at all three resolutions, but unless you are planning on running on a 240hz monitor both results were more than you should need for FPS.
|
CS:GO |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
263 |
230 |
|
1440p |
242 |
210 |
|
4k |
208 |
184 |
In Rocket League I was surprised to find out there is no support for 4k on the PC. For this test, I set the texture quality to high and the detail setting to high as well and tested at the two resolutions it would let me test at. I turned the max FPS all the way up. I did a bot soccer match in DFH Stadium and backed into the corner of the map and ran a 30 second average with the whole map in full view. The R7 1700 came out a little ahead at 1440p and both were on par at 1080p.
|
Rocket League |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
209 |
206 |
|
1440p |
166 |
176 |
For League of Legends, I had a little trouble at first getting consistent results. I tested a very high detail with no v-sync and no FPS cap on Summoners Rift. I went mid using Caitlin each time and my original test was to push the lane into the tower to get at least some effects in the test. I had trouble replicating this after the first way so I actually had to start a new game for each resolution to get consistent results. What I found was a huge FPS gap between the CPUs though like I have mentioned before with FPS this high it’s not really noticeable in actual gameplay. But 89 FPS at 1080p, 88 at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4k are all huge. Some people aren’t even getting that FPS at all and the R7 1700 is leaving that much on the table.
|
League of Legends |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
295 |
206 |
|
1440p |
274 |
186 |
|
4k |
249 |
176 |
For the last eSports title, I took a look at Overwatch. Once again there wasn’t a built-in benchmark and once again you have to be extra careful on the video settings. In fact, I ran through my results the first time and was baffled that they were all the same. What I found is that you have to set render scale to 100% or it will auto change your resolution for you. With that set, I turned the frame cap to 300 and set the quality to Ultra. I used the Hanamura map using an Arcade custom game with bots and did a 30-second average when running through the map. The results ended up being about the same with 4k even hitting an FPS that would be good with a high refresh rate monitor.
|
Overwatch |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
236 |
223 |
|
1440p |
210 |
186 |
|
4k |
121 |
120 |
Back into normal titles, I tested in The Division using the built-in benchmark. I ran all three resolutions at the Ultra setting and was careful to turn off the v-sync option that likes to switch to auto when on ultra. Here once again the results were actually really close between the two CPUs. Intel had a 8 FPS lead at 1080p and 3 at 1440p but AMD pulled ahead by a touch at 4k.
|
The Division |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
126.1 |
118.6 |
|
1440p |
91.0 |
88.8 |
|
4k |
52.8 |
53.3 |
Battlefield 1 is another game that was mentioned in our request post and it does not have a built-in benchmark. I used Fraps and did a 30-second average in the first level when you are getting bombed and fired on. I set the resolution to all three of our popular resolutions and tested on the ultra-quality preset. The framerate limiter was set to 200 and v-sync was turned off. At 1080p the 7700K outperformed but the gap at 1440p and 4k wasn’t as big.
|
Battlefield 1 |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
180 |
151 |
|
1440p |
151 |
146 |
|
4k |
86 |
84 |
For my last benchmark, I went with one I recently did a lot of video card testing on in a recent post. Wildlands has a built-in benchmark so I went with that and I ran fullscreen at Ultra detail. This benchmark specifically shows CPU usage and it rarely ever gets past 35% so I wasn’t surprised when the results were really close together. It is a GPU limited game, but there did still end up being an FPS lead for the 7700K in all three benchmarks.
|
Ghost Recon Wildlands |
Intel i7-7700K |
AMD Ryzen R7 1700 |
|
1080p |
70.77 |
67.18 |
|
1440p |
58.56 |
54.81 |
|
4k |
37.17 |
35.35 |
