NVIDIA GPU Performance Issues in the new Tomb Raider
The new Tomb Raider reboot was released last night, and has so far been praised as a good game that brings back that nostalgia of the old Tomb Raider games. However, in our testing today, we have become aware of performance issues on NVIDIA GPUs while playing this game. We reached out to NVIDIA for answers and some information for you if you are experiencing slower than expected performance, it is not just you. We asked NVIDIA what the best driver for the game is right now, and NVIDIA's response is as follows:
Hi Brent. You can try using the latest beta driver however, please note that we are aware of major performance and stability issues with GeForce GPUs running Tomb Raider with maximum settings. Unfortunately, NVIDIA didn't receive final code until this past weekend which substantially decreased stability, image quality and performance over a build we were previously provided. We are working closely with Crystal Dynamics to address and resolve all game issues as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we would like to apologize to GeForce users that are not able to have a great experience playing Tomb Raider, as they have come to expect with all of their favorite PC games.
We then followed up asking about an ETA for the new driver, and got this response:
Hi Brent, this isn't solely a driver issue. The developer needs to make some changes on their end to fix their issues on GeForce GPUs. This will require code changes to the game.
So there you go, it is not only going to take a driver update, but also a patch update for the game to get the most out of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. I myself am experiencing slow performance, (R.E. 20's FPS) with GTX 680 SLI at maxed out in-game settings, with FXAA. There is definitely a performance issue that needs resolving. The only thing you can do right now, if you are experiencing slow performance, is turn TressFX off, back to Normal, and try lowering in-game setting, starting with SSAO, to try and improve performance. We will have a full evaluation of this game, and its performance and IQ next week with tips on how to get the most out of it performance wise.