High Quality Performance
Reducing the in-game quality from very high to just high has improved performance considerably. Previously the R9 280X averaged just 56fps and now it's cranking out 74fps. At the opposite end of the scale, the GTX 750 Ti has moved from relatively unplayable at 30fps to a more comfortable 40fps. That's around a 33% performance increase for both cards.
We added a few lower-end cards like the GTX 650 Ti, GTX 560 Ti and HD 7770, but all three struggled to provide playable performance.
We also tested some older generation flagships such as the HD 6970 and GTX 480. Both struggled to keep pace with today's budget graphics cards... oh how the mighty have fallen. The GTX 580 didn't fare as poorly with an average of 48fps placing it between the GTX 660 and GTX 660 Ti.
Despite the increase in resolution, the R9 280X is still able to exceed 60fps on high quality whereas very high reduced it to 47fps. Mid-range contenders such as the R9 270X and GTX 760 both averaged 48fps which isn't bad considering neither broke 40fps using the very high quality settings.
Those hoping to play at extreme resolutions using a single high quality monitor or multiple smaller monitors without multi-GPU technology will be happy to note that the HD 7970 GHz Edition averaged 45fps at 2560x1600. The GTX 770 also did well with 42fps while the R9 280X managed 41fps.