Introduction:
Many gamers play within a budget and don't have $350 and up to spend on a new graphics card. With that that goal in mind, a test of graphics cards that can be purchased for $80-$120 was performed.
For smooth game play you want to keep your minimum FPS(Frames per Second) above 30 FPS. Games can start looking like a slide show below 30 FPS. Games tend to look smoother and are easier to play when you keep your minimum frame rates higher. Generally 50-60 FPS is where games start to look much smoother to most gamers. Some people with 60 Hz monitors prefer to have their minimum FPS never drop below 60 FPS then enable V-sync to reduce the visual effect called screen tearing. Other players have monitors that are capable of 75 Hz, 100 Hz, 120 Hz, 144 Hz, or faster refresh rates and want higher average FPS in game. Minimum and average frame per second are a matter of both game play quality and personal preference and can be limited by the hardware. Maximum FPS isn't as important for game play as minimum FPS and average FPS.
Another advantage of higher frame rates is less input lag and less game lag. You may have a great ping and no packet loss, but if you are averaging 30 FPS it may feel that you have higher ping when you play because there is more lag in the game itself. For example, if you play at 30 FPS, each frame is about 0.0333 seconds. If you play at 60 FPS, each frame is 0.0167 seconds. If you play at 100 FPS, each frame is 0.0100 seconds. To many players, having higher frame rates feels and acts like having a better in game ping. Some players feel that higher FPS in a game makes it easier to hit moving targets in game and to hit smaller targets in game.
Methods:
World of Tanks version:
There were no significant changes to the game engine between 9.16, 9.17, and 9.17.1 that have an effect on average FPS and minimum FPS. Also World of Tanks 9.16 replays that play in 9.17 had no change in minimum and average FPS when played in version 9.17. Therefore, these results can apply to future world of tanks versions until there are significant game engine updates.
Replay:
Hardware:
i7 6700K overclocked to 4.6 GHz and water cooled.
32 GB DDR 4 RAM (8GB x 4 sticks)
1 TB Samsung EVO 850 SSD
Seasonic 750 Watt power supply
Windows 10 Pro
Graphics cards tested in the Desktop, the manufacturer's part numbers, and additional information:
GTX 1050 - ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Mini (ZT-P10500A-10L) - The GTX 1050 is Nvidia's new budget GPU. GTX 1050 graphics cards currently cost $100-140. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Mini can be found for $99.99 regularly.
GTX 960 - EVGA GeForce GTX 960 FTW GAMING ACX 2.0+ (02G-P4-2968-KR) - A used 2GB GTX 960 equipped graphics card currently sells for $100-$130.
GTX 950 - EVGA GeForce GTX 950 SC+ GAMING ACX 2.0 (02G-P4-2956-RX) - The GTX 950 was replaced by the GTX 1050. Used and refurbished GTX 950 graphics cards currently sell for $80-$120.
GTX 660 ti - EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti FTW Signature 2 (02G-P4-3664-KR) - The GTX 660 ti was released in August of 2012. Currently, used GTX 660 ti graphics cards sell for $60-$100 on eBay. Occasionally, you can find a pair of them sold together for SLI use for $120-$140
GTX 750 ti - EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti (02G-P4-3751-KR) - A new GTX 750 ti equipped graphics card currently sells for $80-$100 in the U.S. Used GTX 750 ti cards can be found for as low as $60.
RX 460 - PowerColor RED DRAGON Radeon RX 460 (AXRX 460 2GBD5-DH/OC) THe RX 460 is AMD's current budget gaming GPU. RX 460 graphcis cards currently cost $95-140. The PowerColor RED DRAGON Radeon RX 460 can be found for $95-$100 regularly.
R7 370 - XFX R7 370 1050M (R7-370B-CDFR) - The R7 370 has been replaced by the RX 460 and the low end RX 470 models. A Used R7 370 equipped graphics card currently sells for $70-$000 in the U.S.
R7 360 - Gigabyte AMD R7 360 (GV-R736OC-2GD) - The R7 360 has been replaced by the RX 460. A used R7 360 equipped graphics card currently sells for $60-$100 in the U.S.
All prices are in US dollars and reflect US market prices at the time this article was published.
The GTX 1050 ti did not meet the price requirements of this comparison. Currently the lowest priced GTX 1050 ti graphics cards are $125-$135 after rebates. Most GTX 1050 ti graphics cards sell for $140-$170.
The most common resolution used by gamers is 1920x1080p according to the Steam Hardware Survey. Ultrawide monitors are coming down in price and gaining popularity. Due to the ultrawide monitors increasing popularity, 2560x1080 resolution was also tested.
Measurements:
I used the Fraps program to record minimum, maximum, and average FPS. Each replay was measured by FRAPS for 200 seconds. The 200 seconds covered from the time right after the first enemy tank was spotted until right before the last enemy tank was destroyed. The replays were measured two times in a row and the averages of the two replays with the same settings were used. Each replay was run two times to be sure there were no unusual reading of the FPS measurements and to ensure consistent and accurate results. If there were any unusual variations int he results, the replay was run again and the two closest results were used. No game mods were installed for the test. The results were very consistent for most of the GPUs with the usual variation of average and minimum FPS being 1 FPS or less.
To do testing on your own computer, you can purchase Fraps here: http://www.fraps.com/
I used MSi Afterburner to measure GPU memory usage and system memory usage. MSI Afterburner was not run when the benchmark tests were run and MSi Afterburner was run separately on replays after the benchmark tests were done. You can download MSi Afterburner here: https://gaming.msi.com/features/afterburner
Test Results:
Memory Usage:
MSi Afterburner was run to monitor system memory usage and graphics card memory usage.
1920x1080 and 2560x1080 Resolution:
GPU memory usage stayed under 1900 MB.
System memory stayed usage under 5600 MB.
From this we can learn that at 1920x1080 and 2560x1080 resolution a graphics card with 2 GB of RAM is adequate for World of Tanks.
When mods were installed(XVM, crosshair, etc...) and the test was run again at the same resolutions the GPU memory usage did not increase.
One important thing to remember, if you play other modern games, you may require graphics card with more graphics memory than is required to run World of Tanks.
GPUs at 1920x1080:
Full Maximum:
Full Maximum is every graphics detail option turned on or all the way up including TSAA-HQ enabled. The slider for Shadows was moved up to the "Ultra" setting was added under shadows. This adds more details to shadows and also makes the frame rates lower than shadows on the "Maximum" setting. Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
Graphics cards that were able to average just under 60 FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS
GTX 950
R7 370
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
R7 360
GTX 750 ti
GTX 750 ti
Maximum:
Maximum is the preset maximum setting with anti-aliasing off and Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
R7 370
RX 460
RX 460
Graphics cards that were able to average just under 60 FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS
GTX 750 ti (I'm rounding 29.5 up to 30 for this)
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
R7 360
High:
High is the preset High setting with anti-aliasing off and Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
GTX 960
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 960
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
R7 370
RX 460
GTX 750 ti (Rounding 29.5 up to 30 for this)
R7 370
RX 460
GTX 750 ti (Rounding 29.5 up to 30 for this)
R7 360 (Rounding 29.5 up to 30 for this)
Medium:
Medium is the preset medium setting with anti-aliasing off and Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
R7 370
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
GTX 750 ti
R7 360
GPUs at 2560x1080:
Full Maximum:
Full Maximum is every graphics detail option turned on or all the way up including TSAA-HQ enabled. The slider for Shadows was moved up to the "Ultra" setting was added under shadows. This adds more details to shadows and also makes the frame rates lower than shadows on the "Maximum" setting. Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None. The GTX 960 was close.
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050 (Rounding 29.5 up to 30 for this)
R7 370
GTX 950
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
GTX 750 ti
R7 360
Maximum:
Maximum is the preset maximum setting with anti-aliasing off and Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
R7 370
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
GTX 750 ti
GTX 750 ti
R7 360
High:
High is the preset High setting with anti-aliasing off and Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
None.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 960 (Rounding 99.9 to 100)
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
R7 370
Graphics cards that were able to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 750 ti
R7 360
Medium:
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 960 (Rounding 99.9 to 100)
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
R7 370
Graphics cards that were able to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
Graphics cards that were unable to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
GTX 750 ti
R7 360
Medium is the preset medium setting with anti-aliasing off and Dynamic Adjustment and Dynamic Changes of Effect Quality are off.
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 60 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 30 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
R7 370
Graphics cards that were able to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
None
Graphics cards that were able to average 100+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS at least 30 FPS:
GTX 960
GTX 660 ti
GTX 1050
GTX 950
Graphics cards that were able to average 60+ FPS and able to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
R7 370
Graphics cards that were able to average 60 FPS and unable to keep the minimum FPS over 30 FPS:
RX 460
GTX 750 ti
R7 360
Other results:
Several of the graphics cards were tested in a socket 1155 H61 chipset PC with an i3-3240 CPU to see if there was a change in game performance. There was no significant decrease in average FPS or minimum FPS in the computer with the i3-3240 CPU. Different driver versions were used for this test.
Other results:
Several of the graphics cards were tested in a socket 1155 H61 chipset PC with an i3-3240 CPU to see if there was a change in game performance. There was no significant decrease in average FPS or minimum FPS in the computer with the i3-3240 CPU. Different driver versions were used for this test.
Conclusion:
World of Tanks is playable at 1920x1080 resolution and 2560x1080 resolution with a variety of low priced graphics cards.
Using the same graphics cards in an older PC with a less powerful i3 CPU still allows for similar frame rates.
Using the results above you can pick an appropriate budget GPU for world of Tanks and also adjust your graphics settings for better game performance.
For World of Tanks, you do not need a graphics card with more than 2 GB of memory if you play at 1920x1080 resolution or 2560x1080 resolution because the game currently does not use 2 GB of graphics memory at those resolutions.
If you play World of Tanks on a monitor with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and experience screen tearing, you should enable V-sync and choose a graphics card that doesn't allow the FPS to drop below 60 FPS.
If you prefer to play World of Tanks with V-sync enabled, you should choose a graphics card that doesn't allow the FPS to drop below 60.
Using the same graphics cards in an older PC with a less powerful i3 CPU still allows for similar frame rates.
Using the results above you can pick an appropriate budget GPU for world of Tanks and also adjust your graphics settings for better game performance.
For World of Tanks, you do not need a graphics card with more than 2 GB of memory if you play at 1920x1080 resolution or 2560x1080 resolution because the game currently does not use 2 GB of graphics memory at those resolutions.
If you play World of Tanks on a monitor with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and experience screen tearing, you should enable V-sync and choose a graphics card that doesn't allow the FPS to drop below 60 FPS.
If you prefer to play World of Tanks with V-sync enabled, you should choose a graphics card that doesn't allow the FPS to drop below 60.
If you are content with a minimum of 30 FPS while playing World of Tanks, then all you need is a graphics card that maintains 30+ FPS minimum at your desired graphics setting.
If you have a 1920x1080 resolution 75Hz refresh rate monitor, you can use the information above to pick a budget graphics card that won't allow the FPS to drop below 75 Hz.
If you have a 100 Hz refresh rate monitor, the current budget graphics cards do now allow for a minimum of 100 FPS at 1920x1080 or 2560x1080.
If you have issues with low FPS and have one of the above GPUs, you can choose the graphics settings that allow for better average FPS and better minimum FPS.
If you have a 1920x1080 resolution 75Hz refresh rate monitor, you can use the information above to pick a budget graphics card that won't allow the FPS to drop below 75 Hz.
If you have a 100 Hz refresh rate monitor, the current budget graphics cards do now allow for a minimum of 100 FPS at 1920x1080 or 2560x1080.
If you have issues with low FPS and have one of the above GPUs, you can choose the graphics settings that allow for better average FPS and better minimum FPS.
Notes:
I received no free hardware for testing or evaluation from any retailer or manufacturer of computer hardware for this comparison test. I previously purchased Fraps to test other games. I owned some of the GPUs used in the test, and purchased a few other GPUs for testing when I found them on sale for below average prices(Used, demo models sitting in a display case at a hardware shop, last one in inventory, clearance sale, etc...). I will be buying other GPUs to add to testing of World of Tanks in future versions.
If you appreciated my work and want to help support future World of Tanks hardware benchmarks, help me out in any of the several ways listed below:
If you buy a Graphics Card or any other product made by EVGA please use use my EVGA affiliate code when you purchase from the EVGA.com web page and/or register the product.on EVGA.com.
My EVGA affiliate code is: JW8SNWHOB4
If you would like to donate to fund future hardware testing you can use the link below:
Any assistance would be appreciated.
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