Unreal Engine 5.5 MegaLights Demo - PC performance graphics benchmarks of Graphics Cards and Processors
| BASIC GAME INFORMATION |
We have completed testing Unreal Engine 5.5 MegaLights Demo at maximum graphics settings with the latest GeForce RTX and Radeon RX series graphics cards. We also evaluated the performance and quality of the graphics display during our tests.
| NEW PRODUCTS PROVIDED FOR TESTS BY DEEPCOOL |
In our review we present you the case DeepCool CH780WH. DeepCool CH780WH – is a spacious Mid Tower case, made in white with a large tempered glass window on the side panel. The case supports the installation of ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, as well as video cards up to 380 mm long. DeepCool CH780WH It is equipped with an excellent cooling system with the ability to install up to 9 fans, and also supports liquid cooling systems with radiators up to 360 mm in size. For ease of assembly, the case has removable dust filters and sufficient space for cable management.
In our review we present you with a power supply Deepcool PX1200G 1200W. Deepcool PX1200G 1200W has a power of 1200 watts, 80 Plus Gold certification, which guarantees a high level of energy efficiency of up to 92%. It is equipped with a modular cable system for easy cable management and minimizing clutter in the case. The power supply supports protective functions such as OVP (overvoltage protection), SCP (short circuit protection) and OCP (overcurrent protection).
The power supply also supports the standard ATX 3.0, which is important for modern systems with high-performance components, such as the latest generation of graphics cards. The ATX 3.0 standard provides more stable power delivery, improved performance with peak loads, and support for the PCIe 5.0 slot, which is necessary for the latest graphics cards with high power requirements, such as the NVIDIA RTX 40-series. This makes Deepcool PX1200G the optimal choice for gamers and professionals who require reliable and efficient power for their powerful systems.
We will also consider Deepcool LT720, liquid cooling system with a 360 mm radiator. Deepcool LT720 has three 120 mm fans with addressable ARGB lighting, providing effective cooling and a stylish appearance. The cooler supports Intel LGA1700 and AMD AM5 platforms, making it compatible with most modern processors.
| NEW PRODUCTS PROVIDED FOR TESTS BY ASUS |
In our review we present you with the motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming Wi-Fi. ROG Strix B650-A Gaming WiFi includes 4 DDR5 DIMM modules with a maximum capacity of up to 64 gigabytes and a frequency of up to 6400 MHz. For the file subsystem, the motherboard supports 3 M.2 PCIe 5.0/4.0 x4 slots and 4 SATA 6 Gb/s ports. You can directly view the testing of this motherboard on our website.
In our review we present you with motherboards ASUS Z790-A GAMING DDR4. We use this motherboard as a test bench for testing new generations of processors. Intel.
This time the company's top video card is participating in our test. ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti OC. The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is based on the AD104 GPU and features 7680 CUDA cores and 12GB of GDDR6X memory. Test this video card on our website.
This time the company's top video card is participating in our test. ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XT OC Edition 20 GB.. This video card is based on the RDNA 3 architecture, operates at a frequency of 2500 MHz and has 20 gigabytes of video memory.
| NEW PRODUCTS PROVIDED FOR TESTS BY GIGABYTE |
In our review we present you with the motherboard Gigabyte X670E AORUS PRO X. We use this motherboard as a test bench for testing new generations of processors. AMD.
Its testing on our website.
| NEW, SUPPLIED FOR TEST BY KINGSTON |
In our review we used an external SSD Kingston XS2000 4TB. This drive demonstrated impressive read and write speeds of up to 2000MB/s, allowing it to easily handle the testing of 12 of the best games of 2024. Thanks to its huge storage capacity, we were able to record all the necessary game files, test data, and additional materials. At the same time, after all the tests, the SSD had 2.21TB of free space left, which emphasizes its high capacity.
In our review we used RAM: 32 GB DDR4 3600 CL16 Kingston FURY Renegade, 32 GB DDR4 4000 CL18 Kingston FURY Renegade,32 GB DDR5 6000 Kingston FURY Renegade, 16 GB DDR4 4600 CL19 Kingston FURY Renegade и 32 GB DDR5 7200 Kingston FURY Renegade.
In our review we used RAM Kingston Fury Renegade DDR5 48GB 7200MHz.
In our review we used RAM Kingston Fury Renegade DDR5-8000 48 GB Limited Edition.
In our review, for the full variety of our test benches, we use SSD drives Kingston KC600 256GB 2.5" SATAIII 3D NAND TLC и SSD drive Kingston NV3 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 , which are an ideal choice for use when there are a large number of components.
| THE GRAFICAL PART |
This subsection of our review highlights the main graphical aspects of this game. Particular attention is paid to the version of the graphics engine used, the version of the API used, graphic settings and the quality of development of the main visual aspects.
| DEVELOPMENT HISTORY |
Unreal Engine 5.5 with new functionality MegaLights was a major milestone in the development of dynamic lighting technologies. Work on this innovative system began back in 2022, when Epic Games realized the limitations of traditional lighting methods in games and virtual production. The developers set themselves the task of creating a technology that would allow the placement of a large number of dynamic light sources without a significant decrease in performance.
In the initial phase, the Epic Games team conducted research into the limitations of existing solutions. The focus was on integrating modern ray tracing algorithms that could provide high performance when working with thousands of light sources. The development of the system required significant effort, as the key challenge was to maintain flexibility in lighting settings for artists while ensuring compatibility with a wide range of hardware.
The key development milestone came in 2023, when the first working prototype was presented. MegaLights. This tool allowed the simultaneous use of up to a thousand dynamic light sources, creating complex scenes with soft shadows and reflections. The prototype demonstrated great potential, but required optimization to meet industry requirements.
Epic Games has been working closely with professional studios like Quixel and KitBash3D to test and refine the system in real projects. This partnership culminated in a demonstration of MegaLights capabilities at Unreal Fest 2024, where the new technology created a stir among professionals and enthusiasts. Epic Games continues to improve the system, preparing it for mass implementation in future projects.
| GRAPHICS |
System MegaLights в Unreal Engine 5.5 is a true revolution in graphics. The new technology allows for the placement of thousands of dynamic light sources with highly detailed shadows and reflections, which was previously impossible due to performance limitations. Now artists and developers can create visually complex scenes with realistic lighting, while maintaining smooth operation even on average hardware.
One of the key features of the graphic component of MegaLights is the use of technologies nanite и Lumen. nanite allows you to integrate high-poly models into scenes without losing performance, and Lumen provides realistic global illumination and reflections. When combined with MegaLights, these technologies open up new horizons for creating photorealistic scenes.
A demo of MegaLights’ capabilities at Unreal Fest 2024 showed how high the bar for visual quality can be raised. The example featured a scene with over 1000 dynamic lights, each casting soft shadows and interacting with the environment. The system also integrates with volumetric fog effects, adding depth and atmosphere to scenes.
The graphics component of MegaLights is suitable not only for games, but also for cinema, virtual reality and other areas where a high degree of detail and realism is required. The technology opens up new possibilities for creating interactive worlds that were previously possible only in pre-rendered scenes.
| GAME ENGINE |
Unreal Engine 5.5, on the basis of which the system operates MegaLights, is a flagship next-generation game engine. Its key feature is the ability to work with incredibly complex scenes and objects without sacrificing performance. MegaLights fits organically into the engine ecosystem, adding capabilities that were previously considered unattainable.
One of the fundamental technologies of the engine is World Partition, which allows you to work with huge locations without having to manually separate them. This technology is ideally combined with MegaLights, as it ensures smooth loading of scenes with multiple light sources. This is especially important for open-world games, where dynamic lighting plays a key role.
Technology Lumen, integrated into Unreal Engine 5.5, provides realistic global illumination, and MegaLights expands its capabilities by adding support for multiple dynamic light sources. This combination makes the engine an ideal tool for developing projects of any scale - from small games to Hollywood blockbusters.
It’s important to note that Epic Games has also taken into account the need for optimization. MegaLights uses advanced ray tracing algorithms that minimize the load on the hardware while maintaining a high level of detail. This allows developers to create visually complex scenes that will work on mid-range devices.
Unreal Engine 5.5 with MegaLights support is an engine that sets the standard for the coming years. Its capabilities open up new horizons for developers, allowing them to create worlds that were previously only possible in the imagination.
| QUALITY |
In the demo, MegaLights is enabled by default, but can be disabled via console commands. To do this, you need to open the console (press the "tilde" key) ~) and enter the command:
If you want bring the effect back, use the command:
When MegaLights is activated (by default), the scene is transformed with realistic lighting and dynamic effects. Candlelight softly spreads across the walls, emphasizing textures and creating an atmosphere of depth. Green lighting becomes bright and saturated, which gives the landscape a mystical charm. Light cracks on the walls look more alive, and the whole scene becomes three-dimensional and detailed.
When the effect is turned off, the lighting loses a lot of realism. The backlighting becomes less bright, the green effects fade, and the shadows become sharper. The texture detail and the atmosphere of the cave are no longer as exciting, and the scene becomes flatter and simpler. In this way, MegaLights significantly improves the overall visual experience, making the game feel more cinematic and alive.
| TEST PART |
| Test configuration | |
| test stands |
ROG Strix X570-E Gaming Z490 AORUS PROAX GIGABYTE Z590 VISION GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G GIGABYTE Z790 GAMING XAX MSI MPG Z790 Edge WiFi ASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming Wi-Fi ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore |
| Sponsored video cards |
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti OC ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER OC ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900XT 20G |
| Multimedia equipment |
16 GB DDR4 4600 CL19 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR4 3600 CL16 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR4 4000 CL18 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR5 5600 CL40 Kingston Fury Beast 32 GB DDR5 6000@6400 CL30 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR5 7200 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade 48GB DDR5 7200 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade 48GB DDR5 8000 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD Kingston NV3 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 Kingston XS2000 4TB SSD Case DeepCool CH510 WH SVO DeepCool LS720 WH Power supply unit Deepcool PX1200G 1200W |
| Software configuration |
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| Operating system | Windows 11 24H2 |
| Graphics driver |
Nvidia GeForce/ION Driver Release 566.36 WHQL AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 24.12.1 |
| Monitoring programs |
MSI Afterburner |
Our video cards were tested at different screen sizes 1920x1080, 2560x1440 и 3840x2160 with maximum graphics quality settings without upscales.
In the demo, MegaLights is enabled by default, but can be disabled via console commands. To do this, you need to open the console (press the "tilde" key) ~) and enter the command:
If you want bring the effect back, use the command:
| TEST GPU |
In the video card test, the default resolution is 1920x1080; other resolutions are added and removed manually. You can also remove and add any positions of video cards. You can also select any of our test processors from the list in the drop-down menu, comparing its performance with the given video card tests (by default, the most productive solution is selected). The test is carried out on the most powerful CPU in this game and is scaled to other processors, taking into account their testing on NVIDIA and AMD video cards.
- MegaLights
- MegaLights OFF
MegaLights
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 6800 or GeForce RTX 2060.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6800 or GeForce RTX 2080 level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the GeForce RTX 4070S level.
When resolved 2560x1440:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 7800 XT or GeForce RTX 3070.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 7900 XT or GeForce RTX 3080 level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the GeForce RTX 4090 level.
When resolved 3840x2160:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached the level of GeForce RTX 4070 Ti on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 4080 level.
MegaLights OFF
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached GeForce RTX 4090 level on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 4090 level.
| VIDEO MEMORY CONSUMPTION |
Testing of video memory consumed by the game was carried out by the program MSI Afterburner. The indicator was based on the results on video cards from AMD and NVIDIA with separate screen sizes 1920x1080, 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 with various anti-aliasing settings. By default, the graph displays the most current solutions. Other video cards are added and removed from the chart at the request of the reader.
- MegaLights
- MegaLights OFF
GameGPU
MegaLights
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB
MegaLights OFF
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 16 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 21 GB
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 16 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 22 GB
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 16 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 22 GB
| CPU TEST |
Testing was carried out at a resolution of 1920x1080. In the processor test, you can remove or add any processor positions. You can also select any tested video card from the list in the drop-down menu, comparing its performance with the given processor test results (by default, the most productive solution from NVIDIA is selected). Testing takes place on the most powerful NVIDIA and AMD video cards and scales to low-end models.
- MegaLights
- MegaLights OFF
MegaLights
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- Processors for comfortable FPS (at least 60 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
When using AMD video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
MegaLights OFF
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- MegaLights
Loading and using streams:
- Maximum load: The game can load up to 24 streams.
- Optimal loading: Uses up to 8 threads as efficiently as possible.
| RAM TEST |
The test was carried out on the basic configuration of Core i 9 13900K with 32 GB DDR5 6400 MHz pre-installed memory. All used RAM was taken as an indicator. The RAM test on the entire system was carried out on various video cards without launching third-party applications (browsers, etc.). In the graphics, you can add and remove any resolutions and video cards as desired.
- MegaLights
- MegaLights OFF
GameGPU
MegaLights
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB of RAM
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB of RAM
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 13 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB of RAM
MegaLights OFF
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 19 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 18 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 14 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB of RAM
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 20 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 18 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 14 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB of RAM
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 8 GB of video memory: consume 21 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 12 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB of RAM
| SPONSORS TESTS |
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