Benchmarks: Ultra Quality Preset

When running at 1680x1050 using ultra-quality (FXAA with Field AO and HBAO+ enabled), the HD 7970 GHz Edition and GTX 680 were within a single frame of each other, with the latter having a slight edge. The only cards to go faster were the GTX 770 – which was 1fps faster than the GTX 680 – as well as the GTX 780 and GTX Titan.

The standard HD 7970 matched Nvidia's GTX 660 Ti while the HD 7950 Boost was slightly slower, managing an average of 62fps. Below the 60fps mark were the HD 7870 and GTX 660, while the HD 7850 and GTX 560 Ti hovered in the low 40s, at which point frame rates became too low for playable performance in our opinion.

At 1920x1200, it was largely flagship cards that achieved the desired 60fps target, starting with the HD 7970 GHz Edition at 64fps. The GTX 670 fell below that threshold at 59fps, while the HD 7970, GTX 760, GTX 660 Ti and 7950 Boost trailed closely behind.

The original HD 7950 managed 50fps, which was slightly faster than the old GTX 580's 49fps and 1fps faster than the GTX 660, while cards slower than the HD 6970 or GTX 480 will likely have a hard time achieving playable frame rates at these settings.

When pushing the resolution to 2560x1600, it's not surprising to find that only the GTX Titan could exceed 60fps – if only by four frames. The GTX 780 fell just short with 59fps, the GTX 770 offered a respectable 52fps, while the GTX 680 managed to fend off the HD 7970 GHz Edition again.