43 GPUs - 522 Data Points!
Space Marine 2 feels like a well-received game withmostly positivereviews on Steam and praise fromgame reviewers.
This will be a game we feature heavily in our benchmark content moving forward.
The section of the game we’re using for testing is particularly CPU heavy.
so in many instances, especially with the higher-end GPUs, the game is primarily CPU limited.
If not, some configs won’t apply, and the performance won’t be accurate.
That said, it’s always best practice to reset games between options changes.
It’s nice to see a game that doesn’t give a shot to force upscaling.
We’ve also included theIntel Arc A770using driver version32.0.101.5989.
Essentially, the7900 GREor anything faster is CPU-limited under these conditions.
The7800 XTwas good for 100 fps, which is great to see.
While we are only at 1080p, this is native 1080p, so the results are decent.
Even previous-generation mid-range parts, such as theRTX 3070and 6800 XT, are delivering well over 60 fps.
In fact, starting from the RTX 3060 Ti and up, we are fairly heavily CPU-limited.
Even older parts, such as the RTX 2080 Ti, were able to render 100 fps.
The 6900 XT averaged 102 fps, and the RTX 3090 was also heavily CPU-limited.
At that point, you’ll want to either lower the quality options or drop down to 1080p.
For example, the 7700 XT gains an additional 13% performance, increasing from 75 to 85 fps.
At 4K, without upscaling, things get tough for these GPUs.
This is because the 4070 Ti Super saw a massive 63% performance increase with DLSS Quality enabled.
The 7900 GRE achieves 100 fps, making it slightly slower than the 4070 Super.
Beyond that, you will likely want to lower the quality prefs or resolution.
Still, for a 60 fps experience, the 7800 XT or 4070 Super will perform well.
Lowering the quality preset to Medium only improved performance by 5-10% at 1080p, depending on the GPU.
That said, we included the 4GB version of the 6500 XT, and the results are interesting.
Technically, though, it is since the game doesn’t work properly on the 4GB card.
We’ll show you what this looks like shortly.
Even at 1440p, we’re only seeing a minor performance improvement with the Medium preset compared to High.
Not much changes here; for around 100 fps, the 7900 GRE orRTX 3080will suffice.
TheRTX 4070just falls short and isn’t much faster than the7800 XT.
The7900 XTXis again very impressive with 93 fps, making it 15% faster than the 4080 Super.
The 7900 XT was able to match the4080 Super.
Beyond that, you’ll want to lower the resolution.
So, 8GB cards survive to fight another new AAA title.
However, we’re not surprised by this.
Some textures look okay great, even but many look outdated upon closer inspection.
It’s also unfortunate because if you have enough VRAM, higher-quality textures have very little impact on performance.
Sadly, those 12GB, 16GB, and larger VRAM buffers are being underutilized here.
This, in our opinion, is another example of how VRAM stagnation has held back PC gaming.
While 8GB is sufficient for this title, it’s also kind of the minimum.
Let’s take a look at that now.
Ignore the frame rate it’s still a 6500 XT but this is how the game should look.
If you’re wondering, this is exactly how it looks using an RTX 4090, for example.
Again, this is 1080p Medium testing.
The character model textures are very muddy, and this applies to everything.
Textures look terrible, and even some buildings are missing.
This footage is from the Low preset at 1080p with performance upscaling, and it looks terrible.
Even here, the enemies are still missing.
So, for our 4GB friends, it’s safe to say it’s time to upgrade.
What We Learned
Overall,Space Marine 2is a great-looking game with intense horde battles.
However, it’s unfortunate because if the texture quality were higher, the game would be visually stunning.
In terms of GPU requirements, the game isn’t extreme.
DLSS, on the other hand, was working superbly.
This is largely due to the removal of CPU limits in less intense scenes.
Let us know what kind of performance you’re seeing and if you’re enjoying playing this game.
