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Shadow of Mordor Nvidia Benchmarks On Linux

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We decided it was time to plug Shadow of Mordor again, only this time myself and Samsai have conducted some benchmarks across four different Nvidia GPU’s.

We do all this simply because we love what we do, and thanks to the support from our fans. No need to tip us.

One thing I discovered recently, is that a driver update forced “Sync to VBlank” on in the Nvidia control panel. I suggest you take a look as well, as others I have spoken to also had their setting turned on.

This is easily the most graphically heavy game that Linux has right now, and not because of optimizations being needed, but the graphical options are plentiful and it looks gorgeous. Well, as gorgeous as Mordor looks anyway for a rather bleak setting full of Uruk.

We both have low and higher end cards, with myself having a higher end CPU and Samsai having a lower end CPU, so these benchmarks should give a good indicator at the performance you can currently expect on Linux.

These tests are using the presets as they are, so we haven’t tweaked any other settings. All tests are run at 1920x1080 resolution.

It’s worth noting that for Ultra, you really need around 6GB or more VRAM, as it uses a lot. Luckily, the benchmarks don’t use up too much, so three of our cards were able to go through the benchmark on Ultra, but it killed my 560 Ti. Note that the HD Content texture pack was not used for these benchmarks.

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As you can see, a GTX 970 can run the game at a quite consistent framerate with the averages always above the 60 FPS line. The 3.5GB (4GB technically, but the last 500MB is slow) of VRAM is a quite reasonable amount for this benchmark and the performance drop-off is actually fairly small.
Note: This shows my 970 performing better than the 980 Ti and Titan X tested over at Phoronix, so his benchmark is very odd.

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GTX 760 can also handle the game reasonably well up until Very High. The average framerates are a little bit shy from 60 FPS but they stay in the 50-60 FPS range in Medium to Very High. For the game in question this is very much an acceptable framerate. On Ultra the performance drops rapidly and this is most likely due to the VRAM. The 760 comes with 2GB of VRAM which is a lot lower than the game recommends.

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The 560 Ti is technically faster than the 640 mentioned in the system requirements for this game but it’s starting to be outdated at this point. From Low to High the game runs from a little over 40 to little less than 30 FPS. 30 FPS is usually considered the lowest acceptable framerate, though nothing to cheer about. Note that the game crashed on Ultra and the numbers were a little bit twisted there. It’s definitely too much for this card and its 1GB of VRAM.

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The GTX 550 Ti is very close to the 640 in terms of performance and is definitely starting to be in the absolute minimum territory. It can only reach 30 FPS at Low and even at Medium the card is starting to perform poorly. After High this poor old card is not able to maintain a framerate that anyone could consider playable. This doesn’t come as too big of a surprise because the card only has 1GB of VRAM which pretty much seals the fate of this card on anything higher than Medium.

The raw data can be found on the next page if you want to see it in pure numerical form.

We hoped you like these tests, and hopefully we can do more as and when more cards become available to us, and when more games support benchmarking modes.

Samsai has ordered an AMD R7 370 4GB, and I will also be looking to get one soon. That way we can cover more ground for you, and our benchmarks will be more interesting. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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60 comments
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hummer010 Aug 5, 2015
Thanks for the benchmarks, guys. That gives me a pretty good idea of where I'll be at with my i7 / GTX765M combo ... assuming I ever manage to finish downloading it.

At least I know performance will good enough that I can keep working on downloading.
OZSeaford Aug 5, 2015
What?????

I am on a GTX760, and I get an average of around 25-30fps on medium detail.

Is it because I am using the default driver? I am on version 340.76...

EDIT - I am still having major fun with this game, I have already put 10 hours into it, which is a lot for a working dad...Not a single crash...


Last edited by OZSeaford on 5 August 2015 at 7:38 pm UTC
Liam Dawe Aug 5, 2015
Quoting: OZSeafordWhat?????

I am on a GTX760, and I get an average of around 25-30fps on medium detail.

Is it because I am using the default driver? I am on version 340.76...

What CPU?

Edit: The store states you need "352.21 or later"


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 5 August 2015 at 7:38 pm UTC
Samsai Aug 5, 2015
Quoting: OZSeafordWhat?????

I am on a GTX760, and I get an average of around 25-30fps on medium detail.

Is it because I am using the default driver? I am on version 340.76...
You should upgrade to 352. The requirements on the store page state that it's the only supported driver. I recommend the following PPA for driver updates: https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ubuntu/ppa


Last edited by Samsai on 5 August 2015 at 7:40 pm UTC
OZSeaford Aug 5, 2015
Sorry, I did not mean to hijack your thread to make it a tech support one :D

Its Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, with 8 gb of RAM, a hybrid ssd, and my trusty GTX760.

EDIT - thanks to you both, I shall follow the instructions. It's quite neat to include the ppa. I have to say that each time I load the game it says that my driver is not compatible, but so far, apart from the low fps, which tbh is bearable at 25-30, the game runs really smoothly. Super stable.


Last edited by OZSeaford on 5 August 2015 at 7:43 pm UTC
Beamboom Aug 5, 2015
To raise the tests even one more level on the interest-bar (imho) you could add benchmark results for Windows running on the same machine.
Redje Aug 5, 2015
Quoting: OZSeafordSorry, I did not mean to hijack your thread to make it a tech support one :D

Its Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, with 8 gb of RAM, a hybrid ssd, and my trusty GTX760.

EDIT - thanks to you both, I shall follow the instructions. It's quite neat to include the ppa. I have to say that each time I load the game it says that my driver is not compatible, but so far, apart from the low fps, which tbh is bearable at 25-30, the game runs really smoothly. Super stable.
I have same setup i5-4670 cpu 8gb ram and gtx760 but I have the 352.30 driver.
My fps is 55 average on very high with this setup.
Liam Dawe Aug 5, 2015
Quoting: BeamboomTo raise the tests even one more level on the interest-bar (imho) you could add benchmark results for Windows running on the same machine.

While it would be interesting, and I have thought about it. Buying a Windows license (money I want for AMD cards) + arranging a hard drive for it (Don't want to split up my current drives - so money again) + the annoyance of having to burn a Windows image to a USB to install = major pain and annoyance.
tuubi Aug 5, 2015
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@OZSeaford: Don't upgrade your drivers. Save the smurfs!
From the comment thread of another article here:
Quoting: edddeduckferal
Quoting: silverphilIs it mandatory to install nvidia-352 or can i get away with nvidia-331 (preferably) or nvidia-346 without issues or performance problems?
I have a GT 650M.

If you don't run at least those drivers everyone will look like smurfs (all blue), stability should be ok but those drivers are pretty old so your performance stability will vary.

I'd highly recommend using the supported drivers or newer.
EndeavourAccuracy Aug 5, 2015
Here are benchmarks for a GTX 650 Ti @1080p.
(Under Linux, obviously.)

| Lowest | Low | Medium | High | Very High | Ultra
avg | 63.67 | 58.58 | 42.14 | 37.02 | 34.75 | 22.33
max | 87.03 | 83.09 | 64.16 | 62.97 | 58.83 | 37.13
min | 28.93 | 25.41 | 17.79 | 16.36 | 14.93 | 13.50

As an image, for easy formatting:

(image mirror

- Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost/PCIe/SSE2 (2GB)
- Intel i7-4770K, s1150
- 250GB Samsung 840 EVO
- 2x8GB DDR3; Corsair Vengeance LP 1600

The exploding barrels cause the min, but it feels natural that an explosion would have an effect on your sight, if you know what I mean.
Either way, I've already finished the main campaign and lots of side quests and I think the game runs great.
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