Shadow of Mordor

The final title in our testing is another battle of system performance with the open world action-adventure title, Shadow of Mordor. Produced by Monolith using the LithTech Jupiter EX engine and numerous detail add-ons, SoM goes for detail and complexity to a large extent, despite having to be cut down from the original plans. The main story itself was written by the same writer as Red Dead Redemption, and it received Zero Punctuation’s Game of The Year in 2014.

For testing purposes, SoM gives a dynamic screen resolution setting, allowing us to render at high resolutions that are then scaled down to the monitor. As a result, we get several tests using the in-game benchmark. For low end graphics we examine at 720p with low settings, whereas mid and high end graphics get 1080p Ultra. The top graphics test is also redone at 3840x2160, also with Ultra settings, and we also test two cards at 4K where possible.

Shadow of Mordor on ASUS GTX 980 Strix 4GB ($560)Shadow of Mordor on MSI R9 290X Gaming LE 4GB ($380)Shadow of Mordor on MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB ($245)Shadow of Mordor on MSI R9 285 Gaming 2GB ($240)Shadow of Mordor on ASUS R7 240 DDR3 2GB ($70)Shadow of Mordor on Integrated Graphics

4K:

Shadow of Mordor on ASUS GTX 980 Strix 4GB ($560)Shadow of Mordor on MSI R9 290X Gaming LE 4GB ($380)Shadow of Mordor on MSI R9 285 Gaming 2GB ($240)

Gaming: GRID Autosport Power and Overclocking
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  • solnyshok - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link

    7350K seems like a good old overcloking fun CPU. Introduced just ahead of Ryzen launch. Taking this one from 4.2 to 5GHz is a good +20% overclock. And good (not incredible) value at $175. This or its successor on 10nm will be my next gaming machine.
  • skpetic - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link

    1. Aggregated results are that an i7-6700 is as fast as the i5-7600K(?)
    2. The 6700 is more future proof as it has better performance in applications with good multithreading implementations (future apps and games)
    3. Why is this not considered in the review?
  • Anato - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link

    Had I known this in 2011 when I bought i5-2500k I would have purchased i7-2600k for hyperthreading as it helps in spice simulations. I also would have spend 100$ more to better modo. On the other hand I saved 200$+interest not doing so...

    I'm almost happy that advancement in performance has slowed down. No need to upgrade and finally we are seeing software being optimized. Like Chrome browser, we wouldn't see these java script competitions if never hardware would be suffice.
  • masouth - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link

    In the 5th paragraph you have the 7600K as 4.0 base/ 4.2 turbo but in the table it is listed as 3.8 base/ 4.2 turbo
  • pavag - Wednesday, January 4, 2017 - link

    I cannot find the log out link
  • zodiacfml - Thursday, January 5, 2017 - link

    Not surprised.
  • inmytaxi - Friday, January 6, 2017 - link

    Why is the ivy bridge you are using the 3770k, an i7, instead of an i5 3570k? Don't you think people considering the i5 are more likely to have ... AN IFIVE@!!!!
  • Adam Saint - Saturday, January 7, 2017 - link

    Looks like the 4790k is holding up exceptionally well in both single and multithreaded tests. Impressive for a chip that's 3 generations old.
  • epobirs - Sunday, January 15, 2017 - link

    I build new systems as a hobby, so I'm not especially concerned with whether the new box is a sufficient upgrade over my current main system. That my next build can have some incremental improvements at about the same price point is real progress in my book. Right now, I have a pair of Antec mITX cases I got especially cheap. The original purpose they were intended to serve has been cancelled, so some HTPC configurations are likely, just for the fun of it. since some of Kaby Lakes upgrades are directly applicable to an HTPC's needs, those are likely the parts I'll use if no Skylake items become available for an especially good price.

    In general, incremental upgrades of the product line don't offend me any more than minor improvements to an automobile model from one year to the next. Just because I'm not in the market for a new car this year doesn't mean they should hold still. There are plenty of others who are more than due for an upgrade and those incremental improvements add up eventually for everybody.
  • snapch23 - Friday, December 29, 2017 - link

    It is good that we know so much of the gta. http://mygtacheats.com

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